Irena Sendler
On February 15, 1910, a future nurse, and savior was born. Obviously, no one knew this, but Irena Krzyżanowska saved over 2,500 Jewish children and babies. Irena was supported and inspired by many people, but her father inspired her most of all. During her childhood, “She was greatly influenced by his selfless service to the patients, most of whom were Jewish and poor...” (thefamouspeople.com) Her father was a physician, who helped people that others refused to treat for fear of catching a disease. In addition, both her parents were part of the Polish Socialist Party, which had a key role against communists. Bravery and compassion ran in her family’s blood, as Irena’s great grandfather led a rebellion against the Czars. Eventually, Stanisław
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Until very late in her life, she was not very known. Today, she has won the following: 2007 - Order of the Smile, 1996 - Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and the higher award; 2001 -Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta. Some of her lesser known awards are: 2009: the Humanitarian of the Year award from The Sister Rose Thering Endowment, and the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award. Also, she was recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the Polish Righteous among the Nations in 1965, and in addition, a tree was planted in her honor at the entrance to the Avenue of the Righteous. On top of all these awards, she was also nominated for the Nobel Prize. Other than awards, there was a play that was made in her honor, which depicted her life in a mere ten minutes. Now, it is performed around the world, and it was made by a group of high-schooler girls. Unquestionably Irena Sendler was a very important person in the dark times of WWII. She was not only honored by awards and plays, but a long life, and a lot of love. Sendler lived until she was ninety-eight, which is almost a century! Her life spanned out from 1910-2008, which after the war, was spent confined in a wheelchair. Still, love poured into her life, many of the survivors of WWII that she saved came to thank her. Irena is someone that I chose to acknowledge because even though she isn’t widely known, she saved so many lives. To me, even saving one life is a feat in itself, and Irena saved 2,500 souls, and still thought that she didn’t save enough! Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world,” and Irena definitely made a
Until very late in her life, she was not very known. Today, she has won the following: 2007 - Order of the Smile, 1996 - Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and the higher award; 2001 -Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta. Some of her lesser known awards are: 2009: the Humanitarian of the Year award from The Sister Rose Thering Endowment, and the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award. Also, she was recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the Polish Righteous among the Nations in 1965, and in addition, a tree was planted in her honor at the entrance to the Avenue of the Righteous. On top of all these awards, she was also nominated for the Nobel Prize. Other than awards, there was a play that was made in her honor, which depicted her life in a mere ten minutes. Now, it is performed around the world, and it was made by a group of high-schooler girls. Unquestionably Irena Sendler was a very important person in the dark times of WWII. She was not only honored by awards and plays, but a long life, and a lot of love. Sendler lived until she was ninety-eight, which is almost a century! Her life spanned out from 1910-2008, which after the war, was spent confined in a wheelchair. Still, love poured into her life, many of the survivors of WWII that she saved came to thank her. Irena is someone that I chose to acknowledge because even though she isn’t widely known, she saved so many lives. To me, even saving one life is a feat in itself, and Irena saved 2,500 souls, and still thought that she didn’t save enough! Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world,” and Irena definitely made a