Once upon a time there was a woman named Irena Sendlerowa who wanted to make a difference. Irena didn’t have much in the way of material things but she had a heart the size of Texas.

Born in 1910, Irena came from a long line of Polish decedents intent on helping mankind. Her great grandfather led a rebellion against the Czars. Her father was a doctor who spent his life caring for the Jewish people in Otwock.

Beginning around 1939 when the Germans invaded Warsaw, Irena began helping Jews by offering them food and shelter. Her humanitarian efforts turned into one of the largest smuggling organizations of World War II. Over 2500 children were led out of harms way via the sewer pipes of the Warsaw Ghetto, through sacks, trunks, suitcases, and hidden under ambulance stretchers.

On October 20, 1943, Irena was caught and arrested, placed in the notorious Piawiak prison and constantly questioned and tortured. Her legs and feet were broken. Sentenced to death, Irena was stunned when suddenly released, an act from the Zegota that bribed the German guard. She lived hidden throughout the remainder of the war and when it was finally safe, Irena ran to her secret spot.

Securely buried, tiny bottles containing pieces of thin tissue paper, containing the names of all 2500 children, she began the long search for relatives of the saved kids. Most had been killed but she made it her life’s ambition to reunite with Jewish kin.

Irena Sendler (shortened version of Sendlerowa) never asked for recognition or notoriety, that’s just who she was. Fortunately, she was recognized in 2003 as the winner of the Jan Karski award for Valor and Courage. Irena had been nominated by a group of students and their organization, “Life in a Jar”, and Stefanie Seltzer, President of the World Federation of Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust.

Unfortunately, Irena Sendler, did not win the nomination for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize and died in 2008 at the age of 98 years old but her life was not about making a name for herself, as with some, but for helping others.

For more information on Irena Sendlerowa, visit the “Life in a Jar” website, this organization still alive and well and geared toward spreading the word on humanitarians.