Irena's Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto

Irena Sendler (1910–2008), a Polish student and social worker, with courage and the collaboration of other brave individuals, saved thousands of Jewish children during World War II. Beginning with small acts of resistance, Sendler eventually was smuggling babies and young children out of the Warsaw ghetto in coffins, toolboxes, and bags left on train cars. Led by Sendler and others in her network, the children were housed in safe places where their identities were changed. Mazzeo (English, Colby Coll.; The Widow Clicquot) explains how Sendler documented the children's new names on scraps of paper with the hope that these lists would someday reunite them with their families. Sadly, few parents survived the war. The actions of Sendler and other Polish residents who bravely protected Jewish children were often overlooked. It wasn't until the 1990s that these acts of courage began to receive their due.