Cultured Views

Legend says that the face of Helen of Troy launched a thousand ships; the face pictured left is the face that saved 2,500 lives. Irena Sendler was a remarkable woman, and saying that has to be the most understated understatement of all time. She has died at the age of 98 and it is unlikely humanity will ever see another person quite like her.

I say humanity because that is what made this lady so special; she embodied humanity to such a degree that she risked her life to save 2,500 Jewish babies and children during WW2 by smuggling them to safety from the Warsaw Ghetto. It is highly probable that she saved many more.

This lady rescued babies and children imprisoned with their families when the Nazi’s rounded up the Jewish population and segregated them in the famous Ghetto; she had a network of similar minded people – mechanics, workmen, doctors – and used some of the most bizarre methods possible to spirit the children out and away to safety.

 Persuading the parents to part with their children was not always easy – she was not Jewish herself – but she managed to gain the trust of the parents and convince them to allow her to take their children to ‘safe houses’ where they would survive. They would never have survived in the Ghetto as we now know.

Rather than feel immense pride for the many she saved, Irena only felt sadness for the countless more that she could not save. She was captured eventually, tortured horrifically, even sentenced to be executed – which for some reason – was never carried out. And thoughout she refused to reveal her underground network or divulge the names of her helpers.

Her funeral was packed with mourners; not so much relatives, but so many of those small chilldren she risked so much in order to save. They were her ‘family’, many considered her their ‘mother’ as most of them never found their parents again – they were all killed.

There should be a movie made about this woman; I wonder if there will ever be another like her. Let’s hope there will not be another need though…

Related posts:

1. British Youth make the cover of Time