AN ERA IN TIME: IRENA SENDLER

A War Heroine
Irena Sendler
Irena Sendler, also referred to as Irena Sendlerowa in Poland, nom de guerre "Jolanta", was a Polish nurse, humanitarian, and social worker who served in the Polish Underground during World War Two in German-occupied Warsaw, and was head of the children's section of Zegota, the Polish Council to Aid Jews, which was active from 1942-1945. (All information is from Wikipedia)
Assisted by some two dozen other Zegota members, Irena smuggled approximately 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto and then provided them with false identity documents and shelter, outside the Ghetto, saving those children from the Holocaust.
The German occupiers eventually discovered her activities, and she was arrested by the Gestapo, tortured and sentenced to death, but managed to evade execution and survive the war.

Irena was born Irena Krzyzanowska on 15th February, 1910, in Warsaw. Her father was a physician who treated the very poor free of charge, including Jews. Irena grew up on Otwock, where there was a vibrant Jewish community. She studied Polish literature at Warsaw university, and joined the Polish Socialist Party. Irena married Mieczyslaw Sendler in 1931.
Irena moved to Warsaw prior to the outbreak of Wold War Two, and worked for municipal Social Welfare Departments. She began aiding Jews soon after the German invasion in 1939, by leading a group of co-workers who created more than 3,000 false documents to help Jewish families. This was done at huge risk to the person and their family as giving any assistance given to Jews in German-occupied Poland was punishable by death.

In August 1943, Irena, by then known by her nom de guerre Jolanta, was nominated by the Zegota (the underground organization also known as the Council to Aid Jews) to head its Jewish Children's Section. As an employee of the Social Welfare Department, Irena had a special permit to enter the Warsaw Ghetto to check for signs of typhus (a disease the Germans feared would spread beyond the Ghetto). Irena wore a Star of David as a sign of solidarity with the Jewish people during these visits. During this time, Irena and her co-workers smuggled out babies and small children, sometimes in ambulances and trams, sometimes hiding them in packages and suitcases, and using various other means.

The Jewish children were placed with Christian Polish families and were given Christian names and taught Christian prayers in case they were tested. "Sendler was determined to prevent the children from losing their Jewish indentities, and kept careful documentation listing the children's fake Christian names, their given names, and their current locations." These lists were buried in jars. The aim was to return the children to their original families when the war was over.

In 1943, Irena was arrested by the Gestapo and severly tortured. She never betrayed her colleagues or the children. Irena was sentenced to death but was saved by the Zegota. After her escape, Irena hid from the Germans, and then with a fake identity, returned to Warsaw and continued her involvement with Zegota. Irena continued to work as a nurse in a public hospital until the Germans left Warsaw. She saved five Jews by hiding them.

Irena was recognized as one of the Polish Righteous among the Nations.