Unsung Hero: The Incredible Story of Irena Sendler, Savior of 2,500 Jewish Children

 

Irena Sendler was a Polish social worker who saved more than 2,500 Jewish children

Irena Sendler was a Polish social worker who saved more than 2,500 Jewish children from the Holocaust during World War II. She was part of an underground movement called “Żegota,” founded by Polish activists and Jews to help Jews persecuted by the Nazis.

As a social worker, Sendler had access to ghettos where Jews were forced to live. There, she organized rescue missions by smuggling children out of the ghetto and taking them to safety, hiding them in monasteries, orphanages, and with other families.

Sendler led the children out in small groups, hiding them in suitcases, sacks, and even garbage containers. She took in every child she could, regardless of age, gender, or health status.

Sendler wrote the names of the rescued children on small pieces of paper and buried them in a jar under a tree, hoping they would be found after the war.

In 1943, Sendler was arrested by the Gestapo and tortured for information about the whereabouts of the rescued children. She did not betray them and survived the war. After the war, Sendler dug up the jar of papers to help the families of the rescued children find their loved ones.

Irena Sendler was born on February 15, 1910, in Otwock, a town southeast of Warsaw. Her parents were non-Jewish Poles, but Sendler sympathized with the Jews and their oppression. During World War II, she worked as a social worker and was part of the Polish resistance movement that fought against the Nazis and helped Jews hide.

Sendler led a group of helpers who rescued Jewish children from the ghettos of Warsaw. She smuggled the children out of the ghetto by hiding them in crates, sacks, and other hiding places, then taking them to Polish families or monasteries willing to hide them.

Sendler and her helpers deceived the Nazis with fake documents to ensure the children were registered as Catholics and not recognized as Jews.

Although Sendler was arrested and tortured several times by the Nazis, she refused to reveal the names of the rescued children. In 1943, she was arrested by the Nazis and sentenced to death, but her colleagues were able to bribe the prison guards to smuggle her out.

Sendler continued her work to rescue Jewish children while in hiding.

After the war, Sendler dug up the jar with the names of the rescued children to find their parents. However, she could only find about 400 of the children, most of whom had been separated from their families or killed. Sendler married and had three children.

Sendler received numerous awards for her bravery and dedication. She was named “Righteous Among the Nations” by Israel and received the highest Polish order for her humanitarian work. Irena Sendler died in 2008 at the age of 98, but her legacy lives on and continues to inspire people around the world.

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