Irena Sendler. Does the name ring a bell? No, not Irene Adler from Sherlock Holmes, who due to the most recent adaptions of the movie and BBC series has become just about as infamous as Sherlock himself. Irena Sendler was a name that I had not heard about either until I came across this "pin" on Pinterest, a year or more ago.
I instantly pinned the pin and would occasionally think of this little known woman who had done such an amazing thing in her life. Here was a "real women with power". I have done a bit more research on Irena, and I believe that a few of the facts on this pin are incorrect, as far as her occupation, etc. These little inaccuracies do not make her story any less amazing or her any less powerful. The story of who she was "rediscovered" is in and of itself a great process.
Life in a Jar is the official website of a project that has helped share Irena Sendler's life with the world and in so many ways have changed the lives of thousands more, even after her life has ended. 16 years ago three high schools students from Kansas were helped by their teacher to undertake a project that would last the entire year. The website explains it as a, "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.'" After seeing a cut out of a News and World report from five years prior that briefly mentioned Irena, the young women set out on a journey of discovery of Irena.
Among other things, they discovered that Irena was a young Protestant or Catholic (I believe) social worker during the Nazi regime. She was able to gain access to the Warsaw Ghetto, where Jewish families lived and many ultimately were sent to the death camps, and essentially talked these desperate Jewish families into given up their children in hopes of their survival. She then sneaked these children out the Ghetto, and was able to adopt them into families or hide them in orphanages and convents in Poland. She and the people she worked with kept a coded list of the real names of the children, as their names had to be changed to protect their Jewish identity, and hoped that one day they would be able to find these children and reveal to them their heritage that had to be hidden for their safety.
After several years Irena was captured and by the Nazis and beaten to such an extent that both of her legs were broken. Eventually the Polish underground was able to bribe a guard and get her to safety and into hiding.
After WWII Irena Sendler was branded a fascist by the Communists and for many years her story was mostly hidden. It is amazing to be that this woman, along with several others rescued 2,500 children during such a horrible period, and yet hers is not a name that is known. I have always felt that while there is so much darkness and ugliness in the world and we should be aware of it, there is just as much, if not more light, but it is not those things we celebrate.
My summary about Irena Sendler was very brief, and there is much more information out there. I strongly urge you to go to Life In A Jar which is about the project that the young women who "rediscovered" Irena have continued working on. Her story was turned into a play, there is now a book, as well as a movie. Almost two dozen colleges and universities are now using her letters and other documents as part of the curriculum. "He who changes one person, changes the world entire."
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