Zielona Góra Honours Irena Sendler

Redakcja, 16 November 2016

In May 2016, the Zielona Góra City Council decided to name one of its roundabouts, along the Trasa Północa (Northern Route), in honour of Irena Sendler. A ceremony in memory of the Righteous Among the Nations took place on 3rd October with the participation of the spokesman for Children's Rights Marek Michalak, Irena Sendler's daughter Janina Zgrzembska and Katarzyna Ludwiniak, a teacher at No.23 Junior High School in the Warsaw suburb of Grochów. Her's was the first school in Poland to be named after Irena Sendler.

"Irena Sendler would have taken great pleasure from the fact that it was young people who had petitioned to name the roundabout in her honour. Young people were always important to her", said Marek Michalak, during the debate "How Should Irena Sendler be Emulated Today", which took place at the Zielona Gora University. "She used to say that her Nobel Prize was when schools were named after her."

The event, organised by the City Council, led by the Mayor Janusz Kubicki, as well as by the City Youth Council, marked the unveiling of a plaque naming the roundabout in honour of Irena Sendler. Janina Zgrzembska also took part in the debate saying that, "My mother always stressed that three things are the most important in life - love, tolerance and humility".

Marek Michalak presented the Ludziom czyniącym dobro medal, awarded by schools bearing Irena Sendler's name to Szymon Płóciennik who, together with the City Youth Council, sought to honour Irena Sendler in Zielona Góra.

"As a sixteen year old", he said, "I was told to appear, smiling, before Irena Sendler. She stated that it was the most important award she had ever received and a most important day."

The Children's Rights Spokesman also visited the Jewish cemetery on ul. Chmielna, where he met with Holocaust survivors Maria Kowalska and Zbigniew Fronczyk.

The events at Zielona Góra were preceded by a gathering at the irena Sendler School in Przemków.

"The name of Irena Sendler brings with it values. Przemków has a school based on those values. I congratulate you and thank you", said Marek Michalak.