Poland Honors Holocaust Hero

Irena Sendler Is Credited With Saving 2,500 Jewish Children From Warsaw Ghetto

(AP)  A 97-year-old woman credited with saving 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust was honored by parliament Wednesday at a ceremony during which Poland's president said she deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Irena Sendler, who lives in a nursing home in Warsaw, was too frail to attend the special session in which members of the Senate unanimously approved a resolution honoring her and the Polish underground Council for Assisting Jews.

The group's members, mostly Roman Catholics, risked their own lives to save Jews from the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Sendler was cited for organizing the "rescue of the most defenseless victims of the Nazi ideology — the Jewish children."

President Lech Kacyzinski said in an address to senators that Sendler is a "great hero who can be justly named for the Nobel Peace Prize."

"Every child saved with my help and the help of all the wonderful secret messengers, who today are no longer living, is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory," Sendler said in a letter read by Elzbieta Ficowska, who was saved by Sendler as a baby. "Over a half-century has passed since the hell of the Holocaust, but its specter still hangs over the world and doesn't allow us to forget the tragedy."

Sendler led about 20 helpers who smuggled Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto to safety between 1940 and 1943, placing them in Polish families, convents or orphanages.

She wrote the children's names on slips of paper and buried them in jars in a neighbor's yard as a record that could help locate their parents after the war. The Nazis arrested her in 1943, but she refused — despite repeated torture — to reveal their names.

Anyone caught helping Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland risked being summarily shot, along with family members.

"I think she's a great lady, very courageous, and I think she's a model for the whole international community," Israeli Ambassador David Peleg said after the ceremony. "I think that her courage is a very special one."

In 1965, Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial awarded Sendler one of its first medals given to people who saved Jews, the so-called "Righteous Among the Nations."

She was given the honor in 1983, after Poland's Communist authorities finally agreed to allow her to travel abroad.

[rohink-2009]

God bless Irena Sendler. She is a truly wonderful Human. We should all strive to do the right thing by living an honorable life.

[karlimhof]

I wonder who will stand up and protect the multitude palestinian children now living among millions of cluster bombs in south lebanon, dropped there by the IDF to made the place inhabitable ?

[soldat44]

Posted by rohink
God bless Irena Sendler. She is a truly wonderful Human. We should all strive to do the right thing by living an honorable life.


Absolutely +1. Peace be with you Irena.

[rohink-2009]

Can't politics stay out of just one post? Can't you just honor the woman?

ps. Hezzbolah had nothing to do with Lebanon being uninhabitable.

[kmom1-2009]

Irena Sendler is truely a blessed person. If the world could only a few more like her.

[cathaleen]

Let's just thank Irene for being such a wonderful human being. Especially in these hard times we are in - sometimes God puts someone out front to
give us hope.

[ubikvalis2]

With all the death and suffering in the world, how nice to read a story that is only good in all respects.

[prosperine-2009]

God bless this woman who had the courage to live out her convictions. Poland was a nation that had the highest number of european jews. The slaughter is inconceivable, as is the horror the nazi regime invoked over jew and non-jew alike. Do they even make people like her any more?

[bluestardad]

Every now and then the Media will put out one of these Remember Israeli Hardship articles with the underlying theme of how bad Israel had it so America should go on sending money and troops to where ever their AIPAC NEOCONS decide we need to send them in order to correct some past wrong someone else did to the Israelis! It is time our Elected Officials took American interest to heart and did what was in Americas interest. We do not need to write off millions of Middle East People just to prove we like Israel! It is time Israel and the Arabs play nice in the sand box and leave America out of it! 50 years of blood money and sacrifice is enough if these animals are not going to want peace it is not ours to give them. Pull Out of the Entire Middle East!
Remember AIPAC, Israeli and Saudi Arabian Neocon Supporters are pushing America to fight their wars for them!

Founded in 1953 by Isaiah L. "Si" Kenen, AIPAC's original name was the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs. According to UCLA political science professor and author, Steven Spiegel, "the tension between the Eisenhower administration and Israeli supporters was so acute that there were rumors that the administration would investigate the American Zionist Council. Therefore, an independent lobbying committee was formed, which years later was renamed [AIPAC]." READ AIPAC AD BELOW
http://www.aipac.org/forms/join_aipacClubs.htm

[rudy654-2009]

What a person to treasure! A really beautiful story. Let her life be a lesson for all.

[rheola-2009]

Bluestardad

Is it not possible that the news item was only to show respect and a thank you from humanity to a wonderful person.

Why do people like yourself have to see bad in everything.
Just maybe there is some truth in what you say, but no matter what, the wonderful things this person did will be recognised by all for just that.

One thing is certain though, you will not be remembered for anything more than your obvious dislike of all that is good, and which you will never be capable of achieving

[karlimhof]

I wonder who will stand up and protect the multitude palestinian children now living among millions of cluster bombs in south lebanon, dropped there by the IDF to made the place inhabitable ?


Posted by karlimhof


ps. Hezzbolah had nothing to do with Lebanon being uninhabitable.
Posted by rohink


That's correct rohink - what I said was Israel has made southern Lebanon uninhabitable by laying carpets of cluster bombs over widespread areas - children are being killed and maimed by them everyday.

I think Irena was great human being - sorry to say that the Israeli government is not human at all.