Irena Sendler, The Female Oskar Schindler

Irena Sendler was a Roman Catholic who created a network of rescuers in Poland who smuggled about 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto in World War II, some of them in coffins.

Mrs. Sendler was head of the children’s bureau of Zegota, an underground organization set up to save Jews after the Nazis invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. Soon after the invasion, approximately 450,000 Jews, about 30 percent of Warsaw’s population, were crammed into a tiny section of the city and barricaded behind seven-foot-high walls.

On April 19, 1943, the Nazis began what they expected would be a rapid liquidation of the ghetto. It took them more than a month to quell the Warsaw ghetto uprising. By then, only about 55,000 Jews were still alive; most of them were sent to death camps.

Also by then, however, Mrs. Sendler’s group of about 30 volunteers, mostly women, had managed to slip hundreds of infants, young children and teenagers to safety.

Irena Sendler, as a non-Jewish social worker, had gone into the Warsaw Ghetto, talked Jewish parents and grandparents out of their children, rightly saying that all were going to die in the Ghetto or in death camps, taking the children past the Nazi guards or using one of the many means of escape from the Ghetto-the old courthouse for example- and then adopting them into the homes of Polish families or hiding them in convents and orphanages. She made lists of the children's real names and put the lists in jars, then buried the jars in a garden, so that someday she could dig up the jars and find the children to tell them of their real identity. The Nazis captured her and she was beaten severely, but the Polish underground bribed a guard to release her, and she entered into hiding.

Irena had made false documents for people in the Warsaw area from 1939 to 1942, helping save many, BEFORE she joined the underground Zegota and started saving children.

In 1965, Mrs. Sendler became one of the first of the so-called righteous gentiles honored by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. Poland’s Communist leaders did not allow her to travel to Israel; she was presented the award in 1983.

Irena Krzyzanowska was born in Otwock, in what is now Poland, on Feb. 15, 1910. Her father was a physician. Her marriage to Mieczyslaw Sendler ended in divorce after World War II. Her second husband, Stefan Zgrzembski, died before her. She is survived by her daughter, Janka, and a granddaughter.
Irena passed away on May 12, 2008 at the age of 98. She was buried in a Warsaw, Poland cemetery. Her family and many of the rescued children continue to tell her story of courage and valor. The Life in a Jar students continue to share her legacy through the play, the web site, through schools and study guides, and world media.

American filmmaker Mary Skinner began working on a historical documentary film based on Irena Sendler's memoir as told to Anna Mieszkowska in 2003. "Irena Sendler, In the Name of Their Mothers"

AAUW's 50 Books for Young Readers 2010

  Each year, the AAUW St. Lawrence Branch collaborates with the Potsdam, NY Public Library staff to compile a list of 50 books published within the last three years with a women’s history and biography theme.

Anyone looking to buy great books for a daughter, granddaughter, niece, neighbor, or to donate to a book to your local library can access the list for the reading recommendations.

The 2010 50 Books list is available on the branch website at www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/2010BookList.pdf. In addition, the earlier 50 Book list from 2009 is still available at the branch website at www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/50books.pdf
Most of the 2010 50 Books are for 9-12 year old readers, but some are for young adults and some are for younger readers (as early as four years old).  The topics include the suffragettes, science and invention, arts and entertainment, colonial America and the revolutionary war, American Civil War and slavery, 1900-1945, religious traditions, sports, (un)common individuals, and film and television, as well as some international women.

AAUW's 50 Books for Young Readers 2010 excerpt from the Gouverneur Times
Nice idea, isn’t it?

All Eyes on Madeleine Albright � AAUW Dialog

“But grandma, I don’t get what the big deal is with you being Secretary of State — aren’t all women secretaries?”
—Madeline Albright’s four-year-old granddaughter

AAUW Leadership Programs Fellow Zabie Khorakiwala recently had two opportunities to hear Madeleine Albright talk about women in politics. She shared her impressions on the AAUW Dialog blog.

All Eyes on Madeleine Albright � AAUW Dialog: "Albright shared some of her own insight on why so few women hold political office:

* Self-doubt
* Struggles regarding self-promotion
* Fundraising challenges
* Difficulty navigating family-work responsibilities

Albright’s thoughts correspond closely with the research of Jennifer Lawless. While women who run for office are as likely to win and raise the same amount of money as men, they are far less likely to have a spouse or partner who is responsible for most household tasks or childcare. Women are less likely to be encouraged to run for office and feel less confident about their overall qualifications.

Through Campaign College, AAUW and our partners at the American University Women & Politics Institute (directed by Jennifer Lawless) and Running Start hope to combat some of these issues early on and provide young women with the knowledge and skills they need to run effective campaigns on campus. The program encourages women to run for student government and, eventually, for political office."

Just an aside -- during the ice breaker at our branch holiday party we identified four members present who had run for public office -- two for Ulster County Legislature -- Anne Gordon and Irwin Rosenthal -- and two for their library boards (Kingston and Woodstock) -- Jane Riley and Doris Goldberg. Anne ran three times and won once. Irwin lost his race. Jane and Doris currently serve on their library boards.

When we reminded folks that AAUW has initiated Campaign College to support and encourage young women to run for campus and public office, the group broke into spontaneous applause. Our membership knows how important that support is.

Thanks for putting Campaign College in place, AAUW. Now we need to ensure that some of our local college students attend.

Let the Conversation begin -- What does the Shriver Report mean to us?

The Shriver Report has received a lot of media coverage, but now it's up to us to move the conversations forward.

Next steps?

in reference to:

"Among the findings, is what often happens in the face of sweeping change: Some of our institutions lag behind and don’t yet reflect this new dynamic. Government, business, the media and our faith communities, in many cases, still cling to outdated models of who works and who cares for our families.

For example, men now agree with women that government and business need to provide flexible work schedules, better childcare, family and medical leave and equal pay.

And over 80 percent of men and women agree businesses that fail to adapt to the needs of modern families risk losing good workers.
Only by examining this fundamental shift in how Americans live and do business -- and acknowledging the profound changes it has wrought -- can we grow and flourish.

Let the conversation begin."
- The Shriver Report || A Study by Maria Shriver and the Center For American Progress on How We Work and Live Today (view on Google Sidewiki)

NYTimes Mag Special Issue on Women

This issue, Saving the World's Women, August 23, 2009, keeps coming up in discussions at our AAUW meetings. For those who missed the issue, here's a gateway to the articles and resources on-line.

There's plenty of discussion material here.

in reference to: The Women’s Crusade - NYTimes.com (view on Google Sidewiki)