Wednesday, September 23, 2009

What a Lady!

On May 12, 2008, Irena Sendlerowa (commonly known as Irena Sendler passed away with pneumonia at the age of 98 in Warsaw. 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, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the 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 her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, 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 had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

In 2007 Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize . . . She was not selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

In April of this year, there was a Hallmark Hall of Fame World Premiere on CBS entitled, The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler. If you haven't read the classic true story of Corrie Ten Boom, another inspirational woman, read The Hiding Place.

1 comment:

Heather G. said...

Wow, what an amazing woman! It makes me wonder what kind of person I would've been had I been in that situation. I also love the Hiding Place! Great and inspirational post as always!