Irena Sendler: A 1930s Nurse Who Saved Over 2,500 Children from the Nazis
Irena Sendler was a Polish nurse and humanitarian worker. Originally a social worker, Sendler obtained nursing certifications so that she could sneak medicine and food into Polish ghettos, which had been created by the Nazis to segregate Jews after their successful invasion of Poland.
She was able to save an estimated 2,500 children during her time working in Nazi-occupied Poland. These children were medically sedated and snuck out in potato sacks and toolboxes, send through a resistance network to Christian orphanages where they could be given new identities and escape the ongoing Holocaust. Sendler was eventually captured and imprisoned by the Nazis from 1948 to 1949. After the war, she lived the rest of her life in Warsaw, where she was active with the Polish communist movement.
In 2007, Irena Sendler was actually nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, although she lost to Al Gore.
Brave Nurses of the Past and Present
Nursing is an occupation with a long and illustrious history, and over the centuries, many nurses have shown incredible bravery and courage. From Irena Sendler braving Nazi interrogation to save children from the Holocaust to two RNs in West Texas standing up to a corrupt local establishment, many nurses have made massive sacrifices in the name of moral good.
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