Page 53 - Issue4-November2017_online_opt
P. 53
Irena Sendler
about to begin. Nachum Remba, aghast, ran to the doctor’s
side, hoping to stop him from going. Witnesses say that Na-
chum Remba was one of the last people to speak to Dr. Janusz
Korczak before the boxcars were loaded. He begged the doctor
to come with him. Dr. Korczak shook his head slowly,” I can-
not leave the children even for a moment.” Then, he followed
the children into the boxcar, holding in each arm a tired five-
year-old child.
Nachum, the consummate actor, broke down helplessly on
the platform. Irena was inconsolable. She went home and ba-
sically had a nervous breakdown. Her mother called a doctor,
who sedated her. Irena said that of all her horrible experiences,
including her own imprisonment by the Gestapo, this left the
worst impression on her psyche.
By August 14, 1942, 190,000 people had been transported to
their deaths at Treblinka. All through August, Irena and Ala were
smuggling children out of the ghetto at a ferocious pace. It was
in that period from August till January, 1943, that the majori-
ty of the children they saved were rescued. Thanks to Jan Do-
braczynski and his signature on the transfer papers, the children
were usually sent to convent refuges as soon as new “Polish”
identity papers could be found.u
To be continued….
u 410 358 8509 u 45
about to begin. Nachum Remba, aghast, ran to the doctor’s
side, hoping to stop him from going. Witnesses say that Na-
chum Remba was one of the last people to speak to Dr. Janusz
Korczak before the boxcars were loaded. He begged the doctor
to come with him. Dr. Korczak shook his head slowly,” I can-
not leave the children even for a moment.” Then, he followed
the children into the boxcar, holding in each arm a tired five-
year-old child.
Nachum, the consummate actor, broke down helplessly on
the platform. Irena was inconsolable. She went home and ba-
sically had a nervous breakdown. Her mother called a doctor,
who sedated her. Irena said that of all her horrible experiences,
including her own imprisonment by the Gestapo, this left the
worst impression on her psyche.
By August 14, 1942, 190,000 people had been transported to
their deaths at Treblinka. All through August, Irena and Ala were
smuggling children out of the ghetto at a ferocious pace. It was
in that period from August till January, 1943, that the majori-
ty of the children they saved were rescued. Thanks to Jan Do-
braczynski and his signature on the transfer papers, the children
were usually sent to convent refuges as soon as new “Polish”
identity papers could be found.u
To be continued….
u 410 358 8509 u 45
