Irena Sendler: An Angel in Disguise

Children during the Holocaustjewishmag.comImagine being a small Jewish child during the Holocaust, unsure what the next hour held. Fearing of the thought that tomorrow will never come. Hope seems grim until, Irena Sendler rescues children from this situation. Irena Sendler was a Polish social worker who risked her life because she saved more than 2000 children during the time of World War II. She was the head of the children's section of the council for aid to Jews. This opportunity made her know the terrible conditions inside the ghetto and she tried to help the people who suffered there and provided them with their needs. A hero must possess dauntlessness and selflessness. He/She is someone who walks voluntarily into the unknown and always prioritizes other people's needs and does not ask for anything in return. Irena Sendler is considered a hero because of her compassion for other people. She put her life in danger to help those children get away from the horrors of the Holocaust. This courageous act of hers restored faith in humanity. It showed that there was still kindness in society's atrocious ways.

            Sendler has made a huge mark in history when she exhibited heroism by saving those children from the Holocaust. Instead of just sitting back, she stepped right in to helping those children who were on the verge of dying. " Irena Sendler smuggled them out of the Warsaw ghetto and gave them false identities." (Daily Mail ).  Irena made over 3,000 false documents that gave Jewish families new identities, which also stated that they were Gentiles. She risked her life by infiltrating the camp. She smuggled the children out from the ghetto because German authorities began mass deportations wherein Jews would be used as slaves in concentration camps. Sendler suffered great pain when she was captured. "Sendler refused divulgin any information and the Nazis never succeeded in abolishing their organization." (PR Newswire). Irena Sendler joined a Polish resistance movement called "Zegota". Unfortunately, she was arrested and betrayed by Gestapo on October 1943. Despite having been brutally tortured, she never said anything to the Nazis. Because of Sendler's bravery and heroic act, not only did she save the children from the gates of hell, that is the Holocaust; She was able to give them back the right to live in full color.

Irena Sendlerexpress.co.ukSendler was a noble hero by making sure the children she was rescuing had a future ahead of them. She put the children's lives first than her own."Her first act of defiance involved helping Jews and opponents of the Nazi Regime flee to safety." (Newsmakers). Sendler brought in food and medical supplies for the Jews. Her municipal-government pass gave her access to go through heavily armed checkpoints. Irena wanted the children to have a normal life, so she kept information about them and hid it until the war was over. "If you see someone drowning, you must jump in to save them whether you can swim or not." (lowellmilkcenter.org). This was spoken by her father to her when she was only 7 years old. This shows that even when Irena was just a child, she was taught of having compassion for other people. Irena wanted the children to live a protected and ordinary life because during those times if a Nazi found out that they were a Jew they would be shot on the spot or they would be sent to concentration camps, either of which will get them killed. Despite the difficult situation their country was in, Irena still wanted to evacuate those children from the Holocaust, no matter what the cost.

            Her boldness to unchain the children from the Holocaust shows her empathy for them. This deed showed that the world can still be a better place, if there is love, kindness, and humility.  According to Mahatma Gandhi, " Bravery is not a quality of the body. It is of the soul." The bravery and kindness of Irena Sendler in that devastating situation gave people, specially Jewish children, the hope to get a glimpse of a brighter tomorrow.  She was a selfless person who put herself in other people's shoes to see where they were coming from. Irena entered into a situation that was life-threatening yet she was still committed to helping the Jews.

The savior of Warsawirenasendler.org            We think of Irena Sendler like we think of someone we owe our life to. Her act of courageousness served as a beacon of light to the world, and it brought hope in restoring the benevolence in mankind. As Irena Sendler once said,  "People can only be divided into good or bad; Their race, religion, nationality don't matter."

Works Cited

"Irena Sendler." Newsmakers, vol. 2, Gale, 2009. Biography In Context,             https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1618004894/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=10e a57c4. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018. 

  “Meet Unsung Hero Irena Sendler.” Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, 11 June 2014,             lowellmilkencenter.org/irena-sendler/.                                            

"PBS Premieres Unknown WWII Story of Polish Catholic Women Who Risked Their Lives to    Save Thousands of Jewish Children." PR Newswire, 28 Apr. 2011. Biography In Context,             https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A255008022/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=55e8 b71a. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018.                  

 "Saviour of 2,500 children dies at 98." Daily Mail [London, England], 13 May 2008, p. 37.         Biography In Context,      https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A178961887/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=04a7 749a. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018.