A WWII Tale of Selflessness in the Face of Evil

By Rod Anderson, CP Cartoonist Tuesday, October 04, 2016

What happens when an ordinary Polish woman encounters extraordinary evil? Well, she saves 2,500 Jewish children.

This past week, PBS premiered the latest film by Ken Burns. His subject was Waitstill Sharp, a Unitarian minister and his wife Martha, who, during World War II, helped smuggle at least 150 Jews out of Nazi-controlled areas, operating first in Prague and then in Lisbon.

It's a remarkable story that is worth telling and hearing.

And there's another story involving the rescue of as many as 2,500 Jews that Glenn Sunshine recently brought to our attention. And I promise, it's a story that's also worthy of your attention.

The protagonist of this story was a 29-year-old Polish social worker named Irena Sendler. Her responsibilities included taking care of countless people who had been dispossessed by the German occupation of her country.