The Woman Who Saved Jewish Children From The Nazis
The wartime heroine you need to know about
The Nazis are the ultimate villains of the past. Driven by a racist ideology, this infamous political party carried out some of the most horrific acts in human history, including the extermination of six million Jews.
Though people across Europe were outraged by the Nazis’ villainy, resisting their actions was a dangerous thing to do. Those who were caught often ended up dead or imprisoned.
But Irena Sendler was different. She risked her life by trying to save as many Jewish children as possible.
Inside the Ghetto
Though Irena was a Christian, she had a close connection to Judaism. When she was a child, her father had worked as a doctor and often treated his patients for free. After his death, members of the Jewish community offered to pay for Irena’s education as a way of saying thank you.
In addition to learning Yiddish, Irena grew up with Jewish children and became close friends with many of them. So, when the Nazis established the Warsaw ghetto in November 1940, she was horrified to discover that some of her lifelong friends were trapped inside.
