Top 8 Quotes by Irena Sendler

I was taught that if you see a person drowning, you must jump into the water to save them, whether you can swim or not.

I was taught that if you see a person drowning, you must jump into the water to save them, whether you can swim or not.

Water, Swim, Taught

Heroes do extraordinary things. What I did was not an extraordinary thing. It was normal.

Inspirational Life, Hero, Normal

"Irena Sendlerowa: Warsaw social worker who rescued thousands from the Jewish ghetto". Rupert Cornwell, The Independent, May 14, 2008.

The world can be better if there's love, tolerance and humility.

Irena Sendler

Love, Inspirational, Humility

"Holocaust Hero Turns 97" by Jim Sciutto, abcnews.go.com. February 15, 2007.

Every child saved with my help and the help of all the wonderful secret messengers, who today are no longer living, is the justification of my existence on this earth, and not a title to glory.

Irena Sendler

Children, Secret, Today

Irena Sendler's letter to the Polish Senate (2007), as quoted in "Irena Sendler, Lifeline to Young Jews, Is Dead at 98" by Dennis Hevesi, www.nytimes.com. May 13, 2008.

I was brought up to believe that a person must be rescued when drowning, regardless of religion and nationality. The term ‘hero’ irritates me greatly – the opposite is true – I continue to have pangs of conscience that I did so little.

Irena Sendler

Believe, Hero, Opposites

"I'm no hero, says woman who saved 2,500 ghetto children" by Kate Connolly, www.theguardian.com. March 15, 2007.

After World War II, it seemed that humanity understood something, and nothing like that would happen again. Humanity has understood nothing. Religious, tribal, national wars continue. The world continues to be in a sea of blood. The world can be better if there's love, tolerance and humility.

Irena Sendler

Religious, War, Humility