Social Workers in the Movies: The Courageous Heart of Irene Sendler

In this post I will be discussing the movie The Courageous Heart of Irene Sendler staring Anna Paquin.  The movie tells of Social Worker Irene Sendler who lived from 1910- 2008 and who served in the Polish Underground during the Second World War.  Irene worked for the Social Welfare Department during this time and had access to the Warsaw Ghetto.

In the movie, Irene witnesses orphaned children living on the streets of the Ghetto and often assists her Jewish friends by providing them with food and clothing.  Irene lives with her ailing mother and makes it her mission to assist Jewish children.

When funding is cut for the Ghetto and rumours spread that the Jewish people are not returning from concentration camps alive, Irene and her willing co-workers devise plans of smuggling Jewish children out of the Ghetto.  They hide babies and dress older children to look like "gentiles" and with the assistance of a priest, they find temporary homes for these children with supportive Polish families.

Eventually Irene is asked by the Polish Underground if she is willing to work with them.  Irene agrees and they supply her finds for the cause.  They also provide Irene with false documents for the children.

Irene attends a meeting with Jewish community members in the Ghetto to discuss her plan.  The Rabbis discuss whether or not the Jewish children should remain in the Ghetto with their family members, or risk the unknown and send these children to live with Polish families.  It is a difficult decision as one Rabbi is concerned that the children will be converted and will lose their cultural and religious traditions.  Irene assures them that she has kept a record of all of the children smuggled out of the Ghetto and that the plan is to reunite them with family members after the war.

After saving an amazing 2,500 Jewish children, Irene is arrested and beaten by the Nazis, however she does not give up any information about the Underground.  In jail, Irene becomes reunited with a co-worker who assisted her in the cause.  Irene and the other women who are imprisoned with her are set to be executed.  However, the Nazis are bribed to save Irene's life by the Underground and she escapes, while her friend is executed.

Irene returns home to her sick mother but the plan is made for Irene to go to the mountainside where it is safer. 

In 1947 Irene married her Jewish friend Stefan who worked in an orphanage in the Ghetto.

In 2007, Irene was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts during the Holocaust. 

As a sad end note, many of these rescued chldren could not be reuinted with their family members after the war because their family members did not survive the Holocaust.

Overall, this was a very moving true story about one Social Worker (and her friends) against the Nazis.  She put her own life at risk to save countless children, which is something not many of us could imagine having to do in our daily jobs.  If you are feeling helpless in your position right now, I would recommend watching this movie (it's available on Youtube) for some inspiration.