A hero has passed

[Elphaba]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 2:51pm

WARSAW, Poland (May 12) - Irena Sendler - a Polish social worker who helped save some 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto and giving them false identities - has died. She was 98.

full story

[thatgirl712]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 3:46pm

To say a wonderful person, of course, doesn't even begin to cover it.

[thatgirl712]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 3:47pm

To say a wonderful person, of course, doesn't even begin to cover it.

[thatgirl712]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 3:48pm

To say a wonderful person, of course, doesn't even begin to cover it.

[nmartin]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 3:50pm

That Girl, I believe you covered it.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 4:04pm

wow, talk about being stuck in a statement, lol

[thatgirl712]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 4:16pm

I'm sorry that happened. I think it was my computer, I didn't plan on saying it that many times!

[BWF]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 4:27pm

How can anyone not be moved by her courage. The people that walk the earth today only because of her, and others like her.

Posted: 5/12/08 at 4:29pm

Is she the one who saved the Jews listed on "Sendler's list?"

[Undeniably Bway]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 4:41pm

In 2002 there was a Polish film made about her. Three US high school students learned about her went to go visit her in Poland. She was a nurse. A brave and courageous woman who like many others, risked everything to help these children. (Jaap Penrat was another... his family had no idea what he had done until about 8 years ago)

There is a saying: If you save one life - you save a hundred.. if you take one life... you take a hundred.

In theory, she saved 250,000 and the monsters at the time, took over 600,000,000

Updated On: 5/12/08 at 04:41 PM

[lovepuppy]

Posted: 5/13/08 at 3:07pm

Well, that's 6,000,000--six million, not six hundred million. But as a Jew, your point is taken.

FYI, what lots of people don't recognize (particularly non-Jewish Holocaust deniers, though the following should be of interest to them--and no, that is not directed at anyone here), is that 12 or 13 million people total, died in the Holocaust.

Not just Jewish people, though clearly elimination of Jews was the goal and any "ethnic cleansing" is a presumtuous cruel goal of any person or nation. But the other half of people who were killed included gay people, black people, other non-aryan ethnicities, Christians who tried to help Jews, and just plenty of people in general who the Nazis felt entitled to shoot just for breathing the wrong way.

[shameless]

Posted: 5/13/08 at 3:13pm

She was saying that in taking one life, you take one hundred potential lives.

But, you're right, it's estimated to be between 11 and 13 million people who were killed during the Holocaust.

Updated On: 5/13/08 at 03:13 PM

[lovepuppy]

Posted: 5/13/08 at 3:19pm

Oops, looks like I read the meaning of the last post wrong, thanks!

[kelzama]

Posted: 5/13/08 at 4:15pm

I think your estimates are low (are you forgetting Russia et al?). WWII genocide estimates are closer to 16-20 million.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 5/13/08 at 6:00pm

Don't forget about the multitude of people who had mental and physical disabilities.