SummaryIrena Sendler was a nurse and social workerduring the time of the holocaust. She smuggled about 2,500 Jewish children pastthe Nazis and gave them fake identities. The biography I read “Irena’sChildren” resolves around a Catholic lady called Irena Sendler, who was anurse and a social worker during the holocaust. She was given special access tothe Warsaw Ghetto as a public health specialist, and while there she reachedout to the trapped Jewish families there.
She convinced the parents to trusttheir children with her and after they trusted her with their children, shestarted smuggling children past the Nazis. She smuggled the Jewish children inambulances, packages or even in suitcases with the help of an underground groupcalled Zegota. She smuggled approximately 2,500 children to orphanages ornon-Jewish families, and gave them fake names and identities. She also made alist of all the children she smuggled with their real names and identities inthe hope of that their real families would be able to find them after the war.She was later captured and tortured but she refused to release any informationabout any of the children she had rescued.
Though she was soon released andthen later a Holocaust memorial organization in Israel awarded her its highesthonour. The hero- She risked her own life to savethe lives of the children who she didn’t even know- She stood by her morals as sherefused to give any details about the children she rescued or the people whoworked with her when she was arrested and tortured. The call to adventure- Irena was trying to rescue theJewish children and families trapped inside the Warsaw Ghetto- After she entered the WarsawGhetto as a social worker and saw all the Jewish families being tortured alongwith their kids.
She decided to rescue as many individuals as she could withthe help of Zegota Refusal of the call- When one of Irena’s closestfriends, Ewa constantly and warned her that it was too risky to hide and rescuethe Jews out of Warsaw.- Irena was just about to give up onher mission before even starting but she regained her confidence after meetingone of the Zegota members Mentors and helpers- One of Irena’s helpers would bethe underground group Zegota who helped her smuggle children past the Nazis.- Also Adam her Jewish boyfriend,who later became her second husband also helped her significantly by creatingfake identities for the children they had smuggled.
The tests- She was arrested and tortured bythe Ghetto, but she still refused to reveal anything about any of her helpersor the children she had smuggled. Resurrection- Though, even after being warned byher friends, she still went on this mission by teaming up with Zegota. Theproblem she faced was that her friends refused to work with but as time passedby, they eventually joined her in her to mission to rescue the Jewish families Restitution- She was released out of jail, thewar was over and a Holocaust memorial organization in Israel awarded her withits highest honour Impact of the media on Irena’s life- The media has helped her by makingher story go viral- She’s more recognized around theworld- A lot of people look forward toher as a hero and an inspiration Impact of the media on Irena’s perception ofself- When someone gets considered as ahero and an inspiration to many individuals then they usually startappreciating themselves more- Though this was not the case withIrena as in one of her interviews she stated, that the only regret she had wasto not rescue more people when she could Impact of the media on Irena’s perception onworld- After all the respect and love shehas received she believes that there is and has always been more good than evilin the world and everyone should follow a rule that she follows which she wastaught by her father- That if you see a man drowning,you must try to save him even if you cannot swim Theme statementThe most prominent theme in Tilar J.Mazzeo’sbiography, Irena’s children is the theme of courage which has constantly beendisplayed by the character of Irena Sendler Proof 1″It’s too risky to hide a Jew Irena, Ewa toldher over and over again.” (214) AnalysisShe was being told that her mission was toorisky and she would not accomplish her goal by her family members and friends.Though, she strictly stood by her morals and performed this act of courage bysaving lives of about 2,500 children Proof 2″In time, there would be myriad routes in andout of the ghetto and Irena would employ them all to smuggle out the Jewishchildren.” (214) Analysis She dare to smuggle Jewish children past theNazis, she risked her own life to save someone else’s life, which demonstratesher true act of courage Proof 3″As long as Irena did not break under thetorture, no one knew the location of the hidden children.” (500) AnalysisShe was beaten and tortured but she was somotivated in her mission she didn’t care about her own life and refused toreveal any details about the children she had rescued.
