During World War II, under the code name Jolanta, Irena Sendler organized the rescue of approximately 2,500 Jewish children, several of whom she personally led out of the Warsaw ghetto. Her heroism should not be forgotten.
The Paradox of Human Nature: Remembering Heroes in Dark Times
It is a remarkable paradox of our own nature that we tend to remember the worst of the worst from the dark periods of human history, rather than those who stood up to evil. Try it yourself—on one hand, mentally list the Nazi criminals, and on the other hand, weigh them against the brave souls who, in the same era, said “no” to evil.
I believe that writing about evil, studying it, and remembering it is necessary. However, it is equally essential not to forget the bright side of history. Focusing too much on the darkness of human actions only draws that darkness in. So today, I want to share a story from the brighter side—a story you’ve likely never heard.
It is the story of Irena Sendler, a quiet, brave, and humble woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children during the war. A woman whose heroism and selflessness the world would not learn about for another fifty years.
Life Before the War
Irena Stanisława Sendler was born on February 15, 1910, in Warsaw to Dr. Stanisław Henryk Krzyżanowski and his wife, Janina Karolina (née Grzybowska).
She grew up in Otwock, a town about 24 kilometers southeast of Warsaw, which had a significant Jewish community. Her father, a devout Christian, was a kind-hearted physician who treated the poor for free, including Jews. During the typhus epidemic in 1917, Dr. Krzyżanowski contracted the disease from his patients and passed away at the age of 42.
Given the future events, it’s clear that the strong moral foundation of her family, as well as her father’s life, faith, and beliefs, had a profound influence on Irena.
In 1927, Irena began studying law and later Polish literature at Warsaw University. Even then, she opposed discrimination. She protested against the “ghetto benches” system—a form of official segregation practiced in many Polish universities in the 1930s—and defaced her student card to remove the “non-Jewish” designation.
Her activism and reputation as a communist and philosemite led to academic disciplinary actions. Though she completed her thesis, she did not pass her final exams before the outbreak of WWII. She was repeatedly denied employment in Warsaw’s educational sector due to negative references from the university, which branded her as having radical left-wing views.
Eventually, Irena found work in a legal advisory office and a social welfare section, focusing on helping mothers and children. She worked mainly in the field, traversing Warsaw’s poor districts, aiding primarily defenseless, socially vulnerable women. In 1931, she married Mieczysław Sendler. Then, the war began.
War and the Birth of a Heroine
In 1939, Irena’s husband was mobilized into the army and soon after captured by the Germans. She wouldn’t see him again for six years, until 1945. Yet, this personal loss didn’t stop her.
During the war, she became a member of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) and began secretly helping anyone in need, just as her father had done. Shortly after the German invasion on September 1, 1939, the German authorities ordered the removal of Jews from the city’s social welfare department where Irena worked. The department was also prohibited from providing any assistance to Jewish citizens of Warsaw. Irena, along with her PPS colleagues, began secretly helping wounded and ill Polish soldiers.
On her own initiative, she began falsifying medical documents to help Jewish families who were now denied any official aid. This activity carried extreme risk because, starting in October 1941, any assistance to Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland was punishable by death—not only for the helper but for their entire family or household.
Irena also acted as a liaison, guiding activists to secret meetings. She participated in the clandestine life of the Warsaw ghetto and wore a Star of David as a symbol of solidarity with the Jewish people.
Rescuing Jewish Children from the Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto initially seemed like a functioning community and, for many Jews, appeared to be the safest available option for them and their children. However, surviving outside the ghetto was only possible for those with access to financial resources.
After the Germans sealed the ghetto in November 1940, Irena continued to enter it as a nurse, smuggling in medicine and food. She was known only as “Sister Jolanta,” her alias.
In July 1942, when the Germans began the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto and the subsequent extermination of its inhabitants, Irena and her collaborators worked to rescue as many children as possible. They used various methods—smuggling children through underground passages, hiding infants in shoe boxes, or sedating older children and transporting them in ambulances or hearses.
Jewish children were then placed under false identities in orphanages and convents.
Arrest by the Gestapo and Liberation
On October 18, 1943, the Gestapo arrested Irena. During the search of her house, she handed over lists of rescued children to her friend, Janina Grabowska, who hid them in her clothes. Irena was brutally beaten by the Gestapo but refused to reveal any names.
After further interrogations, Irena was sentenced to execution. However, Żegota activists bribed the German guards, and on the way to her execution, Irena was freed.
End of the War and Beyond
After the war, Irena reunited with her husband, but they divorced a year later. She later married Stefan Zgrzembski, a Jewish friend and fellow resistance fighter, with whom she had three children. After 30 more years of social work, she passed away on May 12, 2008, at the age of 98.
The World Discovers a Heroine
Irena’s story remained largely unknown until 1999 when high school students in Uniontown, Kansas, researched her life and created a play, Life in a Jar, which gained widespread recognition and brought Irena’s heroism to light.
In Conclusion
Despite constant danger, Irena never wavered in her commitment. Her silence under torture wasn’t weakness but rather a testament to her unyielding resolve to protect the children she had saved.
“Every child saved with my help is a justification of my existence on this earth, and not a title to glory.” – Irena Sendler
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