Museum of Me: November 2022

Today at the Museum of Me, we ask the question  - who is your unsung hero?

I have a file labeled "Unsung Heroes" and I add names to it when I come across someone that I haven't heard of before that accomplished something difficult, who spoke out in favor of what was right when all around them were doing wrong, who achieved great things that involved acts of bravery or sacrifice yet they are not recognized or celebrated. There are really hundreds or thousands of people like this once you start looking, in history and in the present day. 

I thought about Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician who tried to introduce handwashing and disinfection in obstetrical clinics, Miep Gies who hid Anne Frank and other Dutch Jews from the Nazis and retrieved Anne Frank's diary, or the cheerful cashier at Walmart who never fails to greet me with a smile and make me laugh. But I finally settled on Irena Sendler as the unsung hero I'd like to write about today. 

Irena was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who was part of the Polish Underground Resistance. During World War II, Irena Sendler smuggled more than 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. She smuggled the children out of the Warsaw Ghetto by providing them with false identity documents and getting those children to safety with other willing Polish families and orphanages. Her work was done at huge risk because giving any kind of assistance to Jews in German-occupied Poland was punishable by death, not just for the person who was providing the help but also for their entire family or household. She and her co-workers buried lists of the hidden children in jars to keep track of their original and new identities. The aim was to return the children to their original families, if still alive after the war. Irena was arrested by the Nazis who broke her arms and legs, beat her severely, sent her to prison, and sentenced her to death. She was rescued by the Polish Underground, assumed a new identity, and continued her work. 

She lived in Warsaw after the war, continuing as a social worker, and died in 2008. Irena is celebrated as a hero in Poland but is not well-known outside of the country. 

I think Irena Sendler is a worthy unsung hero because of her heroic rescue of 2,500 children. When asked why she put herself and her family at such risk, she said, “It was a need of my heart. I only did what any decent person would do. It was the parents and grandparents who gave up their children, they were the true heroes.”

She said it was her father’s teaching that inspired her. “If you see someone drowning you must rescue them, even if you cannot swim. There are only two kinds of people in the world, good and bad, regardless of race, religion, or creed. And most people are good.” I'm not sure I see myself reflected in her words, but we don't have to perform grand or mighty deeds to be heroes. We can get up, show up, try to do our best, and be kind. I think that may be enough on most days.

There are unsung heroes all around us, and I'd love to hear about your unsung hero/es in the comments. Thanks for visiting The Museum of (Not) Me this month and be sure to stop by The Museum again on the second Friday in December for a new installation.