Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources
Bartel, Judy. The Holocaust. Gareth Stevens, 2006.
This text shares a detailed account of what happened to the Jewish community from the
beginning of the war, throughout their time in the ghettos, concentration camps, and up
until the end of the war if they survived.

Bussgang, Julian and Fay. The Last Eyewitnesses: Children of the Holocaust Speak.
Northwestern University Press, 1998.
This is a collection of testimonies of children who were forced to experience the
Holocaust at an age of innocence. A woman by the name of Elzbieta Ficowska was born
in the Warsaw Ghetto and was rescued by Irena Sendler and given an opportunity for a
new life. She shares her experience within this text of The Last Eyewitnesses.
Mazzeo, Tilar J. Irenas Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Women Who Saved 2,500
Children from the Warsaw Ghetto. Gallery Books, 2016.
This story recalls multiple childrens perspectives of WWII and their time in Warsaw
Ghetto. It also recalls their personal memories of being rescued by their guardian angel,
Irena Sendler.

Volvkova, Hana. I never saw another butterfly: Childrens Drawings and Poems from Terezin
Concentration Camp 1942-1944. Schocken Books, 1993.
This text is a rare collection of children's drawings, poems, and stories from their time in
the ghetto. It shares first hand experiences of what a day to day life was for these
precious souls within the dreary ghetto of Terezin.

Wolf, Andrezej. The Story of Irena Sendler. <youtube.com/watch?v=2QSfoMraA_A>.

November 5, 2016.
Andrezej Wolf interviewed Irena Sendler, who shared her journey of becoming a heroine.
She was unwilling to see the sacrifice and great deeds that she was able to complete in
her youth, but rather recalls the difficulty of seeing the parents faces still to this day.

Wordpress. Life in a jar: The Irena Sendler Project. <irenasendler.org>. November 5, 2016
This website shares countless acts of heroism, journeys, and notable actions that Irena
Sendler took. It portrays her life in words that are immeasurable to the woman herself.

Secondary Sources
Books
Dawn, Susan B. Irena Sendler: Bringing Life to Children of the Holocaust. CrabTree Publishing
Company, 2012.
This source covers the life journey of Irena Sendler and what she was able to do as a
young woman in Poland for Jewish children. It also covers briefly what her life was like
after the war. She experienced some hardships after being arrested and tortured but she
never saw herself in any other way then just a person. Her life was honored by Poland,
Israel, Pope John Paul II, and the families of those children she rescued.

Mayer, Jack. Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project. Long Trail Press, March 28, 2011
This story discusses Irenas life and how few knew about her choices during WWII, but
that three teens from Kansas were inspired by a teacher to dig deeper. What they
discovered is portrayed in their interpretation of Life in a Jar.

Meltzer, Milton. Never to Forget: The Jews of the Holocaust. Harpercollins Publishers, 1976.
This text covers the memory of the Holocaust and what took place during this horrific
time period. The author Milton Meltzer does not want to solely focus on the event itself,
but rather the people who were affected by it the most in the Jewish community.

Meltzer, Milton. Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust. Harper
Trophy, 1988.
Milton Meltzer focuses on the rare souls of World War II who stood up against Hitler and
his belief on a superior race. These individuals took a stand to protect the Jewish
community and Meltzer reflects on their heroism in the 1930s to 1940s.

Mieszkowska, Anna. Irena Sendler: Mother of the Children of the Holocaust. Praeger, 2010.
This text was one of the first accounts written in English concerning the heroism of this
young woman. It recounts what she went through as a young Catholic woman growing up
in Poland during WWII.

Rubin, Susan Goldman and Bill Farnsworth. Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw
Ghetto. Holiday House, February 14, 2011.
This story is a wonderful rendition of what took place in Warsaw Ghetto for younger
readers. I feel that it is important while researching to understand all perspectives of your
topic. By using this as a source I was able to gain a better understanding of who she was
while also understanding the approach of portraying her to young readers.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Deadly Medicine: Creating The Master Race.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2008.
This book provided insight on Hitlers view for a master race. It covers his
philosophies, approaches, and cruelty through cleansing the world of the imperfections of
the human population.

Willmott, H.P, Charles Messenger, and Robin Cross. World War II. Dorling Kindersley Limited,
2004.
World War II had multiple components within its six year span. This book covers the
European Theatre, the Pacific Theatre, and the genocide that slaughtered millions. It
provided a window into the Warsaw Ghetto that was necessary in understanding what
Irena Sendler saw daily.
Websites:
Alaska, Kathy. Hall of Heroes: Irena Sendler.
<http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3363804/posts>. November 25,2016.
This website displayed some amazing images of Irena Sendler and children in the
Warsaw Ghetto. The website also shared an excellent play by play of her life story and
documented each milestone that she covered.

DuBord, Steven J. Irena Sendler: Humble Holocaust Heroine.

<http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/history/item/14540-irena-sendler-humble-holo
caust-heroine>. November 25, 2016.
This article describes the heroism shown by Irena, but what is more inspiring is the
aftermath of this wonderful woman. Irena never saw herself as a heroic individual, but
with the help of three young students her story is now being shared throughout the
country. Still unable to see what she had accomplished during the war she was more
touched by the friendship she was creating with three young students from Kansas.

Ghettos.<https://www.ushmm.org/research/research-in-collections/search-the-collections/bibli
ography/ghettos#h120>. November 25, 2016.
This website provided additional resources for my research. It is connected with the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum that was able to share multiple sources of
different perspectives on the treatment and lifestyle given to prisoners of the Warsaw
Ghetto.

Haven, Cynthia. Life in wartime Warsaw not quite what you thought. Stanford University.
2011, May 21. <http://bookhaven.stanford.edu/tag/jadwiga-piotrowska/>. November 25,
2016.
This article shares a few Q&As about Irena Sendler and the PBS documentary created
by Mark Skinner. It also has some great images of the innocence of children and the
horrors they were exposed to at such a young age.

Hevesi, Dennis. Irena Sendler, Lifeline to Young Jews, Is Dead at 98.

<nytimes.com/2008/05/13/world/europe/13sendler.html>.
The reason I was captivated by this source was for the title. Dennis Hevesi stated it
perfectly for his readers, Irena Sendler was a lifeline to young jews. She saw what was
taking place in her homeland and instead of sitting by and being disgusted by the
treatment of Jews she took action. She used her position to help secure the life and future
of 2,500 Jewish children. After reading through the article I understood why Dennis
Hevesi used it to describe Irena Sendler. For this reason I felt it was necessary to use it
myself within my exhibit.

Kroll, Chana. Irena Sendler: Rescuer of the Children of Warsaw. The JewishWoman.org.
2016.<http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/939081/jewish/Irena-Sen
dler.htm>. November 25, 2016.
This article began with a personal account of a young woman Elzbieta Ficowska and her
journey from Warsaw Ghetto as a five month old infant. It discusses the policy of writing
all the child's information on a piece of paper and burying it in mason jars underneath an
apple tree at Irenas house.

Levine, Jason. Jewish Resistance: Konrad Zegota Committee. Jewish Virtual Library. 2016.
<www.jewishvirtualliberty.org/jsource/Holocaust/Zegota.html>. November 5, 2016.
Irena Sendler was a member of the Konrad Zegota Committee and with this text I
understood the purpose of her role within the committee. Her membership helped her
have the support and backing for rescuing these children along with other women who
posed as nurses.

PBS. Irena Sendler: In the Name of Their Mothers. <pbs.org/program/irena-sendler>.

November 5, 2016
This website covers a program called Irena Sendler: In the Name of Their Mothers that
documents the journey of a group of women who set out in rescuing as many Jewish
children as they possible could and by any means necessary.

Smith, Lydia. Holocaust Memorial Day 2016: The Polish social worker who saved 2,500
Jewish children from Warsaw ghetto.
<http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/holocaust-memorial-day-2016-polish-social-worker-who-save
d-2500-jewish-children-warsaw-ghetto-1540149>. November 26, 2016.

This website gave me a brief introduction to the horrors that awaited Irena Sendler after
being arrested. It discusses how she was arrested, beaten, tortured, and sentenced to death
but thankfully escaped after bribing an officer. After all this was done to her she still
never lost hope or sight of her ultimate goal in rescuing children.