About Irena Sendler

The war was humanity's most difficult lesson, when such elementary norms as compassion for the wronged, assistance to those in need, and respect for the dignity of others—regardless of origin, nationality, or religion—were abandoned. All principles of coexistence were distorted, the hierarchy of values ​​was definitively lost, and the order of the "old world" lay in ruins. The ensuing sense of fear determined all behavior and attitudes. People were faced with the necessity of choosing between alternatives, each of which embodied a decision or action beyond the realm of feeling and imagination. The disintegration and atomization of society steadily deepened, leading to the severing of pre-war bonds. All actions of the impoverished, poor, and humiliated population focused on survival, which in turn led to a dulling of sensitivity to everything external. Compounding the tragedy was an indifference to the suffering of others. The vast majority of Poles, faced with daily threats, were incapable of acting on behalf of individuals, much less the collective, which—under the fascist "new order"—was excluded and condemned to extermination. The Holocaust revealed the true face of humanity.

So, if the courage of some and the indifference of others were to be measured by the same standard, who would have priority? The minority willing to sacrifice their lives, or those on the other side – the silent majority. Looking back, it would probably be the former – the Righteous Among the Nations. Irena Sendlerowa, codename "Jolanta," described the state of affairs at the time very clearly, saying: "The human instinct demanded that we not remain passive in the face of the greatest barbarity towards our Jewish fellow citizens" [Sendlerowa, 2007, 97–98].

Irena Sendler was born twice. The first was recorded in the memories of her loved ones and in the records of the church and the partitioning administration. The second time – during the war. Her sentence had already been passed. Most likely, it was issued by a fellow countryman, a Pole. He filed a denunciation. Perhaps he knew that her life in occupied Warsaw unfolded on two levels – the official one: employees of the Social Welfare Department of the Warsaw City Council, and the unofficial one: clandestine activities? Perhaps because he knew whom she was helping? Or perhaps out of resentment that she was capable of civil resistance? Whatever the reasons, their effect was the same: on October 18, 1943, the Gestapo began to execute its plan. In the middle of the night, she was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured for weeks in Pawiak Prison. Neither the informer nor those who accepted the denunciation could have known who she was or what role she played in the underground world. [AŻIH, 301/6313] Everything was probably "only" within the realm of suspicion. Perhaps because during the search of her apartment, the Germans found neither the list of children she had helped, nor the funds intended for them, nor the forged Kennkartes. She was aware of the danger if her actions were revealed. "I remained silent," she said years later, "I preferred to die than expose our activities. What did my life mean compared to the lives of so many people I could have exposed to death?" [Miszkowska, 2018, 180]

From mid-October 1943, raids in Warsaw intensified. Terror reigned. Murders were the norm. [Domańska, 1988, 37] Everyone faced death, especially the prisoners – outlaws. Each day could be their last. At Pawiak, the "procedure" was simple. Gestapo officers entered the cell: "We stood in a row, and they indicated which ones were to step forward." [Miszkowska, 2018, 186] On Saturday, October 13, such an order was given to "Jolanta." The female prisoners from Pawiak were transported to Szucha Avenue: "I realized that this was my last journey." [I. Sendlerowa, 2007, 105 – 106] She expected to be shot. But her life was bought by "Żegota." [A. Bikont, 2017, 225 – 227] She was born again. As Klara Dąbrowska , she helped Jewish children with equal dedication, risk, and devotion.

She lived in two worlds. From the very beginning. Even before the ghetto became a closed district, during the "Großaktion" (Great Action), when the ghetto uprising raged, and later when the Germans established the KL Warschau concentration camp in its ruins. Until the very end – the liberation of Warsaw from German occupation. She had always known many people in the Jewish community, and was equally known. Therefore, she had to be present at the heart of ghetto life, individually and voluntarily, even before the walls were erected. Once they were erected, thanks to the support of the head of the Warsaw Sanitary Institution, she was always present in the "closed district." She submitted reports to Nazi overseers on the so-called "sanitary actions" undertaken in the area, which contained "shocking images of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases": "This gave hope," she reported, "that the German inspectors would bypass these addresses." [I. Sendlerowa, 2007, 96 – 97. Also: AŻIH, 301/6466]

She also had to be present in "Żegota." "The Children's Department, headed by Irena Sendler ("Jolanta"), attempted to solve the difficult problem of Jewish children who were orphaned or separated from their parents," as written in the "Report on the Activities of the Council for Aid to Jews at the Government Plenipotentiary in Poland for the Period December 1942 - October 1943," "by placing them individually with Polish families or collectively in various shelters, hospitals, orphanages, convents, care and educational institutions." [W. Bartoszweski, 2007, 27. Also: Report..., 2007, 701] Irena Sendler was present "on both sides of the wall." In the ghetto: "I put on an armband with the Star of David." To express solidarity with the wronged people. She donned food, money, documents. She led children out of the ghetto. On the Aryan side – as the need arose – she participated in falsifying documentation, co-creating biographies of fictional characters, and forging signatures. [R. Sakowska, 1993, 94 – 103; R. C. Lukas, 2018, 206] In these two worlds, there was one truth: selfless help.

Perhaps because she was the daughter of a socialist doctor, she said: "I grew up among these people. Neither the customs nor the poverty of Jewish homes were alien to me." [Sendlerowa, 2007, 97-98] Perhaps under the influence of the daily replayed image of the Warsaw Ghetto: "Lying against the walls of buildings, barely moving skeletons in rags, skeletons of mothers with skeletons of children in their arms, helpless shadows of human figures. Resignation and hopelessness were written on the sad faces of these children"? [M. Kalwary, 2014] Perhaps this was a response to the call of the ghetto doctors who "wrote with pain about hundreds of little ones afflicted with various plagues and diseases, wrapped in rags, ragged creatures the likes of which the world had never seen"? Perhaps it was a reaction to Janusz Korczak's "death march" with children to the Umschlagplatz? [R. Sakowska, 1993, 95] Perhaps because she saw with her own eyes a Gestapo officer in Pawiak Square "shooting a little one straight in the back"? [A. Miszkowska, 2018, 184 – 185] Was this why she constantly helped? Was it enough to simply be human?

During the war, there were people with such a driving force that others had a chance to survive. To be human again. Irena Sendler was such a figure. She always emphasized that only thanks to her work with the people of "Żegota" and her collaboration with Polish families, churches, and religious orders was it possible to help the most needy, abandoned, and defenseless. Children, in particular. How many of them survived? Was it "as many" as five hundred or "only" two and a half thousand? [T. Prekerowa, 1982, 213–217. Also: K. Dzięciołowska, 2018] Considering only the numbers, one might conclude that many survived. Or that only a few managed to survive. But behind each number was a human life. [H. Grubowska, 2014, 21–62]

Time has not freed "Jolanta's" children from the grip of fear—on both the individual and collective levels. The healing came from those who had remained silent for decades, sometimes their entire lives. In a sense, the memory of their tragic past has become their shared, collective soul, a substitute for other sources of connection destroyed during the Holocaust. It's a kind of therapy—a bridge connecting the generation of those who survived the Holocaust with those who long to learn the truth about the not-so-distant past: their own, their loved ones', and strangers', all descended from the same nation. It's worth the time—to paraphrase the title of Hanna Krall's book—but not before God, but before the last of the Children of the Holocaust. And to listen to their voices.

The Senate resolution of 2007 states: "Serving the values ​​that motivated Irena Sendler and others to save the lives of others at the risk of their own lives continues to be a model to follow." [This is from my homeland, 2007, p. 850] Perpetuating the memory of these people's heroic deeds is another step toward filling the "anniversary" niche. It also indicates that it is not necessarily fitting to include figures from the "cursed soldiers" in the pantheon of Polish national heroes when so many others have remained anonymous until now. Fortunately, some—the rescuers and the rescued—are emerging from the shadows. And regaining their identity.

Bibliography – chronological order:

AŻIH, Collection of accounts of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, 301/6313, Bishop. Statement of Helena Grobelna. April 26, 1963;
AŻIH, Collection of accounts by Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, 301/6466, bp. Account by Ruta Pups of a conversation with Mrs. Irena Sendler. Concerning the help provided by Poles. February 26, 1969;
T. Prekerowa, The Underground Council to Aid Jews in Warsaw 1942 – 1945, Warsaw 1982;R. Domańska, Pawiak – torture and heroism, Warsaw 1988;
R. Sakowska, People from the Closed District, Warsaw 1993; Accounts. I. Sendlerowa ("Jolanta"), [in:] This One is from My Homeland. Poles Helping Jews 1939–1945, ed. W. Bartoszewski, Z. Lewinówna, Warsaw 2007;
Report on the activities of the Council for Jewish Aid to the Government Plenipotentiary in Poland for the period December 1942 – October 1943, [in:] This One is from My Fatherland. Poles Helping Jews 1939 – 1945, ed. W. Bartoszewski, Z. Lewinówna, Warsaw 2007; Resolution of the Senate of the Republic of Poland of 14 March 2007 on honouring the activities of Irena Sendler and the Council for Aid to Jews “Żegota” in the clandestine structures of the Polish Underground State during World War II, [in:] This One is from My Fatherland. Poles Helping Jews 1939 – 1945, ed. W. Bartoszewski, Z. Lewinówna, Warsaw 2007;
W. Bartoszewski, On Both Sides of the Wall, [in:] This One is from My Homeland. Poles Helping Jews 1939–1945, ed. W. Bartoszewski, Z. Lewinówna, Warsaw 2007;
J. Rytlowa, Chaja Estera Stein (Teresa Tucholska-Körner) – Survivor. “Irena Sendler’s First Child”, [in:] sprawiedliwi.org, September 2010;J. Rytlowa, The Story of Maria Palester, [in:] sprawiedliwi.org, May 2010;M. Kalwary, [in:] Children of the Holocaust Speak…, Warsaw 2014;
H. Grubowska, She Who Saved Jews. About Irena Sendler, Warsaw 2014; A. Bikont, Sendler. In Hiding, Wołowiec 2017; A. Miszkowska, The Story of Irena Sendler, Warsaw 2018;
K. Dzięciołowska, Irena Sendler’s activities in “Żegota”, [in:] sprawiedliwi.org, May 2018;
K. Dzięciołowska, Children of Irena Sendler, [in:] sprawiedliwi.org, May 2018;
K. Dzięciołowska, The network of Irena Sendler's collaborators, [in:] sprawiedliwi.org, May 2018;
RC Lukas, Children's Cry: The Holocaust of Jewish and Polish Children in 1939–1945, Poznań 2018.