Irena Sendler

“I was brought up to believe that a person must be rescued when drowning regardless of religion and nationality” (Irena Sendler) Irena’s quote is clearly shown through hundreds of separate accounts of research and stories where we saw how millions of Non-Jewish citizens risked their lives in order to protect Jews, Gypsies and the sick from being killed. Many heroes like Irena helped the Jews because they either knew the truth behind Hitler’s plans, or they simply wanted to help strangers who they knew were being harmed. The Resistance enacted by Non-Jewish individuals and organizations towards the Nazi Regime during World War 2, was able to undermine Hitler’s Plan to exterminate the Jewish population through the process of smuggling Jewish children out of the Ghetto, by educating the public about the true motives of Hitler, and providing safe housing for Jewish families. Resulting in at least estimated

Irena Sendler gathered these children and sent them off to live with new families. Irena gathered the names of all the Jewish children she sent away and stored them within a jar. She would smuggle the children to safety in different ways, such as hiding them in an ambulance, travelling through sewers or pretending the children were extremely ill. On October 20, 1943 Sendler was arrested and sent to Pawiak Prison where the Nazis tried to force Sendler to release the names of the children. Sendler never told the Nazis anything about the children and due to this she was condemned to death. Zegota bailed her out and kept her hidden in her own house throughout the remainder of the war. Once the war was over, Irena gathered the children she had helped and told them their true identity. In 1965 Sendler was awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations, in recognition of her actions which saved 2,500 Jewish