Irena Sendler was born in Warsaw on February 15, 1910. Her father taught her many things, but she learned his main lesson for the rest of her life: always help those in need.When anti-Semitic sentiments swept Europe, Irena, despite the fact that she was an ardent Catholic, continued to help Jewish families, just as she helped everyone else.
After Poland was occupied in 1939, the Nazis created the Warsaw Ghetto, where all Jewish families were sent. It’s hard to imagine all the horrors of that time.Irena, struck by the unbearable living conditions in the ghetto, decided to join the Jewish Aid Society. When the situation worsened, the woman realized that it was necessary to take drastic measures, even if she had to risk her life for this.
Together with collaborators, she began to secretly help Jewish children escape from the ghetto, in which they were, without a doubt, waiting for death. Children were sent to orphanages or adopted.Although Irena acted out of good intentions, not all Jewish women were willing to give their children into the custody of a stranger. At that time, no one could have foreseen that the situation would worsen and most families would inevitably die in concentration camps.
Since the Nazis kept the ghetto under strict security, Irena had to resort to various tricks to get the children out of it.Most often, she hid them in ambulances that took out seriously ill patients, but when supervision intensified, she had to hide them in bags, trash cans and even coffins.Of all the children, she remembered little Yelzuniya the most. Irena saved this 5-month-old baby by putting her in a wooden box hidden between bricks. The only memento that the parents passed along with this child was a silver spoon that the mother hid in diapers.Most often, she hid them in ambulances that took out seriously ill patients, but when supervision intensified, she had to hide them in bags, trash cans and even coffins.Of all the children, she remembered little Yelzuniya the most. Irena saved this 5-month-old baby by putting her in a wooden box hidden between bricks. The only memento that the parents passed along with this child was a silver spoon that the mother hid in diapers. Irena managed to save more than 2,500 children from certain death. She kept all the information about their whereabouts in a tin can hidden in a neighbor’s garden.
Her plan worked fine until one day the Germans revealed it. Irena was sent to prison and brutally tortured. Despite the unbearable pain, torture and humiliation, the woman persevered and did not give out information about the whereabouts of the children.
In the end, the Nazis surrendered and sentenced her to death. But fate had other plans for this woman. Caring people bribed a soldier who helped her escape. From then until her death, she lived under an assumed name, but never stopped helping others. After the war, Irena dug up tins with records of children and handed them over to the committee for the search for Jewish survivors.
She got married, had three children and lived a happy life, knowing that she had done everything right. «The reason I saved children goes back to my childhood,» says Irena. «I was brought up with the belief that a person in need needs help, regardless of his nationality or religion.»
In 2007, Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and a year later, at the age of 98, the woman died. She fought for truth and justice, and her contribution to world history is truly priceless. This nurse with a heart of gold proved to the whole world that you can be brave and defend your ideals even in the most difficult times.