Polish Roman Catholic Social Worker Irena Sendler honored by Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, DC

10 kwietnia, 2013

A new name appeared on a plaque in the Garden of the Righteous at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, DC on April 7, 2013: Irena Sendler. During an annual event, the Congregation honored the memory of the Polish, Roman Catholic social worker, who helped save 2,500 Jewish children from the Holocaust during World War II.

During the war, Irena Sendler was a member of the Polish Underground Home Army (Armia Krajowa) and a member of its affiliate Żegota – the only organization in war-torn Europe whose aim was providing systematic, organized assistance to Jews. Żegota was established in 1942, and Ms. Sendler headed its Children’s Section. Working with a group of mainly female Żegota volunteers, Irena Sendler began rescuing Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. The children were given false identities and placed with Catholic families, in orphanages and convents.

In 1965, Ms. Sendler was recognized by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem as Righteous Among the Nations. She was made an honorary citizen of Israel in 1991, and in 2003 was awarded Poland’s highest distinction, the Order of White Eagle.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the United States Ryszard Schnepf participated in the ceremony. In his remarks, he spoke of Irena Sendler’s courage and kindness, and her remarkable modesty despite her extraordinary actions. Her heroic actions - defending just values and doing what was right in spite of tragic and adverse circumstances - earned her a well-deserved place in history.

Irena Sendler’s character was echoed in all the speeches made during the ceremony. Rabbi Gil Steinlauf from Adas Israel Congregation said that Irena Sendler is an inspitation to current generations as a woman who had respect for all people, and made a profound impact on the world around her.

A performance of the play Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Story, inspired by Irena Sendler’s life and written by students from Kansas, was also shown during the ceremony.

The Garden of the Righteous is a reminder of the numerous acts of decency and daring performed by many non-Jews in the midst of one of the most tragic times in history. The program began in 1992, and the first honoree was Jan Karski, an emissary of Poland’s Underground State, who brought the first eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust taking place in Europe to the Allies. Irena Sendler is the third honoree from Poland.