Poland honors woman who saved 2,500 Jews

[sabra]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17607715/

Poland honors woman who saved 2,500 Jews
Sendler, 97, was tortured by Nazis, but refused to disclose children's names

WARSAW, Poland - A 97-year-old woman credited with saving 2,500 Jews during the Holocaust was honored by parliament Wednesday at a ceremony during which Poland's president said she deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Irena Sendler, who lives in a nursing home in Warsaw, was too frail to attend the special session in which members of the Senate unanimously approved a resolution honoring her and the Polish underground Council for Assisting Jews.

The group's members, mostly Roman Catholics, risked their own lives to save Jews from the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Sendler was cited for organizing the "rescue of the most defenseless victims of the Nazi ideology — the Jewish children."

[LeftishBrit]

1. That is an inspiring story

What a wonderful woman, and so glad that she is being honoured when still alive.

[Sequoia]

2. Thanks.

I wish it were more detailed. Wonder if any of the children are still around to give their side of the story.

[Behind the Aegis]

5. Life in a Jar -- The Irena Sendler Project

Protestant kids from rural Kansas, discover a Polish Catholic woman, who saved Jewish children. Irena Sendler and students from Uniontown, Kansas, they both have chosen to repair the world (Tikkun Olam).

Thank you for visiting irenasendler.org, the website honoring Irena Sendler, the project, 'Life in a Jar,' and projects teaching respect of all people, from Uniontown High School in Kansas. Read on and use the many headings and subheadings in the upper left corner, plus the four headings at the top, to learn more about the powerful story of Irena Sendler, Holocaust heroine, who saved 2,500 children in the Warsaw Ghetto and the Kansas students who re-discovered her. The courageous and beautiful story of Irena Sendler is told below.

Students from rural Kansas, discover a Catholic woman, who saved Jewish children. Few had heard of Irena Sendlerowa in 1999, now after 202 presentations of Life in a Jar, a web site with huge usage and world-wide media attention, Irena is known to the world. How did this beautiful story develop? Read below for the answers.

In the fall of 1999, Mr. Conard encouraged four students to work on a year long National History Day project which would among other things; extend the boundaries of the classroom to families in the community, contribute to history learning, teach respect and tolerance, and meet our classroom motto, “He who changes one person, changes the world entire."

more...

Irena Sendler -- An Unsung Heroine (has some pop-ups)

[Sequoia]

8. Great. Thank you!

[Behind the Aegis]

11. Here is something about two of the children she saved...

Renata Zajdman and Elzbieta Ficowska - Child Survivors
Both Renata and Elzbieta were 'Hidden Children.' Renata survived in the streets of Warsaw until rescued and Bieta was taken out of the Warsaw Ghetto in a carpenter’s box at five months of age by Irena and the Underground Zegota. Bieta had a silver spoon put in the carpenter’s box by her parents, with her first name and birthdate. Bieta is active in care for Irena and both have visited Kansas and participated in ‘Life in a Jar’ presentations. Renata lives in Montreal and Bieta in Warsaw. Bieta is the President of the Children's Survivor group in Poland and recently presented Holocaust studies to over 200 high schools in Poland. Bieta works to bring tolerance studies to schools throughout the country. She recently helped Irena plan the schedule for the Life in a Jar trip to Poland.

http://www.irenasendler.org/team.asp

[krispos42]

3. K&R

Under torture, too.

Irena Sendler, I salute you

[noonwitch]

4. Cool, but I always wonder how they did it

the article is short on details. I always wonder how they saved them, whether they had a secret room (like Anne Frank's family, or the ten Boom family)or fake id, or whatever. I like to read about people who use ingenuity to beat evil.

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Here is some info on how...

Irena Sendler, who wore a star armband as a sign of her solidarity to Jews, began smuggling children out in an ambulance. She recruited at least one person from each of the ten centers of the Social Welfare Department.

With their help, she issued hundreds of false documents with forged signatures. Irena Sendler successfully smuggled almost 2,500 Jewish children to safety and gave them temporary new identities.

Some children were taken out in gunnysacks or body bags. Some were buried inside loads of goods. A mechanic took a baby out in his toolbox. Some kids were carried out in potato sacks, others were placed in coffins, some entered a church in the Ghetto which had two entrances. One entrance opened into the Ghetto, the other opened into the Aryan side of Warsaw. They entered the church as Jews and exited as Christians. "`Can you guarantee they will live?'" Irena later recalled the distraught parents asking. But she could only guarantee they would die if they stayed. "In my dreams," she said, "I still hear the cries when they left their parents."

more... (has pop-ups)

[roguevalley]

7. few could say they counted so much when the counting mattered.

Salute, Righteous Gentile. Your honor is forever.

[BluePatriot]

9. Thank you!

My heritage is that of Polish immigrants and I have never heard this story. I plan to share this with my family. (Makes me proud of my un-spellable maiden name again...sigh...miss it...)

[Hunky Dunky]

10. Terrific Story, Terrific Lady!

[mitchtv]

12. Yeah, in the next breath

they will be dumping human feces on Gay citizens. Pardon me if anything the Poles do fails to impress me. Oh yeah, secret prisons anyone?

[nodehopper]

13. yes, because all Poles are alike

just like all Jews are alike--they control the media, are good with money, and are subhuman. To the camps with them!

[mitchtv]

15. Polish Government that honors a hero

Is that the same one persecuting Gays. Nothing to do with Jews. Don't even try to make it about that.

[nodehopper]

16. you said

and I quote"Pardon me if anything the Poles do fails to impress me"

you did not say "The Polish Government"

[mitchtv]

18. you are right, I should have said:

"Anything Poland does", or "Polish Gov't" . Sorry, what I said , and what I meant do not agree.

[nodehopper]

20. ok, then I totally see your point, if it's the gov't you are talking about.

[mitchtv]

21. yes, and I see it as my job to rain on any parade of good press

that they may have.a neanderthal regime.

[nodehopper]

14. oh, and all americans are like the people who killed Matthew Shepard and

also approve of torture, like Rumsfeld and Gonzalez.

Hasn't your mother taught you--if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?

[mitchtv]

17. who said all Poles?

The Polish legislature is due plenty of scorn and cynicism. As for niceties, Poland will get little good press from me while they continue to be a rubber stamp for the RC church, and their minions

[struggle4progress]

19. Irena Sendler (Yad Vashem)

... Employed in the social welfare department of the Warsaw municipality, she received a special permit allowing her to visit the ghetto area at all times, ostensibly for the purpose of combating contagious diseases ... When walking through the ghetto streets, Sendler wore an armband with the Star of David, both as a sign of solidarity .. and so as not to call attention to herself.

... Irena Sendler specialized in smuggling Jewish children out of the ghetto and finding secure places for them with non-Jewish families in the Warsaw region. Each of her coworkers was made responsible for several blocks of apartments where Jewish children were sheltered. She herself oversaw eight or ten apartments where Jews were hiding under her care ...

In October 1943, Irena Sendler was arrested by the Gestapo, taken to the infamous Pawiak prison, and brutally tortured to make her reveal information. Failing to elicit such information, her interrogators told her she was doomed. However, on the day set for her execution, she was freed, after her underground companions bribed one of the Gestapo agents. Officially, she was listed on public bulletin boards as among those executed ...

http://www1.yadvashem.org/righteous/bycountry/poland/irena_sendlar.html