Bringing Life to Children of the Holocaust Susan Brophy Down Crabtree Publishing Company www.crabtreebooks.com Irena Sendler BRINGING LIFE TO CHILDREN OF THE HOLOCAUST By Susan Brophy Down Crabtree Publishing Company www.crabtreebooks.com Author: Susan Brophy Down achievement was her role in the rescue of about 2,500 Publishing plan research and development: children from the Warsaw Ghetto. In the photo on the Sean Charlebois, Reagan Miller right, one of the best-known and most dramatic to come Crabtree Publishing Company out of World War II, a group of Jews, including children, Project coordinator:Mark Sachner, Water Buffalo Books is shown being rounded up by the Nazis following the Contributing writer:Diane Dakers Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943. Editors:Mark Sachner, Lynn Peppas Photographs and reproductions: Proofreader:Rachel Eagen Indexer:Gini Holland Courtesy of 2B Productions: page 72; page 74; page 85 (all); Editorial director:Kathy Middleton page 100 (all); page 102 (top) Photo researcher:Mark Sachner Courtesy of 2B Productions, from the family collection of Designer:Alix Wood Janina Zgrzembska: cover (left); page 1; page 5; page 17; Production coordinator:Margaret Amy Salter page 37; page 53; page 57 (right); page 77; page 82 (left); Prepress technician:Margaret Amy Salter page 87 (top); page 88 (top); page 99; page 102 (inset) Print coordinator:Katherine Berti Creative Commons (Wikipedia): Bundesarchiv: pages 8 (left), 9, 13, 21, 22, 23, 32, 33, 35, 39 (bottom), 40 (top), Written, developed, and produced by Water Buffalo Books 42, 47 (top, center left, center right), 43, 51, 66, 57, 70 (left) 71, 81 (top), 102; Mariusz Kubik: page 11, page 101 A special note of thanks to filmmaker Mary Skinner, (bottom), page 102 (left); Daniel Ullrich, Three Dots: 2B Productions, who shared photos and details of Irena page 34 (top); Kitkatcrazy: page 34 (second from top); Sendler’s story in the spirit of her promise to Mrs. page 34 (second from bottom); The devious diesel: page Sendler—to help young people learn more about the 34 (bottom); page 55 (right); page 59; page 73; page 82 Holocaust, the anguish of Jewish mothers and their (right); Deutsche Fotothek‎: page 83; page 84 (upper left children, and the noble Poles who fought to save them. and lower right); page 97 (both); Publisher’s note: Getty Images: page 4 All quotations in this book come from original sources and Public domain: front cover (right); page 8 (right); page 12; contain the spelling and grammatical inconsistencies of the page 14; page 15; page 18; page 20; page 24; page 25; original text. The use of such constructions is for the sake page 26; page 29 (all); page 30; page 39 (top); page 40 of preserving the historical and literary accuracy of the (bottom); page 44; page 45; page 46; page 47 (bottom); sources. page 49; page 54; page 55 (left); page 56; page 57 (left); page 61; page 62; page 63; page 65; page 68; page 69 Cover:By the time of her death at the age of 98 in 2008, (both); page 70 (right); page 75; page 78; page 79; page Irena Sendler, shown left in 1943–1944, had been 80; page 81 (top); page 84 (upper right); page 87 recognized around the world for her efforts in helping (bottom); page 88 (bottom); page 89; page 90; page 91; Polish Jews during World War II. Her most notable page 93; page 95 (both); page 96 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Down, Susan Brophy Down, Susan Brophy. Irena Sendler : bringing life to children of the Holocaust / Susan Irena Sendler [electronic resource] : bringing life to Brophy Down. p. cm. -- (Crabtree groundbreaker biographies) children of the Holocaust / Susan Brophy Down. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-7787-2553-4 (reinforced library binding : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-7787-2556-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-4271-7861-9 (electronic pdf) -- ISBN 978-1-4271-7976-0 (electronic html) 1. Sendlerowa, Irena, 1910-2008--Juvenile literature. 2. Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust--Poland--Biography--Juvenile literature. 3. (Crabtree groundbreaker biographies) World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue--Poland--Juvenile literature. 4. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Juvenile literature. 5. Jewish Includes index. children in the Holocaust--Poland--Warsaw--Juvenile literature. 6. Jews--Poland--Warsaw--History--20th century--Juvenile literature. 7. Electronic monograph. World War, 1939-1945--Poland--Warsaw--Juvenile literature. 8. Warsaw (Poland)--History--Juvenile literature. I. Title. Issued also in print format. D804.66.S46D69 2012 ISBN 978-1-4271-7861-9 (PDF).--ISBN 978-1-4271-7976-0 (HTML) 940.53'18092--dc23 [B] 2012008274 Crabtree Publishing Company www.crabtreebooks.com 1-800-387-7650 Copyright © 2012 CRABTREE PUBLISHING COMPANY.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Crabtree Publishing Company. In Canada: We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities. Due to rights restrictions and copyright protection, contents in this ebook may vary from the published original. Published in Published in the Published in the Published in Canada United States United Kingdom Australia Crabtree Publishing Crabtree Publishing Crabtree Publishing Crabtree Publishing 616 Welland Ave. PMB 59051 Maritime House 3 Charles Street St. Catharines, ON 350 Fifth Avenue, 59thFloor Basin Road North, Hove Coburg North L2M 5V6 New York, New York 10118 BN41 1WR VIC, 3058 Contents Chapter 1 The Toolbox Baby .................................................4 Chapter 2 Growing Up in Poland ......................................17 Chapter 3 Early Resistance 1939–1942 ..............................37 Chapter 4 The Great Action and Imprisonment ............53 Chapter 5 Warsaw Uprising and Liberation ...................77 Chapter 6 Postwar and Legacy ..........................................87 Chronology...................................................................................104 Glossary........................................................................................106 Further Information....................................................................108 Index.............................................................................................110 About the Author........................................................................112 A collage of photographs of Irena Sendler, along with the cover of a book published about her in Poland, on display at a reception in 2007. At the time, Irena was being awarded the Order of the Smile, an international prize presented to adults for the love, care, and help they have given to children. By the time of her death at the age of 98 in 2008, Irena had been recognized around the world for her efforts in helping Polish Jews during World War II. Her most notable achievement was her role in the rescue of about 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto. 4 Chapter 1 The Toolbox Baby Summer, 1942. To the German soldiers standing guard in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, the Polish carpenter carrying his tools didn’t arouse suspicion at all. The tradesman calmly hoisted his toolbox onto the load of bricks in the back of his truck and drove away. What the soldiers didn’t know was that inside the box was not a hammer, saw, and other tools, but a six-month-old baby sleeping soundly, drugged so she wouldn’t cry and draw attention. The baby’s mother also lovingly placed a silver spoon in the toolbox-crib, a spoon etched with the family’s name. She hoped to be reunited with her child after the terrible conflict that was raging in much of the world at that time. That conflict was World War II, and it would claim the lives of tens of millions of civilians by the time it ended in 1945. Saving the Children Many dramatic escapes like this were successful because of the work of a devoted group of people led by Irena Sendler. In this case, the baby got out safely, driven away from the walled-in ghetto the Germans had created for the Jewish population of occupied Poland. Her Polish rescuers brought them to the relatively safer Christian area, although this was also under German control. 5 A P W W II ORTRAIT OF ORLD AR On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland, and, as agreed in the German-Soviet non-aggression pact signed in August 1939, the Soviet Union attacked from the east on September 17. On September 3, although Britain and France declared war on Germany in support of Poland, neither country brought real military aid to the besieged country. That was the beginning of World War II, which lasted in Europe until Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. The war in Asia continued until Japan— which sided with Germany—formally surrendered on September 2, 1945. During that time, almost every country in the world became involved in the conflict. If a country sided with Germany, it was part of the so-called “Axis.” If a country sided with Britain and France, the two major powers first to declare war on Germany, it was one of the “Allies.” The main Axis nations were Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, and Romania. The Allies initially consisted of Britain and France. Over the next few years, This U.S. propaganda most of the world’s nations joined the Allies. poster depicts Germany The largest Allied nations—the Soviet Union, and Japan savagely the United States, and China—joined the fight attacking the Statue of in 1941. A year later, 26 Allied countries Liberty. The poster’s formed the United Nations. (After the war, message is intended to another 25 countries joined the UN.) spur U.S. workers to give In Europe, Nazi Germany was highly their all to the war effort. successful in its efforts to invade and take over countries in all directions. By 1943, the Nazis 6 had increased their territory to include most of continental Europe as we know it today. They made a big mistake, though, when they started moving into the Soviet Union in 1941. When Germany broke its agreement with the Soviets and started invading Soviet-held areas, the Soviet Union joined the Allies in fighting against Germany. That significantly increased the number of forces opposing the Nazi military. Meanwhile, in Asia, Japan had invaded Manchuria (now northeast China) in 1931, and China in 1937. After World War II started in Europe, Japan joined the Axis, siding with Germany. To try to prevent Japan from dominating Asia, the United States stopped all trade with Japan. The most significant thing the United States did was stop selling oil to Japan, potentially crippling the Japanese military. In return, to make sure the United States didn’t become the dominant force in the Pacific, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. Japan also formally declared war on the United States. That led Britain, Canada, and the United States to declare war on Japan. Germany and Italy then declared war on the United States, and the United States declared war on those two nations. Over the next few years, as the Soviets attacked Germany from the east, other Allied forces (Britain, Canada, and the United States, among others) attacked from the west and south, eventually beating the Germans into surrender. Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Germany surrendered a week later, marking the end of World War II in Europe. At the same time, Japan was battling the Allies over Asian land and Pacific islands. Each side won individual battles—until August 6, 1945. That’s the day the U.S. Air Force dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, the United States dropped another atomic bomb on another Japanese city, Nagasaki. More than 120,000 civilians died because of those bombs—either during the bombing or from radiation exposure after the bombing. Within days of the bombings, Japan agreed to surrender to the Allies, and on September 2, 1945, World War II in the Pacific was officially over. World War II was the biggest war in history. About 100 million military personnel fought in the war, and 50 to 70 million civilians died, making World War II the deadliest war in history. It was also the only war to use nuclear weapons. 7 Escape By Any Means Possible Rescuers carried some children out in potato sacks, and some in coffins. Other children escaped through tunnels and even the sewers. The toolbox baby was one of about 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto saved by Irena Sendler and her team during World War II. Without Irena’s help, these children would surely have died. More than nearly any other conflict in history, World War II was a war waged against children as well as soldiers. Jewish children are rounded up to be deported out of the Lodz Ghetto in Poland. The destination for deportation from Lodz was Chelmno, which was also in Poland. Chelmno was a German concentration camp set up by the Nazis for one chief purpose—the mass murder of Jews and others, including Poles, Czechs, Soviet prisoners of war, and Romanies (Gypsies). 8