A Lady Named Irena

After escape from Pawiak prison, 1943

 There recently was a death of a 98 year old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ulterior motive. She knew what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews. Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of her tool box she carried, and she carried in the back of her truck a Burlap sack, (for larger kids).

 She also had a dog in the back, that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in, and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.


During the course of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, and arms, and beat her severely.

Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out, and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it, and reunited the family. Most of course had been gassed.

Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes, or adopted.
Last year Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.... She lost.

Al Gore won, for doing a slide show on Global Warming.

 -Irena with award: On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Judaica Foundation decided, in recognition of Mrs. Sendler extraordinary courage and human solidarity in the dark night of the Shoah by saving 2,500 human lives from the Warsaw Ghetto, to award her with the Judaica Foundation medal. This award took place in her room on April 16th, 2003.

 Please take the time to read about the Irena Sendler Project. Also, you can learn more about this remarkable unsung hero at  http://www.auschwitz.dk/Sendler.htm.