Research Paper On Irena Sendler

After researching Irena Sendler, I found myself shocked that I had never heard her mentioned once before in school. Irena Sendler is known for her efforts in helping to rescue Jewish children in Poland during WWII. It is estimated that she assisted in the smuggling and saving of at least 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto, a prison and place of starvation, overpopulation, disease, death, and threats of being sent to concentration camps (p. 4,9). Thanks to her efforts, 2,500 children didn’t have their life stolen and had a chance at the life they deserved.

Irena Sendler and others who were part of the Zegota, a code name for a Polish resistance that was lead by Sendler and aided Jews, needed to be extremely clever in order to help rescue

This selflessness and bravery were tested multiple times while she worked to save children from the Warsaw ghetto. On page 37, a quote is mentioned from Irena Sendler that states, “From the autumn of 1939, every act of sympathy toward the persecuted Jews was punishable by death. For handing a Jew a glass of water or a piece of bread you could be killed.” Sendler did much more than offer a Jewish person a cup of water, she saved hundreds of children from the Warsaw ghetto at the expense of her own life. Irena Sendler knew very well that the work she did was accompanied by grievous consequences, yet the selflessness she had caused her to waste no time in deciding that she would work to save others. Another example of Sendler’s bravery and selflessness occurred when Sendler was caught by the Gestapo. She was tortured, whipped, interrogated, and even jailed in an attempt to retrieve information about the work she had been doing to help Jews. Throughout the entire process, Sendler never once revealed any piece of information. Later on, Sendler stated, “I was silent because I preferred to die rather than reveal our activity. What did my life mean compared with so many other people’s lives, lives that I could have endangered” (p. 65-67)? During this occurrence, as well as with many others, Sendler was completely willing to put all

To me, Irena Sendler is the perfect role model. For starters, Sendler always did what she knew was right. She knew that race and religion had nothing to do with the treatment a person deserved. “If someone is drowning, you have to give them your hand. When the war started, all of Poland was drowning in a sea of blood, and those who were drowning the most were the Jews. And among the Jews, the worst off were the children. So I had to give them my hand,” Irena Sendler is quoted saying on page 10. To add, during the war, even if people disagreed with the treatment of Jews during the war, they kept their heads low and their mouths shut when it came to the topic for fear of scrutiny or punishment. Sendler, however, took action. She put her life on the line every single time she saved a child or forged documents for a Jewish family, yet she continued to do so at least 2,500 times. Irena Sendler was also able to endure many events while helping to rescue Jewish children. Sendler endured torture and intense interrogations from the Germans, yet she refused to give up any information about the people she worked with or the children she smuggled, even though she was offered release. In fact, Sendler escaped just barely escaped her scheduled execution at the prison. A great number of people who worked with