Irena Sendler's Role In The Holocaust
The word ‘holocaust,’ comes from the Greek words ‘holos’ (whole) and ‘kaustos’ (burned), and was used to describe a Jewish sacrificial offering that was burned on an altar. Unfortunately, after 1945, the word took on a more gruesome meaning: the massacre of 6 million Jews by the German Nazis in our second World War. There were many heroes during the Holocaust, but the one that stood out the most was my hero, Irena Sendler. Irena Sendler played a crucial role in securing the safety of many Jewish children through her courageous actions, ideas, and efforts as a humanitarian and social worker who worked in the Polish underground. Immediately upon finding out about the Holocaust, Sendler started using her job as a social worker to help smuggle
Jews out of Nazi-occupied Europe. However, German authorities ordered the Warsaw Ghetto to be sealed, and her plans to help those at risk became virtually impossible. The ghetto was soon crowded, with close to 400 thousand people occupying the small area—an area the size of New York’s Central Park. With lack of food and medical supplies, the death rates became substantial. Albeit, Irena managed to get a hold of a permit to get her inside the ghetto, under the ruse of wanting to stop the spread of disease beyond the walls. Officially, she was examining Jews for any kinds of disease. Though, in reality, she was looking for children to save. Irena smuggled children out through an old Catholic church, a building that straddled the Ghetto and the rest of Warsaw. Nazis would use several maneuvers in an attempt to catch the Jews escaping this way so Sendler had to teach the children basic Catholic prayers in order to get by undetected. However, younger children could not be rescued through the building and Irena would have to play them in gunny sacks or toolboxes and carry them out of the Ghetto. She would also take children out of the Ghetto in an ambulance, with the assistance of her dog. When she feared she would be detected, Sendler would hit the dog on his paw, and he would begin to bark, setting off a chain reaction among the Nazis’ dogs. At that point, Nazis would just let her pass. The people who helped Irena all took tremendous risks. However, it was Irena herself who entered the ghetto day after day for eighteen months—each time walking out with a child. As you would have guessed, the Nazis began to suspect her and she was eventually arrested by the Germans in 1943. She was beaten and tortured for several days, refusing to reveal the whereabouts of the children she helped hide. She had been scheduled to be executed, but members of the resistance had found out and bribed a guard to help her escape. Her name was printed on public lists and she spent the rest of the war in hiding. Nevertheless, she worked to track down the children and reunite them with relatives, but nearly all of the children were orphans by then. . Irena passed away on the twelfth of May in 2008. Irena Sendler has set a noble and paragon example, filled of self-sacrificing love. Like John Burroughs once said, “For anything worth having, one must pay the price; and the price is always work, patience, love, [and] self-sacrifice.” The merchant of life had taken her payment and in return, gave Sendler just what she wanted—the lives of many innocent children the Nazi party had tried to take and control. Her cape was her selflessness and she wore it with pride. Irena Sendler is my hero.
Jews out of Nazi-occupied Europe. However, German authorities ordered the Warsaw Ghetto to be sealed, and her plans to help those at risk became virtually impossible. The ghetto was soon crowded, with close to 400 thousand people occupying the small area—an area the size of New York’s Central Park. With lack of food and medical supplies, the death rates became substantial. Albeit, Irena managed to get a hold of a permit to get her inside the ghetto, under the ruse of wanting to stop the spread of disease beyond the walls. Officially, she was examining Jews for any kinds of disease. Though, in reality, she was looking for children to save. Irena smuggled children out through an old Catholic church, a building that straddled the Ghetto and the rest of Warsaw. Nazis would use several maneuvers in an attempt to catch the Jews escaping this way so Sendler had to teach the children basic Catholic prayers in order to get by undetected. However, younger children could not be rescued through the building and Irena would have to play them in gunny sacks or toolboxes and carry them out of the Ghetto. She would also take children out of the Ghetto in an ambulance, with the assistance of her dog. When she feared she would be detected, Sendler would hit the dog on his paw, and he would begin to bark, setting off a chain reaction among the Nazis’ dogs. At that point, Nazis would just let her pass. The people who helped Irena all took tremendous risks. However, it was Irena herself who entered the ghetto day after day for eighteen months—each time walking out with a child. As you would have guessed, the Nazis began to suspect her and she was eventually arrested by the Germans in 1943. She was beaten and tortured for several days, refusing to reveal the whereabouts of the children she helped hide. She had been scheduled to be executed, but members of the resistance had found out and bribed a guard to help her escape. Her name was printed on public lists and she spent the rest of the war in hiding. Nevertheless, she worked to track down the children and reunite them with relatives, but nearly all of the children were orphans by then. . Irena passed away on the twelfth of May in 2008. Irena Sendler has set a noble and paragon example, filled of self-sacrificing love. Like John Burroughs once said, “For anything worth having, one must pay the price; and the price is always work, patience, love, [and] self-sacrifice.” The merchant of life had taken her payment and in return, gave Sendler just what she wanted—the lives of many innocent children the Nazi party had tried to take and control. Her cape was her selflessness and she wore it with pride. Irena Sendler is my hero.