2008-05-13 10:28

Irena Sendler's death

President Lech Kaczynski said he felt deep sorrow over the death of Irena Sendler Monday morning. He would think of ways to commemorate her "in the best possible" manner.

"She was an exceptional person, typical of the Polish intellectual milieu between the two world wars, she had links to the Polish Socialist Party PPS, was unusually bold (during the war), and later somewhat forgotten," Kaczynski told newsmen in Cracow.

"She was a perfect candidate for the Nobel Peace prize (..)," he added. Lech Kaczynski was among the group of people who proposed Sendler for the prize in 2007.

She was a great person with a great heart, according to Marek Edelman, the last surviving commander of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising of 1943. By saving the lives of over 2,000 small children she had done something great indeed, Edelman told PAP.

"Very few people are ready to take personal risks in order to help others, those who are more vulnerable. The world would be a better place if there were more such people," Edelman added.

Poland's chief rabbi Michael Schudrich said Sendler "saved not only Jewish children, but also the soul of Europe."

Schudrich called on ailing Sendler a week before her death. "She told me she was no hero, just a human being. She also said there were no such things as good times or bad times, what mattered was to be a decent, good person," the rabbi said.

Irena Sendler was a great and merited person who did not get due appreciation in her time, ex-president Lech Walesa told PAP. Walesa supported her candidacy for the Nobel Peace prize in 2007. "She deserved that prize, but I am sure she will get one in heaven," the ex-president added.

We will never forget her, said the minister of culture and national heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski. "She had exceptional personality and will," he added. JH

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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