Brag Sheet - Character Sketch

Irena Sandler

by Mary Grace

‘I was brought up to believe that a person must be rescued when drowning, regardless of religion and nationality.’ –    
                                             Irena Sendler

From her forged papers clutched in her hand, eyes full of faith and crisp nurse uniform, everything about Irena Sendler seemed business-like as she entered the Warsaw Ghetto. The more she saw, the angrier she became. Irena Sendler was a remarkable woman who showed courage, loyalty and faith in the face of danger.

Irena Sendler was a Polish Catholic social worker and grew up around Jews from childhood. Irena was born on February 15, 1910. She was raised by her Catholic parents to respect, love and help people regardless of their religion or ethnicity. Her father, a physician, was the only doctor who would treat the poor, mostly Jewish patients that had typhus. Her father may not have been held highly in the eyes of others, but he was very loyal to his belief.

Surprisingly, he died when Irena was just seven from the very sickness he cured. Irena was comfortable around Jewish people as a young child. Not only did she oppose the Ghetto Bench System that existed at the Warsaw University, but she was suspended from the University for three years for doing so. She had courage to do so because she was following her heart, which is a most admirable thing. When she grew up, Irena became a Polish Catholic social worker. From Otwock, to Tarczyn, Irena Sendler worked for Urban Social Welfare.

She moved into Warsaw just as World War Two began. Almost immediately, Irena Sendler joined the Zegota and began aiding Jews. Irena Sendler knew she had to help people in the Warsaw Ghetto because she had been brought up as a little girl to know that everyone should be helped. The Warsaw Ghetto was an area that Jews were forced to live in Warsaw, Poland. She didn’t like the way they were treated just because they had a different religion. She joined the Zegota, which was a code name for the Polish Council to Aid Jews (also known as Konrad Żegota Committee). Irena Sendler and two dozen others started to smuggle the children out. To smuggle them out past German guards took tremendous courage. In boxes, suitcases and strollers, the children were taken out of the Ghetto and away from the train that led to the concentration camps. The children were placed with Polish families, orphanages and convent. The families who gave up their children were probably feeling like their hearts were being torn out of their chests. Most of the families would never see their children again. I can only imagine what they were feeling and I admire them for that. Irena Sendler disguised herself as a nurse and forged papers. Before she knew it, she had saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto. As she saved the children, she kept track of their names in jars. Their new identities and their old ones were buried in jars beside a tree. Irena Sendler had the hope that after the war she could return the children to their parents.


Irena Sandler continued her life-saving work until she was arrested. In 1943, she was arrested by the Nazis. When they came to her home, she was working with another member of the Zegota on writing down the children’s names in a jar. Irena knew she couldn’t risk them finding the jars. They both showed tremendous courage to keep calm with the soldiers at their door. Tactfully, she stuffed the jar into her underwear. Not only did the Gestapo torture her, but they sentenced her to death. But still, she did not give away anything. This was incredibly devoted of her and courageous. On the way to her death sentence, the Zegota bribed her guard into letting her go. With shattered, broken arms and legs, Irena Sandler was left in the woods. She lived in hiding for the rest of the war and continued to help the Jewish children. At the end of the war, she tried to return the children to their families. Sadly, most of the parents had been killed or gone missing. Some say she was a hero. She disagrees, "heroes do extraordinary things. What I did was not an extraordinary thing. It was normal." With all things considered, this was an extremely modest thing for her to say. Some Christians did nothing to help the Jews. Irena Sendler died on May 12, 2008. She showed the world that in times of danger, you must follow your heart and do what you know is right.

To conclude, Irena Sendler showed courage, loyalty and faith in times of horror. She didn’t save just 2,500 children. She saved their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on. She did believe that people should be rescued. The Jews were drowning and Irena Sendler saved them. Stumbling out of the Ghetto, Irena Sendler holds a box in her hands. Her face twisted with emotion. Her hands shake a bit as she walks through the streets of Warsaw. Arriving home, she pulls the baby out of the box – and smiles.