Irena Sendler: Saved Children at ...

Irena Sendler: Saved Children at Great Personal Risk During WWII

Women in History by Sherry Crowther
S1 · E13
Sep 7, 2026
29:31

Episode notes

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, social worker Irena Sendler became part of an underground network helping Jews survive the Holocaust. Working inside and around the Warsaw Ghetto, she helped smuggle Jewish children to safety, arrange hiding places and preserve records of their real identities. When the Gestapo arrested and tortured her, she was sentenced to death, but her colleagues managed to secure her release. In this episode, we explore Irena’s extraordinary wartime work, the difficult choices faced by parents and rescuers, the children who survived, and the remarkable story of how this largely forgotten woman became internationally recognized decades later.

Keywords

history
women's history
World War 2
European history
Polish history

What place this episode is about

Administrative
Warsaw, Poland

Where this episode is made