Irena Sendler was a social worker who resisted the Nazi
occupation of Poland. She first worked independently with
Matylda Getter, and later joined the Zegota. They smuggled
infants and toddlers from the Warsaw Ghetto and gave them new
identities and new families. She carried out the children in
toolboxes, potato sacks and body bags. She wrote their real
names in code and put the information in jars which she buried
in her neighbor’s yard. In 1943, they arrested her and, during
her interrogation, they broke her legs and arms. The Zegota
bribed the guards with a bag of money to spare her life and she
was left unconscious by the side of the road. Sendler later
uncovered the jars and tried to reunite the children with their
families. There were few survivors. In 1965, Yad Vashem
recognized Irena Sendler as Righteous Among the Nations. In
2003, Poland awarded Sendler its highest distinction, the Order
of White Eagle. She was also nominated for awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2007. However, she was not given that