A Heroine of Humanity
Irena Sendler
There is a term, "Sendler's strategy," which can be loosely described as the utilization of false self-description or other symbolic misrepresentation is combined with outwardly erroneous behaviors. This includes displaying apparent cooperation with moral wrongs or evils, aimed at undermining, outmaneuvering, and ultimately defeating them, while simultaneously bolstering the marginalized, impoverished, and needy, and rescuing their victims. It is akin to adopting the role of a noble warrior of illusions. Irena Sendler epitomizes this strategic approach. Her collaboration with the Nazis on minor matters served as a facade for her true heroic endeavors: rescuing individuals from unparalleled brutality. She adeptly harnessed the permits and resources of the Nazi institution to work against it, ultimately using its mechanisms to save lives and combat injustice.
Irena Sendler, a name that resonates with courage, compassion, and selflessness, stands as a beacon of hope in one of the darkest chapters of human history. Born on February 15, 1910, in Otwock, Poland, to Stanisław Henryk Krzyżanowski, a physician, and Janina Karolina (née Grzybowska), she was baptized as Irena Stanisława on February 2, 1917, in Otwock. Sendler spent her early years in Otwock, a town situated approximately 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Warsaw, where a Jewish community resided. She was no stranger to social justice and humanitarianism, having watched her father provide medical care to the impoverished, including Jews, without charge. Tragically, he succumbed to typhus in February 1917, contracted from his patients. Following his passing, the Jewish community offered financial support to Sendler's mother, Janina Krzyżanowska, who respectfully declined. Irena often expressed the values instilled in her upbringing, stating, "When a person is drowning, you ought to give them a hand."
Influenced by her upbringing, Sendler developed a strong sense of empathy and a deep-seated belief in the inherent dignity of every human being. During her time at the University of Warsaw, where she pursued studies in law and Polish studies, Irena Sendler courageously spoke out against the discrimination faced by Jewish students in the late 1930s. She actively defended her colleagues who were targeted by nationalist military factions. Additionally, Sendler was a member of the leftist Union of Polish Democratic Youth, aligning herself with progressive ideals and advocating for social justice. Sendler's education in Warsaw focused on social work and humanitarian aid, laying the foundation for her future endeavors. Her studies provided her with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the complex social and political landscape of wartime Poland and to confront the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazi regime.
In the early 1930s, Irena entered matrimony and commenced her professional journey by joining the legal department of the Mother and Child Assistance Division at the Free Polish University [Wolna Wszechnica Polska]. Sendler became affiliated with the social and educational initiatives of the University, where she encountered and was influenced by activists associated with the underground Communist Party of Poland. Sendler was part of a team of social workers led by Professor Helena Radlińska, a group that included a dozen or more women who would later participate in the rescue of Jews. Through her social work and on-site interviews, Sendler vividly recalled numerous instances of severe poverty within the Jewish community of Warsaw.
Starting in 1935, she served as a social worker at the Warsaw Department of Social Welfare and Public Health. Her focus was primarily on aiding young women and homeless single mothers. She provided them with support and guidance, offering instruction on topics such as preventing venereal diseases and unwanted pregnancies. In 1934, she authored two publications addressing the plight of unmarried mothers and their children. However, in 1935, the government disbanded the division. Several of its members, including Sendler, transitioned to roles within the City of Warsaw, working in the Department of Social Welfare and Public Health.
Her experiences during World War I, witnessing the suffering and devastation wrought by conflict, further fueled her determination to make a difference in the world. When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, at the onset of World War II, Irena Sendler was 29 years old. Despite the German occupation, the department persisted in its mission to support the significant population of impoverished and displaced individuals within the city. Witnessing firsthand the brutal consequences of Nazi occupation and determined to resist tyranny and oppression, she joined the underground resistance movement. Irena utilized her position to aid the Jewish population, but this became increasingly challenging after the ghetto's sealing in November 1940. Approximately 400,000 individuals were confined to the cramped space designated for the ghetto, leading to deteriorating conditions. The overcrowded environment, coupled with inadequate hygiene, food shortages, and limited medical provisions, contributed to widespread epidemics and elevated mortality rates.
The horrific extent of the genocide, characterized by its sudden and devastating impact, spurred the formation of the Council for Aid to Jews , Zegota, an underground organization dedicated to aiding Jews. Irena joined their ranks, adopting the alias "Jolanda," and bravely ventured into the ghettos to save lives amidst the prevailing death, emerging as one of its prominent advocates. Following the deportation of 280,000 Jews from Warsaw to Treblinka, the Council commenced its operations towards the year's end. By this time, the majority of Warsaw's Jewish population had perished. Nonetheless, the organization played a pivotal role in rescuing numerous survivors of the mass deportations. Zegota provided support to thousands of Jews seeking refuge in hiding, facilitating their concealment, and covering expenses for their sustenance and medical needs. She provided assistance to families, resorting to registering them under fictitious Catholic names or as carriers of contagious diseases to evade detection during inspections. The anguish within the ghettos was palpable, as described: "The color of the ghetto is the color of the paper covering the corpses lying on the streets before they are taken away." She recognized the urgency of rescuing Jewish children from the ghetto to spare them from their seemingly inevitable fate. Driven by a profound sense of duty to those in need, she assembled a team of collaborators and embarked on a mission to rescue a significant number of individuals.
She reached out to each imprisoned Jewish family, extending offers to rescue their children, with the sole assurance that they would not perish in the confines of the ghetto. Operating under the guise of providing humanitarian aid, she organized a network of volunteers, including fellow social workers, nurses, and sympathetic individuals, to smuggle Jewish children to safety. Irena successfully facilitated the liberation of over 2500 children, concealing them in various makeshift containers such as trash bags, luggage, toolboxes, coffins, and even ambulances.
Sendler's involvement in the resistance placed her in constant danger. Irena and her team operated clandestinely, using forged documents and secret passageways to facilitate the escape of Jewish children from almost certain death. This endeavor was undertaken amidst significant peril, as any form of aid extended to Jews in German-occupied Poland, since October 1941, was met with the penalty of death. This punishment extended not only to the individual offering assistance but also to their entire family or household. But in spite of the constant threat of discovery and betrayal looming over her head, Sendler remained undeterred, driven by an unwavering commitment to saving lives and preserving the innocence of childhood.
Two primary routes were utilized to clandestinely transport the children out of the ghetto, passing through two structures situated on the border between the Ghetto and the remainder of Warsaw. One of these buildings served as an old courthouse, while the other was a church. Children who were old enough to be familiar with basic Catholic prayers would be discreetly guided into the church from the Jewish side. Once inside, they would shed their yellow stars and adopt their new identities as Polish Catholic youngsters. Exiting through the church's main entrance, which was guarded by Nazi soldiers who scrutinized those leaving, posed a significant risk. The Nazis employed various tactics to apprehend Jews attempting to escape in this manner. However, Irena and her associates meticulously trained the children, ensuring they were never intercepted while exiting the church with Jewish youngsters.
Due to their age, however, the younger children couldn't be rescued using this method. Instead, Irena resorted to various methods to transport them out of the Ghetto safely. She often placed them in gunny sacks or toolboxes and carried them discreetly. Alternatively, she would hide them under potatoes in a cart or conceal them in a coffin on occasion. Sometimes, she legally transported seriously ill children out of the Ghetto using an ambulance, which was also used to hide healthy children. She received assistance from the ambulance driver and a dog. If the children started to whimper, risking detection, she would tap her dog's paw, prompting him to bark. This would cause chaos among the Nazis' dogs, leading to confusion. In the ensuing chaos, the Nazis would allow her to pass without further scrutiny. Among these children was six-month-old Elzbieta Ficowska, who was clandestinely transported to freedom in a wooden box, punctured with air holes, concealed amidst a load of bricks, and administered sedatives to avoid detection. Presently, Elzbieta Ficowska leads the Association of the Children of the Holocaust.
Upon reaching the other side, she would escort the children to the residence of her friends, the Piotrowski family, where they could change their attire and find respite after their perilous journey. The children underwent Christian baptisms, with Irena meticulously inscribing each child's new name on slips of paper. She would clandestinely bury her lists in jars under an apple tree in their backyard. Her intention was for the children to eventually reunite with their true identities, offering them a semblance of solace and alleviating some of their suffering. Situated across the street from a German barrack, the Piotrowskis provided a secure refuge. Additionally, the children would sometimes seek shelter at the home of another friend, Maria Kukulska, until they could be safely relocated to their wartime sanctuary. Jan Dobraczyński, the head of the Social Welfare Department, authorized false referrals. His valuable connections with the directors of these facilities were instrumental in this process.
The team she led comprised of twenty-four women and one man, undertook significant risks. Among them were ten individuals who took turns accompanying her into the Ghetto. However, it was Irena herself who ventured into the Ghetto each day for eighteen months, emerging each time with a child. Her life was continuously jeopardized by these daring acts. Eventually, the Nazis grew suspicious of her activities. Despite changing her address multiple times, Irena persisted in her mission. In September 1943, following the complete destruction of the Warsaw ghetto, Sendler assumed the role of director of Zegota’s Department for the Care of Jewish Children. Sendler utilized her connections with orphanages and facilities for abandoned children to relocate Jewish children there. Many of these children found sanctuary at the Rodzina Marii (Family of Mary) Orphanage in Warsaw, as well as religious institutions managed by nuns in nearby Chotomów and Turkowice, near Lublin. The precise number of children rescued by Sendler and her collaborators remains undocumented.
However, the Third Reich escalated its oppression in Poland, leading to a harrowing ordeal for Irena. Tragically, Irena was apprehended by the Germans on October 20, 1943, just five months following the obliteration of the Warsaw Ghetto, when an informant revealed her whereabouts. She was almost caught with one of her lists of names, when the Gestapo surprised her with a sudden search of her home. She was saved by the sheer presence of mind of one of her team members, who hid it in her underwear. Subsequently, Irena endured days of torture and beatings, resulting in a fractured leg and foot. Despite the agony, she remained resolute, steadfastly refusing to disclose the hiding places of the children or divulge any information about fellow Resistance members. Initially slated for execution, her impending fate was intercepted when Zegota members intervened, bribing a guard to release her in the forest. There, she was discovered and rescued. In a twist of fate, Irena's name appeared on public lists of individuals executed by the Gestapo, compelling her to remain in hiding for the duration of the war.
By the end of the war, Irena Sendler had played a pivotal role in rescuing over 2,500 Jewish children from the horrors of the Holocaust, earning her the enduring gratitude of survivors and the admiration of people around the world. Yet, her heroic efforts remained largely unrecognized for decades, overshadowed by the enormity of the Holocaust and the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime.
Following the war, she dedicated herself to locating the children and facilitating reunions with their surviving relatives. Unfortunately, the majority of the children had become orphans by that time. Duplicate copies of the lists were distributed to Zegota officers, who assisted Irena in her search efforts, yet few relatives were ever located. Tragically, only one percent of the Jewish population from the Warsaw Ghetto managed to survive the war.
Irena was labeled subversive by the Communist regime in Poland due to her involvement with Zegota, resulting in her being relatively obscure and underappreciated, except by the survivors she had helped. However, the children she rescued maintained close contact with her over the years. For many, such as Elzbieta, Irena became a maternal figure, and they would visit her regularly. They often sought her counsel and affection, turning to her for guidance and the comforting presence of a parent.
It was not until the turn of the 21st century that Sendler's remarkable story began to receive the recognition it deserved. In 1999, four high school students from Kansas, inspired by Sendler's courage and compassion, embarked on a research project that would bring her extraordinary deeds to light. Their efforts culminated in a play entitled "Life in a Jar," which celebrated Sendler's legacy and sparked renewed interest in her life and work.
Due to their dedication in raising awareness about Irena’s endeavors, she received numerous accolades, including Poland’s highest honor, the Order of the White Eagle. In 2003, she was honored with the Jan Karski Award for Valor and Courage, nominated by students, Norman Conrad, and Stefanie Seltzer, president of the World Federation of Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust. In 2007, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, honoring her selfless dedication to saving lives and her unwavering commitment to justice and human rights. Additionally, in April 2009, the Audrey Hepburn Foundation posthumously bestowed upon her its Humanitarian Award.
Although she passed away on May 12, 2008, at the age of 98, Sendler's legacy continues to inspire future generations to stand up against injustice and to strive for a world where compassion triumphs over hatred and intolerance. Her life and achievements have been honored through various means. She is honored as the namesake of streets, avenues, squares, schools, and awards, while her likeness is depicted on murals, coins, and postage stamps. These tributes are organized by both governmental bodies and grassroots initiatives alike.
Irena Sendler's life is a testament to the power of courage, compassion, and resilience in the face of adversity. Through her extraordinary acts of bravery and selflessness, she defied the forces of hatred and oppression, leaving an indelible mark on history and inspiring countless individuals to make a difference in the world. As we reflect on Sendler's remarkable legacy, let us honor her memory by renewing our commitment to standing up against injustice and upholding the values of compassion, empathy, and solidarity. In the words of Irena Sendler herself, "Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory."
References:
Bilvao, L. P. P. (2012). Irena Sendler. A nurse example of love of freedom. Investigación Y Educación En Enfermería, 30(2). https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iee.10656
Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, August 17). Irena Sendler. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irena_Sendler
Irena Sendler. (n.d.). Google Arts & Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/irena-sendler-the-museum-of-the-history-of-polish-jews-jewish-museum-warsaw/zgWx_XNxPh8dLQ?hl=en
Irena Sendler. (n.d.). Sendler.html. https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/sendler.html
Chabad.org. (2009, July 11). Irena Sendler - Rescuer of the Children of Warsaw. @Chabad. https://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/939081/jewish/Irena-Sendler.htm
