Her name is Irena Sendler.  She died at the age of 98 in May 2008.  She worked during WWII in the Warsaw ghetto in the sewers as a plumbing expert.   She sought that job because she knew escape would be needed.  She was a German and well aware of the Nazi’s plans for the Jews.  Her plan was to smuggle infants out of the ghetto in the bottom of her tool kit or in a burlap sack for larger kids.  She had trained her dog to bark on command and he rode in the back of her truck . The Nazi  soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto,  wanted nothing to do with the dog and his barking covered the kids/infants noises.

The children were placed with Polish families, and in Catholic orphanages and convents;  some were sent priests in various rectories and placed in foster home.

Eventually, she was caught, beaten;  the Nazi’s broke both her legs and arms; and sentenced to death.   Żegota a code name for an underground resistance ground and also known as the “Konrad Żegota Committee” , bribed guards to let her escape. The guards freed her on her way to her execution.   She was  listed on public bulletin boards as having been executed. For the rest of the war, she lived in hiding.

Her goodness has brought her many metals, but as she wrote to the Polish Parliament upon accepting one of their rewards, “Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory.”

She is counted as one of  the Polish Righteous among the Nations. The tree of Irena Sendler planted at Yad Vashem stands at the entrance to the Avenue of the Righteous. In 1965 she  was also awarded the Commander’s Cross by the Israeli Institute, but her own nation did not recognize her goodness and courage until 2003.  She was nominated for the Noble Peace Prize in 2007.  The award that year was given to Al Gore.

Irena Sendler died in Warsaw on May 12, 2008.

I became aware of Irena’s humanity  because several people posted her story on Facebook page.  I edited and added to it mainly by researching her name on Wikipedia.

Her story is being circulated as a memorial to the death at the hands of the Nazi’s of six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and the 1600 Catholic priests who were murdered, raped, burned, and staved by the Nazi’s.

As those circulating it say,  ”It’s imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.”

I can only hope that in time the number of good people will unite and end all violence.

Stay Strong

Do all the good every way you can, when you can, where you can and how you can. Care not about being rewarded; goodness is its own reward. Praise and thank those who follow the path of goodness for light the way to the path of peace. Perhaps, someday, no one will stray off that blessed path, and the earth will know peace.

MORE STAYING STRONG HELP

First, here is my thank you gift if you have just started following me.   It is a free Guide to the Daily Twelve Emotional Fitness Exercises.  These provide a quick start to stress reduction and feeling management.  Each exercise is backed by research, but most importantly all  are easy to learn, easy to practice, useful to anyone dealing with life’s  every day problems or mega-stress.  It is also my hope that when and where practiced there will be a bit of peace on earth.

You might find my Emotional Fitness Training®’s Pinterest  site helpful. Both of my blog posts are pinned there, but I also share other information, from others  about staying strong.

Finally, my publisher has started a Facebook Page to promote my books and ideas.  If you are on Facebooks please visit it and like it. Click here.

As always thank you for following me and for your support. Liking, commenting, and sharing are other ways you can help me and others stay strong. Moreover,  you will be practicing kindness one of the Daily 12 and strengthening your emotional fitness.

As I tell myself a thousand times a day, stay strong, give lots of love, be grateful, practice kindness, live now, give and seek forgiveness, and always hope  the blessing of the forces beyond our control are with you and those you love.

Katherine

DISCLAIMER: FORGIVE MY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS FOR I HAVE DYSGRAPHIA.  If you need perfect posts, you will not find them here. Dysgraphia is a not well-known learning disability and means that sometimes my sentence structure is not that easy to follow or I make other errors. Still, most people understand me. All of my books are professionally edited, but not all of my blog posts are.  If this troubles you, feel free to read elsewhere.  If you persevere, you are practicing kindness by lifting my spirits for that means you find what I say helpful and that is one of my missions. Kindness always repays those who spread it.