REPOSTED FROM THE UK TELEGRAPH BLOG
I am ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Irena Sendler, whose obituary appeared in this morning’s paper. Hers is an awesomely humbling story, even by the standards of her heroic generation.
Irena Sendler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
A Polish Catholic, she spirited some 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto, displaying casual and extraordinary courage. She kept a list of the children she had saved, hoping one day to reunite them with their parents – although, in the event, almost all lost their families in Treblinka. In 1943, she was arrested by the Gestapo and tortured. Her legs and feet were broken, but she refused to give up her list. She was sentenced to death, but rescued, whereupon – almost unbelievably – she went back to work.
Here, though, is the sentence that leapt off the page at me: “Last year she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, eventually won by Al Gore.” Al Gore! I mean, nothing against the old lardbutt – it’s nice to see ex-politicians doing something they believe in rather than giving themselves over wholly to the getting of personal wealth – but making a film is not the same thing as donning a yellow star and smuggling babies past enemy soldiers.
Our generation, as Danny Kruger put it in the best tract of 2007, is moralistic rather than moral. We are better at holding opinions about what governments or multi-nationals should do than we are at doing the right thing by our neighbours. Having formed our opinions, we become self-righteous in a way that the Irena Sendlers of the world couldn’t understand.
“We who were rescuing children are not some kind of heroes”, she said towards the end of her life. “That term irritates me greatly. The opposite is true – I continue to have qualms of conscience that I did so little. I could have done more. This regret will follow me to my death.” There is a haunting sincerity to that statement. You can’t imagine Al Gore saying any such thing, can you?
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Compare her courage to that of Al Gore’s. Broken legs, Gestapo interrogation…
Life is not always fair. Sometimes it’s downright vicious. I would like to see this UK Blog featured at other sites.
What a story! Absolutely selfless. I’m going to have to read more about this gal.
I doubt she fretted, for even a moment, over the prospect of winning that prize.
By the way Anthony,
This is a great inspirational post. Thanks.
It’s stuff like this that make me truely proud to be a norwegian. It has been said that the award given to Al gore was a kick in the shin to G.W Bush for not signing kyoto. I can’t believe those idiots in the Nobel prize commity will go through hell and high water to kick Bush in the shin.
And she would, like us, likely have been called a ‘denier.’
The knowledge of what Irena Sendler did makes me humble as a man; proud as a member of the human race.
The further knowledge (which Andrew Bolt also drew attention to in his Melbourne forum a few days ago): “Last year she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, eventually won by Al Gore.” engenders a feeling of bitterness and scorn in me.
You are owed a debit of gratitude for publishing this knowledge here, Anthony. Thank you.
Shows that the Gore guy is a cad.
If I had been nominated for a gong and then upon seeing the worth of the woman in competition… I’d have stood down and let her win unopposed….
That’s the trouble with someone who thinks they are saving the world. They think they are worth more than anyone else.
Ah well… In my mind Irena Sendler won it anyway…. Rest peacefully among angels good lady.
True enough, we are all children …at one time or always – depending on who is talking. What an extraordinary example of selflessness, may we all aspire to reach out to children to appreciate them for being …well, what they are, Tiny Tims or specks of sunshine.
For the sin of venality, Al Gore is already living in Hell. I don’t think he believes what he says. That’s heavy, man.
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Now James Hansen? I believe it is still possible he believes; what he wants is the eternal gratitude of a saved world. He’ll get instead the curses of the cold and hungry, forevermore.
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I think she was lucky not to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. It’s been so debased with awards to people like Yassar Arafat, Jimmy Carter, and Al Gore/IPCC that it’s not worth much anymore. The Peace Prize has become a political statement and not an award for an action that is universally recognized to bring a bit of peace to the world. The memorial at Yad Vashem is probably far more appropriate though less well known.
I agree with Pierre Gosselin, life in this world isn’t fair most of the time. But let’s not live in despair nor allow this prejudice to hinder us from doing what is “right”. Irena Sendler has done something so great that only a few can duplicate. She may not earn her reward today but surely in due time, she will earn due rewards, not from Nobel or from anybody else in this world, but from Someone whose authority, honor, and greatness far more exceed those that composed the Nobel Piece Price – Someone who will never allow even the smallest good deed of man to go in vain.
I’m sorry but I don’t get how Al Gore is in the wrong when he was the one awarded not awarding?
I’ve no doubt at all Irena Sendler was a fine woman who did remarkably courageous things, but I don’t see why she not getting the Nobel has to be used as an excuse to, for the umpteenth time, insult Al Gore? How can it be Al’s fault?
‘lardbutt’? That’s drunken lout level 🙁
REPLY: Note that is the Telegraph’s words, not mine.
Given some of the dubious past recipients of the Nobel “Peace” Prize, I think it is a badge of honor NOT to have received it! She deserves much better than that…
And when people talk about Al Gore and the IPCC receiving the Nobel prize, I quickly point out that they did NOT win the prize in the PHYSICS category!
Frank
I mean, nothing against [Al Gore] – it’s nice to see ex-politicians doing something they believe in rather than giving themselves over wholly to the getting of personal wealth – but making a film is not the same thing as donning a yellow star and smuggling babies past enemy soldiers.
It would be nice if he really believed in it. I’m not sure he does. Actions speak louder than words, and it took public outcry for him to “green” up his mansion, to say nothing of his private plane, etc. And as for money, he’s partnered up to form an investment company for investing in “environmental” companies – all his publicity raises the awareness of and the demand for those kinds of products, raising the value of their investments, no?
I doubt Al Gore really believes any of the tripe he pushes. He’s an opportunist, plain and simple.
As for kicking GW in the shin, it should be noted that Kyoto wasn’t signed under the Clinton/Gore administration either.
Actually, Al Gore has shown that it is possible to do something you believe in AND give yourself wholly to the getting of personal wealth at the same time.
Still, it is not his fault that he got the prize. If we are going to honour our heroes, we shouldn’t wait until they are 98 years old to nominate them for honours.
I don’t think she would deny that it has been warm. She would probably wonder at our concern over weather in general. If she was anything like my grandma she would just tell us to take a jacket with us and wear clean underwear.
The Nobel Prize Committee should be hanging its head more so that Big Al.
Gore got the Peace prize instead of her? For a bad movie full of inaccuracies and outright falsehood? Tell me the Nobel awards committee doesn’t look marred by this little revelation.
If Al Gore had any sense of shame he wouldn’t be Al Gore.
Thank you for the post Anthony. What a lady! I regret that the Nobel Peace Prize can not be awarded posthumously, as she most certainly deserves it.
Regrettably, saving 2500 children from almost certain death doesn’t seem to compare to a politician claiming he will “save the world”. That makes the Nobel Peace Prize rather trivial, does it not?
It is probably better that she didn’t win because then she would have been linked with terrorist and anti-Semite Yassir Arafat. The Nobel Peace Prize has been a joke for a LONG time.
Just goes to show you how much these political prizes like the Nobel really mean: squat!
Irena’s real legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of all those who had heard of her. What will the winners of the Nobel be remembered for? What legacy will they leave?
Great find Anthony, thanks for posting. I can’t blame Al for this one, he doesn’t decide who wins, but certainly the Nobel committee should be embarrassed for making a political statement when they could have awarded her this prize.