“He who changes one person, changes the world entire”
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| Figure 1: Photograph of Irena Sendler in Poland. Taken from: http://www.irenasendler.org/facts-about-irena/ |
I sat bound to a chair while being interrogated by a German Nazi. He “was young, very stylish and spoke perfect Polish… He wanted the names of the Zegota leaders, their addresses and the names of others involved.”[1] So I fed them the load of nonsense that we had prepared in case of capture. But he had a folder with evidence from people who turned me in.[2]
I had only been captured some odd days ago, around October 20th, 1943 and brought to the Pawiak Prison. The German Nazi claimed that the folder contained evidence that proved I had been helping orphan Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. They had known me as “the woman who knocked on Jewish doors in the ghetto, [trying] to talk the mothers out of their children.”[3] Once the mothers would hand over their children, I would take them through an underground network. I smuggled the children out in ambulance stretchers, sewer pipes, body bags, and even trunks.[4]
When we reached safety, I utilized false documents from the individuals I recruited from the Centers of Social Welfare Departments. “With their help, [I] issued hundreds of false documents with foreign signatures” to thousands of my Jewish children to use as new identities.[5] They would follow me to their new homes and orphanages where they would begin their new life as a Christian. I promised my children to find their mothers and families once the war was over. I knew however, that the fate of their parents would not end well. The majority of the children’s parents would die in the Treblinka death camp.[6]
What the Nazis did not know however, where the jars were hidden, and if I had anything to do with it, they never would find out. My father had always told me “to help anybody in need.”[7] He was a doctor for some of the less wealthy Jewish families. He passed a while back from Typhus when I was 7, which he had caught from one of his patients.[8] He was a brave man and for that I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world much like he did. So I had saved the names and origins of the children on a piece of tissue paper and placed them in a jar.[9] The jars were hidden under an apple tree in one of my neighbor’s backyard.[10] But the German Nazis knew I was still holding back information, so they broke my legs and feet. I didn’t budge. The Nazis probably assumed they could get information out of a weak traditional woman living in Poland. What they did not realize is that they could break any physical part of me they wanted to, “but they would never break [my] spirit.”[11]
The following day the German Nazis issued my death sentence: I was going to be shot.[12] Following my sentence, one of the German executioners entered the room, I figured my fate was coming for me. But as I looked around I noticed he was helping me escape to safety. He told me that Zegota, the Polish Council I had worked with to save the Jewish children, had bribed him to get me out of the Pawiak Prison.[13] “On the following day the Germans Nazis loudly proclaimed [my] execution. Posters were put up all over the city with the news that [I] was shot. [I] read the posters [myself].[14]
“After the war [Irena] dug up the jars and used the notes to track down the 2,500 children she placed with adoptive families and to reunite them with relatives scattered across Europe.”[15] The majority of the children’s families had passed in the death camps that they had been saved from. “The children had known her only by her code name Jolanta. But years later, after she was honored for her wartime work, her picture appeared in a newspaper. ‘A man, a painter, telephoned me," said Sendler, "`I remember your face,' he said. `It was you who took me out of the ghetto.' I had many calls like that!”[16]
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Having read other books and articles about the Holocaust, I know some background about various Jewish survivors who were rescued by good-willed people. However, I have never actually read stories about the people who had rescued the survivors and what struggles they had to go through because they decided to help someone in need, so this was an interesting change of perspective. She reminds me of Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, as he was also a just person who decided to defend someone in need, despite knowing the consequences of his actions. Similar to how Irena refused to share information even after she was captured, Atticus refused to give up the case even after how he and his family were treated by the rest of their community. Why did you decide to write about someone who was a Christian helper to the Jews escaping their fate, rather than a direct victim of the Holocaust?
ReplyDeleteThank you Jacqueline for your comments!
DeleteI agree with your comments on often reading more about the Jewish survivors rather than those who aided their survival. To answer your question, I believe this is why I decided to right about a Christian helper, rather than a direct victim of the Holocaust. Irena Sendler was not Jewish, nor had any qualities that Hitler and the German Nazis targeted as being "incorrect." However, she still chose to put her life at risk and get involved in order to save the innocent lives of many. Her bravery is impossible to ignore and therefore I believe she is a true hero that needs to become more well-known.
It was truly inspiring to read this. It takes a certain kind of bravery and compassion to take part in such a life-threatening thing like an underground escape for children. It reminds me of Harriet Tubman and the major role she played in the Underground Railroad during the times of slavery in America. Elie Wiesel's 'Night' popped into my mind while reading this. The book is a first person narrative of his experiences during the Holocaust, and I was reminded of the tragic separation of families that occurred during this time. For the author - How did you create a first person narrative while keeping it factual?
ReplyDelete- B. Guerrero
Thank you for your comments!
DeleteI agree that Irena Sendler's bravery is beyond comprehension. In order to exhibit how truly brave and compassionate she was, I created a first person narrative. In order to create the first person narrative, while still keeping it factual, I did a numerous amount of research. I read books written about her and researched over her entire website.
When creating the piece, I assured that I was only using the factual evidence I had encountered, alongside her quotes that described what her experience had been like.
I hope this helps answer your question!
Writing your article as a narrative in Irena’s shoes was a creative and interesting way to approach the article. Being filled with facts can get boring quickly, so this style was engaging and refreshing. The Holocaust is a common topic in almost every class I have taken. However, I have really only read about the event from the perspective of a Jewish person who was subjected to awful suffering during the time. This is the first true story I have read about someone helping Jews during those dark times. The torture Irena endured for the greater good is inspiring. The Nazis thought they could break her because she was a “weak woman,” but they could not have been more wrong. She reminds me of Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. When Tom Robinson, an African American man, is threatened by a lynch mob. Atticus protects him despite the danger he is put in because it is the right thing to do. He defends Robinson in court against his prejudiced peers and maintains his sense of duty just like how Irena refused to sell out the Jews she helped. Since your writing style was so unique, was this the original format of your article or did you begin with an outline of points in a normal informative format? Was it difficult to maintain this style? What specifically were the issues and would you recommend trying this style?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments Nisha!
DeleteTo answer your first question, yes this was the original format of my article. I did have a list of facts about Irena with quotes from her on a separate piece of paper that I used as a reference while writing.
To answer your second and third question, it was somewhat difficult to maintain the style without putting in my own thoughts and opinion. Therefore, the issues that I had were based around not accidentally putting in my own interpretations of how I think Irena would have felt, versus what she actually felt. I would recommend trying this style because I believe it captivates your audience much more and is a more attractive way to learn about a topic.
Being able to read about Irena's story through a first person perspective truly provides an engaging insight that is difficult to convey from a third person view. I always find it fascinating to read literature or articles related or directly involved with the Holocaust and WWII, because it is always from a different angle or a new take that offers something new to be learned. Irena's efforts remind me of Schindler's List; a similar story during the Holocaust where they are two heroes trying to save as many people as they can.
ReplyDeleteAntigone, from The Theban Plays is who I see in Irena's will and actions. While Irena does not put herself at risk for the blood of her kin, she, like Antigone, are fighting passionately in their own way to preserve a belief and commit a good deed. They are the unsung hero that is only remembered much later on, but their bravery and courage are recognized for being daring enough to be the few to act out against some form of injustice.
Writing in a first person perspective can have a really awesome result when it is perfectly executed, and seeing as you've had experience (at least one time!) with it I'm curious to know a few things. When writing your article, were there any moments that you had to stop yourself because you could feel your own narrative/opinion bleeding onto the facts of Irena? Is this entire narrative fabricated while sticking to the facts? (to keep originality!) If it is not, what steps did you take to take her story, but apply a spin or modification to it that made it your work?
Thank you for your comments Dylan!
DeleteTo answer your question, there was many times where I had to stop and rethink because I noticed my own narrative and opinions bleeding onto the facts. However, when this would occur, I would simply stop and step away from the keyboard. Following, I would read over the facts I had about Irena as well as her quotes. Therefore, this story is not fabricated in the sense that everything I used in the narrative is based on true facts, opinions, and comments from Irena. In order to take her story, but apply a modification on it, I focused on a scene that was not often completely depicted by Irena. I used her interrogation scene as a focus point that, while using flashbacks to tell more of her story.
It was truly inspiring to read this because it takes special kind of bravery to go through what she went through and come out alive. I have read my fair share of Holocaust literature but this article stood out to me because it was like nothing I have ever read. Her situation reminds me of the boys from Lord of the Flies because like Sendler the boys went through something unimaginable they survived against all odds. The point of view in which you wrote this article was very unique, was it the plan from the beginning to write in this style or was it a last minute change to make it more unique?
ReplyDelete-Charisa Beale
Thank you for your comments Charisa!
DeleteAs I mentioned in previous responses, yes this was the original format of my article. However, I did have a list of facts about Irena with quotes from her on a separate piece of paper that I used as a reference while writing. I wanted to write a first person narrative from the beginning, because I knew it would be much more interesting to read rather than a simple essay.
I hope this answers your question!
From a world of war, poverty, grief, and injustice, this literary entry depicting the life of Irena Sendler was a refreshing approach of reintroducing another holocaust experience. Providing an alternate perspective to a usual third-person point of view was more engaging, at least in my opinion; similar to reading a memoir. Irena became a savior, idolized figure, and a physical embodiment of integrity. Even though she was interrogated and most likely faced torture by the Nazis, feelings of hope and motivation continued to foster within Irena. By denying to sacrifice the jar of children's names and exhibiting her will to resist authority, she was sentenced to be punished by death. By a miracle, she was able to escape once being guided by a Nazi, who was bribed to help her. This resembles Of Mice And Men: where the mentally retarded, Lennie, was killed following the consequences of his decisions. Irena sought to protect the innocent, and decided to achieve it by any means.What characteristic was particularly appaling about Irena that had attributed to her being chosen for your literacy composition? How did her inability to break against the Nazi soldiers contribute to her character?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments Angelina!
DeleteI believe that the characteristic that was particularly fascinating to me was that she an ordinary women, who had no need to get involved in the Holocaust, but chose to because she knew it was wrong. She knew that she couldn't stop the entire war, so she found a way in which she could at least make a difference among some of the lives. I believer her inability to break against the Nazi soldiers displayed how she truly cared about the children lives whom she saved over her own.
The idea of someone being able to place their own morals and values above even their own physical wellbeing always astounds me. To be so strong in spirit is truly something to be proud of and commend. Especially at the time, when women were thought to be weak and inferior, to prove her mental resolve to those nazi soldiers was incredibly courageous. This reminds of Night by Elie wiesel, which I use as a comparison. There was a women on a train who went absolutely insane before they were even at a camp. In juxtaposition to this women, Sendler appears even more courageous.
ReplyDeleteHow did you stumble upon this women for research? And what most caught your attention and made you want to write about her?
Thank you for your comments David!
DeleteI found out about Irena Sendler through my dance studio. I had previously competed with a dance piece that told the story of Irena. In addition, in 3rd grade I had won the Women in History contest with a paper I had wrote on her. Therefore, I have always enjoyed relaying the story of Irena's bravery and will continue to until more people know of her. I think what caught my attention most was how she the German Nazis broke her arms and legs and threatened to shoot her, yet she still refused to give up the documents of the children she saved.
I hope this answers your question!