Irena Sendler

(en.wikipedia.org)

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." This quote from Mahatma Gandhi perfectly describes Irena Sendler. She was a woman in her twenties with a daughter and a job as a healthcare worker who spent her free time saving children. As an unknown savior of over 2,500, Irena Sendler became a beacon of hope to Jewish children. Irena lived in Warsaw Poland and was a social worker when the Nazis came into Warsaw and started putting all the Jews in ghettos. Irena Sendler joined the Council of Aid for Jewish and got a job that let her into the ghettos without raising suspicion. Not only did Irena risk her life everyday, she refused to betray those she helped.

Irena was valiant in the face of danger; she took action when everyone else hid away. Sendler saw the atrocities the Nazis committed, and instead of hoping something would change, she took up action: "Irena Sendler, a petite social worker, was not yet thirty years old when Nazi tanks rolled into Warsaw in September of 1939. When the city's Jews were imprisoned behind a ghetto wall without food or medicine...[she] smuggled aid in and smuggled Jewish orphans out of the ghetto by hiding infants on trams and garbage wagons and leading older children out through secret passageways and the city's sewers" (Irena Sendler: In the Name of Their Mothers). This quote helps illustrate how astonishing a feat Sendler pulled off. Not only did she give aid to those in need, but also helped free children from the horrid conditions in the ghetto. However the quote is unrevealing as to how dangerous helping the Jews was. Poland was terrifying for Jews, and their saviors, "The city was crawling with ruthless blackmailers, and the Gestapo were constantly on the look out for Jews who had escaped from the ghetto" (Irena Sendler: In the Name of Their Mothers). If anyone tried to help the Jews they would be severely punished. The world regressed to the dark ages, but Irena radiated optimism. Not only did she rescue thousands of children from death, she also protected their identities.

(www.irenasendler.org)

Irena Sendler never gave up the hope she carried, and never betrayed those who she helped. Irena faced danger and even her own death but remained firm, "the Nazis became aware of Irena's activities, and on October 20, 1943 she was arrested, imprisoned and tortured by the Gestapo, who broke her feet and legs. She ended up in the Pawiak Prison, but no one could break her spirit. Though she was the only one who knew the names and addresses of the families sheltering the Jewish children, she withstood the torture, refusing to betray either her associates or any of the Jewish children in hiding" (Jewish Virtual Library). This excerpt tells of how brave, and loyal she was to those in need. Irena endured brutal torture but never gave in. After she escaped within an inch of her life other people were still in danger and dying. So Irena, despite most people's tendencies, continued to risk her life to save others: "After her release in February 1944, even though she knew that the authorities were keeping an eye on her, Sendler continued her underground activities. Because of the danger she had to go into hiding. The necessities of her clandestine life prevented her from attending her mother's funeral" (The Righteous Among The Nations). No one could stop Irena, she lived a life full of danger, so that others could live.

Irena Sendler became a hero to thousands of Jewish children, by finding a way into the ghettos, and taking them out; risking her life and almost losing it wasn't enough to deter her. Irena would have rather died than betray those she saved. Sendler also gave up her peaceful suburban life to help others, never asking for anything in return. Sender knew what was happening was wrong, so she took action; truly becoming the change she wanted to make. There are many horrible, and inexcusable things in this world, however most are content to walk by with their heads down. Irena held her head high, stared straight at the problem and went to work fixing it. If one does nothing to help, and just ignores the wrongs of humanity, then they are part of the problem. Irena is a person I aspire to be, and want others to look up to.

(www.yadvashem.org)

Works Cited

"Irena Sendler - Smuggling Children out of the Ghetto." Irena Sendler - The Righteous Among The Nations - Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem, 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. .

"Irena Sendler: In the Name of Their Mothers." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. .

"Irena Sendler." Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. .