Heroine of the Holocaust

laufer · 25-10-2004, 02:29 PM

Her name was Irena Sendler. Though she herself was not Jewish, she feared for the lives of Jews around her, particularly the children. As head of the children's section in the Polish underground organisation known as Zegota, she was unable to sit by and not do anything. So she went into the Warsaw Ghetto and persuaded Jewish parents and grandparents to place their children in her care, saying that they were certain to die in the Ghetto or in the Nazi death camps unless they could be spirited away to safety.
Smuggling the children past Nazi guards through a variety of means - hiding them in body bags or under loads of goods - Ms. Sendler took them into the homes of Polish families, where they were adopted and raised with false identities. Ms. Sendler made lists of these children and placed the lists in a jar that she buried in a garden, hoping she could someday dig up the jar, locate the children and inform them of their past.
From 1942 to 1943, Ms. Sendler managed to smuggle 400 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto before she was captured by the Nazis and severely punished for her actions. Even under extreme torture, she refused to reveal where the lists of the smuggled Jewish children were hidden. Eventually, a member of the Polish underground bribed a guard to release her, and she entered into hiding. Even then, she continued to work with Zegota to rescue another 2,100 children.
95 year-old Irena Sendler still lives in Warsaw.

Find more: http://www.dzieciholocaustu.org.pl/s...sendlerowa.php

Kiwiwriter · 09-12-2004, 06:00 PM

I hope she got decorated for her unbelievably heroism by the Polish and Israeli governments...and that they take care of her.

webbhead · 09-12-2004, 11:14 PM

Absolutely fascinating. Has anyone written a book on her?

laufer · 29-12-2004, 02:08 PM

Last year she was awarded with Poland's highest non-military distinction, the Order of White Eagle.
I don't know anything about any book published in english.

Kiwiwriter · 05-08-2005, 10:17 PM

She was discussed in our Holocaust Observance in April. That was a tremendous event....the best of the 18 we've had.

marek_pk · 01-01-2007, 08:27 PM

Irena Sendler candidate for Nobel Peace prize:

http://fzp.jewish.org.pl/nobel_eng.html

Owen · 01-01-2007, 09:21 PM

I take it she is still alive?
Some great photos on this website.
irenasendler.org

Lucy Stag · 06-01-2007, 11:04 PM

Amazing heroine. There are so many stories like that that I only wish were more known in the world. She is a dictionary definition of a hero.

marek_pk · 25-01-2007, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Owen D

I take it she is still alive?

She is 97 and living in Warsaw.

Panzerfaust · 26-01-2007, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marek_pk

She is 97 and living in Warsaw.

That is beyond amazing. At least Warsaw is on the right track ecomonically by joining the EU.

09-12-2004, 06:00 PM	#2 (permalink)
Kiwiwriter Very Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Newark, NJ, and Christchurch, NZ Posts: 2,431	I hope she got decorated for her unbelievably heroism by the Polish and Israeli governments...and that they take care of her. __________________ "My intensity is intense." -- Roger Clemens "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." -- Winston Churchill. "I am not a hero. The heroes are all dead. I am a survivor." -- Sgt. William Guarnere, Easy Company, 506th Parachute Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Check out my little contributions to World War II history at my web pages: World War II Plus 55 or http://davidhlippman.wildbillguarnere.com

29-12-2004, 02:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
laufer Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Lublin Posts: 197	Last year she was awarded with Poland's highest non-military distinction, the Order of White Eagle. I don't know anything about any book published in english. __________________ "It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it." Robert E. Lee "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept my faith" 2 Timothy 4:7

05-08-2005, 10:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
Kiwiwriter Very Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Newark, NJ, and Christchurch, NZ Posts: 2,431	Mrs. Sendler She was discussed in our Holocaust Observance in April. That was a tremendous event....the best of the 18 we've had.

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09-12-2004, 11:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
webbhead Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 44	Absolutely fascinating. Has anyone written a book on her?

01-01-2007, 08:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
marek_pk Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Middlesex, UK Posts: 158	Irena Sendler candidate for Nobel Peace prize: http://fzp.jewish.org.pl/nobel_eng.html

01-01-2007, 09:21 PM	#7 (permalink)
Owen Top Moose Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Under the stairs Posts: 9,462	I take it she is still alive? Some great photos on this website. irenasendler.org

06-01-2007, 11:04 PM	#8 (permalink)
Lucy Stag Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 92	Amazing heroine. There are so many stories like that that I only wish were more known in the world. She is a dictionary definition of a hero.

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