Irena Sendler

My buddy Sindy shared an account on FB that got me thinking in several directions. It’s the story of one of the many unsung heroes in our world. Irena Sendler (originally Sendlerowa and you’ll find her listed both ways, depending on where you look) proved particularly adept at sniffing the wind and getting ahead of the gathering storm when she made and implemented plans for rescuing from the Warsaw Ghetto some 2,500 children from among the crowds targeted for enslavement and death by the Nazi hate machine.  That she did so at grave personal risk makes her efforts all the more laudable. That she has remained largely unsung in the public arena is an oversight of immense proportion.

Many of the articles concerning Irena Sender– including the one circulating on Facebook – have side agenda. And the FB account, while correct in thrust, is not entirely accurate as to details. For a good nutshell of the story without too much editorializing, follow this link: http://www.auschwitz.dk/sendler.htm. Beyond that, you’re on your own.

A few comments from Brer Michael…

Several posts in various online nooks and crannies bemoan the fact that Sendler never received the Nobel Peace Prize. This betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the Nobel Prize. It is a political instrument used by the Committee to further their view of how the world’s business should be carried out. These five Norwegians only accept nominations from persons and organizations within a very prescriptive band of interests and looking over the nomination rules, one might even foresee a certain degree of inbreeding in the process.

That Barack Obama and Al Gore won the prize on the basis of (as presumed by certain of the chroniclers you’ll find) less stellar or courageous accomplishments than others who were never so honored is  in fact very much in keeping with the thrust of Nobel intent. And the fact that Elie Wiesel – clearly one of the most deserving persons ever named  – received the award had as much to do with current events and world politics at the time of his nomination as they did with celebration of his formidable and tireless efforts on behalf of the downtrodden.

Another thought: The article posted through FB begins with opining that this story is proof of evil afoot in the world, then as now. I suppose that’s true enough, but we need only listen to the words of Irena Sendler herself to find a more glass-half-full reading of history. My own reading is that a glass that is half full or half empty must by definition be both. Putting that argument aside, we can take some comfort from Irena when she says, “No one ever refused to take a child from me.” The foster parents and convents that took in these children assumed great risk themselves.

We should honor all these people. After all, celebrating the thousands of private individuals who served as station masters or conductors on the Underground Railroad, in no way detracts from Harriett Tubman’s hard-earned renown. And so it is, it seems to me, with Irena Sendler. Celebrate her but not with the hangdog attitude that only she stood up to the horror. Certainly, all the stories of history can be told from various angles, but the evidence that good people have generally prevailed is manifest, even in our day.

Irena was not without formal honors. She has been recognized by Jewish groups and most recently by the four high school students who filmed Life in a Jar. But she did not seek accolades, and was not entirely convinced of her own record of heroism, “I could have done more,” she said. “This regret will follow me to my death.”