During the devastating WWII, Jewish people faced extreme prejudice from the heartless Germans who tortured them. Primarily the Jews began losing privileges such as being allowed to go to school, stores and leaving their homes. Next, strong men were forced to become laborers. Then unexpectedly, the worst happened. Jews were sent to concentration camps to die. Families were separated by gender and sent to different barracks. Everyone, ranging from senior citizens to young children were forced to work day and night.
Secretly, the Nazis had a devious plan -- they were working their victims to their deaths. Rarely, few people were aware that their cold bunks would soon become their deathbeds. The Jews were weakened through starvation and beatings. Then, they were expected to have tremendous energy to labor. All this for the reward of being able to live, which perhaps, was the greatest reward of all. Those who valued their lives, served the Nazis by working daily in poor conditions. The Nazis showed no compassion for the homosexuals or the disabled. Thinking that these poor people were incapable of working, they murdered them in gas chambers and crematoriums. Even innocent babies faced this terrible cruelty.
Irena Sendler (originally Sendlerowa) was born on February 15th, 1910 in Otwock, Poland. She was 29 years old and working as a social worker when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. This marked the beginning of WWII. The Jews residing in Warsaw were forced to remain solely in their neighborhood. To enforce this law, the Germans walled Jewish neighborhoods and named them 'ghettos'. In their small sanctuary, the Jews lived in unfortunate conditions which grew worse during the typhoid outbreak.
As a social worker and young mother, Irena had a heart for the youth. She was appalled by the brutality of the Nazis so much so that she joined Zegota, a underground association which helped Jews. Irena saw the typhoid outbreak as an opportunity to smuggle children out of the ghetto. She obtained permission from Warsaw's Epidemic Control Department to be able to enter the ghetto. Irena and 20 people ventured into the ghetto in ambulances. They would return with ambulances full of children. Irena was aware of her risky operation and knew that humanitarians caught by the Nazis would be shot. She had to be clever and outsmart the Nazis. To do that, she had to forget her fears and think of clever plans. Sometimes Irena wrapped babies in packages or disguised them in baskets and carried them out of the ghettos safely. Not only did she save children, but numerous teenagers as well. Irena convinced teens to join her team of workers because her employees worked outside the ghetto. Later, along with the babies, Irena gave the teens away to adoptive families, orphanages, hospitals and convents under new names. However, she wrote the real identities of the children on lists which were sealed and buried in jars.
On October 20th, 1943 Irena was arrested by the Nazis and thrown into the infamous Pawiak prison. There, she faced the rough environment that she had prevented countless children from facing, and was one of the few people that survived. In the prison, the Gestapo severely beat Irena from which scars still remain on her body. They also broke her legs, permanently causing her to be confined to a wheelchair. Irena was met with even more violence when she refused to reveal who her employees were. Because of her loyalty, she faced tremendous disdain and was even sentenced to death. However, karma was on Irena's side when she was freed by Zegota, who bribed the guards at the prison to set her free.
Though Irena was put in so much demise, she still continued to rescue children when she was released. This time, Irena took on an alias was became more focused on trying to salvage as many children as she could. Between October 1940 and the end of WWII, Irena and her team of 20 saved 2,500 children. Then suddenly during the war's end in 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto was liquidated by the Nazis who were desperately trying to rid all evidence of their crimes. The Nazis had no heart for the Jews as they forced them out of the ghetto, murdered them and sent them to death camps. In April 1943, the Nazis finally burned the ghetto.
After the war, Irena dug up the jars and tracked down every single child she saved. She tried desperately to reunite the children with their biological families but failed miserably because most families were murdered during the liquidation. But years later, the children located Irena and made sure that her war efforts were recognized -- even though Irena did not want to be credited for her work. Irena was one of the first people to be named "Righteous Among Nations" by Israel's Yad Vashen Holocaust memorial. In 1991 she was named an honorary citizen of Israel. On November 10th, 2003 she was awarded the "Order of the White Eagle", Poland's highest distinction. However, the world was still unfamiliar with Irena Sendler until four female students at a Kansas high school unearthed her story. In 2007, Polish president Lech Kaczynski held a ceremony in her honor and invited many of the children that she rescued. He also succeeded in trying vigorously to nominate her for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Irena Sendler died of pneumonia at a hospital in Warsaw, Poland last Monday (May 12, 2008) at 8:00 AM. She was 98 years old. Nonetheless, this remarkable woman's heroic legacy did not go unnoticed. Irena's powerful message of hope has a presence in the world that we cannot deny.
"I could have done more. This regret will follow me to my death."--Irena Sendler
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Author's Note: Sources:
www.thestar.com
www.irenasendler.org
www.auschwitz.dk/Sendler.htm
www.holocaustforgotten.com/sendler.htm
