Irena Sendler Honoured in Washington

KJ, 16 November 2016
Irena Sendler, a Righteous Among the Nations who during the War was active in the Council to Aid Jews “Żegota”, has been honoured by the Adas Israel Congregation in Washington. A plaque was unveiled next to the synagogue honouring this lady who saved over 2,00 Jewish children.

Every year since 1992, the Washington Adas Israel Congregation remembers one person who saved Jews during the Holocaust and who, through their deeds, has been honoured with the title of Righteous Among the Nations. The names of these people feature on a plaque located in the “Garden of the Righteous” located next to the synagogue. The garden is patterned along the lines of the “Garden of the Righteous” at the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem.

The unveiling ceremony for Irena Sendler took place on Sunday, 7th April 2013. The Polish Ambassador in Washington, Ryszard Schnepf, took part in the ceremony which was accompanied by a presentation entitled “Life in a Jar” (Życie w słoiku), prepared by American students from Kansas.

Irena Sendler, pseudonym “Jolanta”, was active in the Polish resistance movement during the occupation. From December 1942, she managed “Żegota’s” Children’s Department. Together with her co-workers, she saved many children from the Warsaw Ghetto. Arrested, tortured and sentenced to death by the Gestapo, Irena Sendler was freed by the Polish underground who had bribed the military police.

In 1965, Yad Vashem bestowed on her the title of Righteous Among the Nations. Irena Sendler was also awarded the highest Polish state honours: the Order of the White Eagle (Order Orła Białego), the Commander’s Cross and Commander’s Cross With Star (of the Order of Polish Renewal). In 2007, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Until now, Washington’s Adas Israel Congregation has also honoured two other Polish Righteous – the legendary emissary of the Polish Government-in-Exile, Jan Karsky, and Sabina Kazimierczyk.