The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2 - 500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto

"I have read Life in a Jar" which was great....this went into more depth...but giving you the reality of the horrific time and just what evil some monsters can wield on en entire race of people just because of a different religious beliefs! Then on the positive side to see the sacrifices some will give for strangers endangering themselves and their families. I would like to think I would be like the incredible Irena and her band of brave angels and step up....
Afterwards Irena refused to let people treat her as a saint; she demanded to acknowledge all of the hundreds of people that enabled her to accomplish the remarkable things they did!

I have given only 4 stars because this was a not easy book to read. It was very well written, and a lot of background info. It took me about three weeks to get threw it, because of the horrible things that took place. Its hard to think how cruel, humans can be. I stopped to think of the children, away from there parents. Also, the war lasted so long. I would like to recommend, a wonderful book, that took place in war time, but a totally different way, and US citizens, Book name," Mr, and Mrs Kraus," wonderful, I could hardly up it down, the store sells this book. I thank God for America, we are a blessed people.

I praise Irena and the incredible women, men, teens and poles who endangered their lives and their families while rescuing Jewish people, especially their children.
Everyone should receive great understanding of those war years in Poland.

I have read many books of this period in history. I could not put this book down. It is amazing how these children survived this dark time. Lest we ever forget - history can repeat itself. The swing to right and the Xenophobia of today can,again, trigger the unthinkable. Irene's story must never be forgotten. Should be required reading in schools.

This is a gripping tale of heroism in the most gruesome and savage of times. Man's inhumanity to man during the occupation of Warsaw by the Germans is gut-wrenching, though Irena and her friends and colleagues were glimmers of the good light that shines in people in the darkest of times.

very good story about the brave lady responsible for saving thousands of jewish children. this got a little tuff in a lot of places because of so many names being brought into the story, other than that, very good, informative, this lady is a true hero although she didnt like the word.

This story leaves me in awe. I hope that under these circumstances more people could be so brave & take such risks for others. We don't see anything like this today. Children are dying & lost all over the world. How can this continue?

I enjoy reading about real life heroines and their stories, and those helping to save Jewish children during the Holocaust are women of great courage and valor. Irena's story is beyond amazing, and I wish she had won the Nobel prize; she deserved it. I did find the writing of her story a bit history-book in style; lots of facts, details, and lists. I'd prefer more storytelling, action, and drama in an historical, but fictional take on her story. I found myself lost in a history report at times which is good for historical documentation, but not for my captivating reading.

This is very interesting but not a "pleasant" read. Hard facts about what actually happened in Poland and Warsaw, in particular. A "Must" for people who find WW 2 history very interesting.
I found it difficult to keep up with people because there were so many and because Polish names are so difficult.

"Irena's Children,” by Tilar J. Mazzeo, is the story of Irena Sendlerowa (Irena Sendler) who, along with a network of compassionate and courageous men and women, smuggled approximately 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto. The boys and girls they saved were placed in convents, orphanages, and private homes for the duration of the war. Irena did not hesitate to perform what she perceived as her moral duty--to assist starving Jews living in overcrowded conditions and exposed daily to the scourge of deadly diseases. Because she had a special pass, Irene was able to sneak doses of typhus vaccines, food, and false papers into the ghetto. In addition, she and like-minded individuals spirited children out in boxes, coffins, suitcases, and even by way of the sewer system.

Irena "was a feather of a person with an iron spirit" who "fought with the ferocity and intelligence of an experienced general." She was resourceful, always looking for new and ingenious ways to accomplish her goals. For all of her admirable qualities, however, she was neither a devout Catholic nor a saint. Irena carried on an adulterous affair with a married man, Adam Celnikier. In addition, she admitted guiltily that she prioritized her rescue work over her responsibility to protect her widowed mother, Janina.

Mazzeo conveys the horrifying bestiality of the Nazi oppressors; the selflessness of parents who handed over their precious babies to Irena; and the capriciousness of fate. "Irene's Children" has evocative photographs that include pictures of Irena, the people who influenced and supported her, and heartbreaking scenes from the Warsaw ghetto. Although there is no index, the author includes a list of characters and extensive endnotes. It is important to know and appreciate the deeds of Irena Sendler, a remarkable humanitarian who exemplified grace under pressure, altruism, kindness, and humility--“I did not do it alone,” she insisted on a number of occasions. In 1965, the state of Israel honored her as a righteous person among the nations.

As I began reading "Irena's Children", I instantly thought of the often referenced Fred Rodgers quote:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."

"Irena's Children" is the story of a heroic helper, and many other helpers just like her, who rescued nearly 2,500 children from the ghetto of Warsaw. Tilar Mazzeo wrote a beautiful and engaging book that captures the tenacity and heroism not only Irena's story, but also her friend's and helpers, as well as the courageous stories of the many rescued children.

This books is intense- Holocaust plus dying/endangered children intense. But the story is told from the perspective of looking at all of the amazingly awesome, courageous, and selfless acts that Irena and her helper's did for the children in Poland. I was swept up by the books and found so many amazing stories within it. I was particularly taken by the story of Dr. Janusz Korczak who worked as a director of an orphanage in Warsaw. Although he could have easily saved himself, Dr. Korczak refused freedom and stayed with his orphans when they were forced onto a railcar to Treblinka, a concentration camp.

Irena Sendler's story is told honestly, which includes her bravery and also some of her questionable decision making/ moral judgements. This made the book a far more interesting read than it would have been without this information. Not only did I appreciate the honesty, it almost made think about the implications of her bravery. Irena was incredibly brave and sefless, but she also made choices for others that were in a grey area - and how does that affect how she is viewed for her decisions? For example, Irena's elderly mother was at risk throughout Irena's time saving children. Irena never asked her mother if it was okay that she was endangering her, however she also didn't want to let her know what was happening as that would put her mother at even greater risk.

This is the second book in a row I've read that has abruptly ended. This one at 68% the other (When We Were Friends) at 88%. Very disappointing. Both books were good up to their sudden endings and I felt short changed as if the authors got tired of their own stories. I'm going to have to be more discriminatory about future selections.

I could not imagine a true story that sounded so interesting could possibly be written so poorly. It was so boring, in fact, that I only read a few chapters before giving up on it altogether. And I have always really connected to Holocaust stories.
Sorry, but this one just didn't make the cut.

I received a time-limited e-galley from the publisher, via Netgalley.

Irena Sendler had always been an unusual young woman. She went to university when there were few women among the student body, she had very liberal ideas about the relationships between men and women, and she dared to risk her life to help Jews trapped and dying in the Warsaw Ghetto.

It was tremendously risky to help Jews in Poland in World War II. The country was overrun by Germany and they used it as their prime assembly and killing ground for the Final Solution. Sadly, there were many Poles whose anti-Semitism added to the risk for anyone wanting to help Jews.

Despite the risks to herself and those close to her, Irena joined an underground circle to help Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. As a social worker, Irena was able to get passes to go into the ghetto with medical personnel. (The Nazis didn’t want disease to spread outside the ghetto walls, so they did provide minimal help to those in the ghetto to keep disease rates down.) With the help of those in her circle, Irena smuggled children out and placed them with gentiles, taking care to keep hidden records so that they could be reunited with any of their families who might survive the war.

We all know the name of Oskar Schindler, but few know of Irena Sendler, even though she saved thousands of Jewish children and has been recognized as one of the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in Israel. When Poland became dominated by the USSR after the war’s end, Irena’s story was buried.

It took tremendous effort for Tilar Mazzeo to research Irena’s story. Sometimes, when a story is described as “meticulously researched,” that’s an alarm bell that the author has tediously laid out every dry detail he or she found. Not so in this case. Mazzeo brings Irena Sendler vividly to life and conveys just how dangerous it was to make the choices she made. The narrative bogs down a bit from time to time, but all in all, it’s a rewarding read.

Thanks to Net Galley and to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for offering me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I had not heard the story of Irena Sendler before I read this volume, and it is one of the great untold stories of War World II, unfortunately not the only one. In the last chapter of the book (before the copious acknowledgements and notes) the author speculates about the possible reasons for that neglect, including how tough life was for those who had supported the Polish Resistance in the years after the war, under Soviet control, and also personal difficulties and even change in religious feelings. By the time Irena Sendler wrote her memoirs she was in her nineties and it must have been impossible to recall all the details of what had happened at such a cruel time, fraught with risk and physical and mental hardship. I could not help but wonder if the fact that she was a woman also had a bearing on it. Heroism is expected in men, for whom it is OK to put duty or fighting for one’s ideals before family and heart matters, but when it comes to women, the general discourse looks at them in a suspicious manner if they put ethics, politics or ideals before their role as homemakers and their families. Sendler also always said that the task of saving the children was a team effort and insisted on giving credit where credit was due, and collective events always make for a story less easy to sell and less straightforward to tell.
I learned a lot, not only about Irena Sendler and her collaborators, but also about what Poland went through in the war, the resistance movement in Warsaw and Poland, and the strength of individuals set on helping others, no matter how big the odds against them. Although there were betrayals and terrible things (not only on the German camp) taking place, there are also incredible feats of bravery and generosity. It is easier to fully comprehend what certain events might have meant for the population when one has a human being (be it an invented character in historical fiction or a real person in non-fictional accounts) to follow and empathise with. In this book, we follow not only Sendler but also the experiences and fates of many of her friends and collaborators, and also of some of the children who were rescued by the whole team.
The book is detailed and follows a chronological order (apart from a short Prologue set at a particular dramatic moment for the protagonist), building up from the early times before the German occupation, providing us enough information about Irena to understand where her ideas came from, and showing clearly how quickly things deteriorated, at first for Jews only, but eventually for everybody. It is not an easy book to read, not because of the writing, but because of the content. Some of the images the book creates: of the effects of the epidemic illnesses, of the contrasts inside the ghetto between the glamorous cabarets where champagne flew a few streets from where others were dying, mothers throwing their children over the wall to try to save them or the Jewish family who sent a gold crucifix and a baptism gown for their baby when they were informed he’d have to be converted to Catholicism to save him, I will not forget. There were blackmailers, and unknown kind strangers, people who would not join in the cause but helped given a chance. This is not a story of battles and big armies (although they are there too, in the background), but of individual and small guerrilla resistance, of the everyday battle and of the people who would help, because of their beliefs and ethics or for money. Perhaps the best-laid plans fail because they never take into account the individuality of the cog in the machine and how they can subvert everything, both for good and for bad.
I recommend this book to anybody interested in this historical period but perhaps not as familiar with the history of what happened in Poland as with events in other places. It is also a great read for anybody interested in inspiring stories of human endurance, resistance, bravery and fighting against all odds. Although the book is not a memoir of Irena Sendler’s life, and only makes a passing reference to what happened to her after the war, it centres on her and her role in saving the lives of over 2500 Jewish Polish children. Sendler is not presented as a heroine with no weaknesses and the book tries to show her doubts and internal struggles when trying to decide what to do, worrying about her mother and her lover, Adam, but sometimes putting herself and others at untold risks without thinking about it. It tries to remain close to the documentation, data and witness accounts, although I recommend reading the author’s note before reading the book itself, as that explains the process of creation of the book and how the different materials are incorporated into the final narration, including the use of italics to indicate material the author has written and added to make up the missing parts. In one of the reviews I saw they mentioned pictures, but I got an ARC e-copy with no photographs on it, so I can’t comment on them. There are very extensive notes of the sources at the end that will be useful to people wanting to explore further the materials and a cast of characters that will be useful to keep track of the many characters (especially as some of them had to change identities and names). I also noticed that there is a version for Young Adults that is worth exploring.
In sum, an important work to bring attention to a figure and a movement that deserves to be better known and remembered. A must read.

As a hidden child during World War II and an author of a memoir about my own experiences, I have attempted to read every book I’ve been able to find about the war—particularly those about the Holocaust. Thus, for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been asking myself: “How could I have possibly not known about Irena Sendler?” Now that I know her story, thanks to the immaculate research and wonderful writing of Tilar J. Mazzeo, I must conclude that Irena can easily be considered the greatest hero of the Second World War. After all, how many people can be credited with saving 2,500 precious lives?

Irena was a young, Catholic social worker when the Germans invaded Poland and imprisoned Jews to in the Warsaw ghetto. She was granted access to the ghetto—a walled town within a city—inside which horrific acts of inhumanity took place. Knowing that most of the inhabitants would either die of starvation or disease in the ghetto or be transported to the death camps of Treblinka or Auschwitz, Irena convinced parents to trust her with their children. Once the mothers and fathers made the painful decision, she and her network smuggled the kids out of the ghetto.

Sometimes very young children were medicated and hidden in boxes, suitcases, and even coffins. Once outside the ghetto, they were given new identities and placed in convents, orphanages, and with Polish families. In hopes that some of the parents would survive and return after the war, Irena kept a hidden record of the kids’ real names and where they were placed. She and her brave friends hid these records underground. They risked their lives every day, performing acts of humanity in the midst of cruelty and death.

Tilar J. Mazzeo’s book is not an easy read—the details of Nazi savagery she describes often are difficult to absorb. At the same time, I consider it one of the finest pieces of work I have read about the Holocaust. The combination of excellent narrative style and its subject—the heroic Irena Sendler—make this little-known story of the war a must read. I could not recommend it more highly.

Tilar J. Mazzeo writes from an extremely educated standpoint when talking about her subject, which in this case are the thousands of Jewish children that Irena Sendler saved from the Warsaw Ghetto. This was a powerfully disturbing but also amazing look from a different historical standpoint about a truly amazing group of people in our history.

Tilar does an amazing job of setting the scene for the reader in bringing the scenes of the book to life as though they still existed before our eyes. She brings the characters to life in a way that makes the reader feel as if you really know them and can see them before your eyes and feel their anxiety and passion and even discouragement. Irena's cell of "saviors" were so amazing in the face of such treatment that describing it as "inhumane" would be an injustice to the horrors of what actually occurred. I felt sick in my heart to know that anyone could ever have to live or feel this way, and so empowered to know that one person or even a few people can truly make the difference in so many generations of lives.

The only points I had that were negative with this book were that I would have liked to have seen a city map to really be able to get a visual feel of how far the ghetto and sewer systems were from different "safe" houses, Gestapo, churches and welfare centers and showing how the sewer and supply lines ran in and out of the Warsaw Ghetto.

The other thing that really took this book down from a 5 star rating for me was that, there were some very tedious moments at times in this book. Mazzeo has done such an amazing job with her research that she has put almost too many details into the book. As a nonfiction book it is a hard thing to really judge on. If I were reading this book for reference into this event I would want that more than reading from an educational pleasure reading stand point as I did. There were some of the interwoven details that seemed to be retold in several different ways. I appreciate their importance but a few times it got a bit boring with certain "deja-vu" feelings with the paperwork and the slower speed to the progress of the book.

I highly recommend this book as it is a story that needs traction. A story of hope for all that we can accomplish when any of us may feel like we can't make a difference in the world, when we ALL have that power within just one of us. If we can band together we have even more strength in the face of anything that the universe can throw at us. This book is also a powerful lesson to the world to show how quickly things can turn from bad to worse, in the face of judgement and fear and hate, and how we must all fight against this at every turn. A stunning 4.5 stars for me.

When the Germans invaded Poland in the early days of World War II, Irena Sendlerowa was a brilliant, beautiful young social worker who easily could have distanced herself from danger. Instead she quickly became involved in the resistance, and in the rescue of thousands of Jewish children facing certain doom in the Warsaw ghetto.

At first, author Tilar J. Mazzeo states that it seemed the invaders had more hatred of the rebellious Poles than of the country's Jews. But all that changed when, in 1939, the Nazi regime with Hitler's full support laid out a plan for the "final solution" --- the obliteration of all Jewish people from the face of the earth. Irena and her politically active coterie began to smuggle: forming a group known as Zegota, Irena became especially adept at smuggling money, identity papers and, poignantly, even hand-carved dolls into the Jewish ghetto, and children out. A Catholic in love with a Jewish man, Irena managed to keep her lover, Adam, from discovery as well.

To hide the children for a few days at a time before moving them to greater safety, she called on college friends and family. She and her fellow operatives walked them out through the labyrinthine sewers or hid them in ambulances, even in their own clothing. The risks were high, and Irena took it on herself to increase her own personal peril by keeping a list of names of every child that Zegota brought to safety, carefully written on tissue papers. By this means, she believed, once the war was over, the children could be reunited with their parents, not realizing that nearly all of the 2,500 little ones she saved would lose their parents to the death camps.

When Irena was arrested and taken to the notorious Aleja Szucha prison, she was sure it was her death sentence. She was relentlessly tortured and questioned, but never relented from repeating the cover story that she and her Zegota allies had agreed upon. Each morning there were executions; it was only a matter of time before she would be shot. Of all the memories of those terrifying, inhuman times, including the daily beatings and murders in Aleja Szucha, Irena would later say that "not one left a greater impression on me" than the day she and her comrades watched helplessly as the residents of a Jewish orphanage were marched to the railway siding where they would be shoved into cars on a train bound for certain extermination. The orphanage's doctor, Janusz Korczak, walked with his charges in the sweltering heat. They sang as they were herded along, until all were on board the death train, including the heroic doctor.

This is necessarily a harrowing story, with minute-by-minute dangers piling up on the Zegota zealots, the selections and roundups increasing in number and intensity (by 1942, two trains a day left Warsaw for Treblinka, carrying a cargo of 12,000 each). Resistance fighters struggled to find a route of escape not just for Jewish children and families, but for themselves. Miraculously, Irena was one of the survivors. On the morning she was slated to be executed, she was mysteriously set free from Aleja Szucha, wounded and penniless but alive. She would live to be nearly 100, through and past the Cold War. Her story finally came to light in Poland, and she received the same honor accorded to Oskar Schindler, named "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Israeli Holocaust memorial organization.

Mazzeo has added to the researched materials her own conception of the character's inner thoughts, constructing a taut, dramatic account of the nearly inconceivable bravery of Irena Sendler and those who worked with her to protect and save children in wartime.

Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott

Tiler Mazzeo's story of life in Warsaw during WWII reads like a thriller, but it is non-fiction. Through carefully researched documents and interviews, Mazzeo gifts us with the story of Irena Sendler, her work, and her life. Irena saved over 2,000 children from the Germans.

During the dark days of the last presidential campaign in the USA, this novel hit a nerve for me. Trump screamed about how horrible things are in this country. It is even more heartbreaking to read about starving children who will lose their parents because an extreme Aryan regime ravaged Europe under the guise of making Germany great again. Hitler wanted the "subhumans" removed from the perfect country he planned to build. The machinery that was the Gestapo along with the masterminds of "the final solution" brought such sorrow.

The bravery of Irena and her friends and colleagues is inspiring and sad. We should be moving on now, more than 70 years later, but we are again bogged down with a demagogue trying to stir up racism, fear, and hate in a country where so many of those who survived the Holocaust found a new life. We will always need heroes but why must we endure vicious, small-minded men once again, men like Donald Trump who sound so very similar to the Nazi engineers who strove to create the perfect Aryan race in the last century.

This book is particularly important to read now.

In our country, courage is generally associated with men – specifically with our soldiers who, in a moment or an hour or a day, risk or sacrifice their lives to save the lives of their brothers in arms. Often that means taking the lives of enemy soldiers. For such courage, our soldiers are rightfully awarded a Medal of Honor or a Silver Star. Yet in other countries where wars occur locally, like Poland during World War II, such courage can also be exhibited by women who, rather than taking lives are saving them, and not just in a moment, an hour or a day, but for years on end.
Such is the case exemplified by Tilar Mazzeo’s wonderfully moving book, Irena’s Children, which describes the gripping account of Irena Sendlar, one of a group of both Christian & Jewish social workers and nurses who defied the Nazis and saved thousands of Jewish children from the certain death awaiting them in the Warsaw Ghetto. How did these women do it? And how did they do it for days on end, year after year, right under the noses of the Gestapo, knowing that if they were caught, they would be tortured then shot, and all of their family killed as well? Like me, it’s a question you will also ask yourself: could you do what they did if you were placed in such a situation?
It’s both an uplifting and heartbreaking book, and a very important one that has significant relevance for every social worker, every nurse and, most importantly, for every young girl who may think that courage is chiefly an aspiration for the masculine sex. If you have a young woman in your life, I strongly urge you to buy this book.

Tilar Mazzeo went to Poland and stumbled upon this story when she saw all the lights in the forest. She researched and what she found compelled her to write Irena's story. I read a children's version of Irena Sendler's story Jars of Hope a little while ago. I had not heard of Irena or her heroic efforts to save the children before that. I was very impressed with this woman and when I saw this book I wanted to read it to find out more about this incredible woman. I actually had to put this book down a couple of times and read something lighter because the atrocities that happened in Poland, particularly Warsaw were horrific. When this young woman decides that she needs to do what she can to save the children from death, she set to the task without being deterred by the dangers to herself. The book can be dry in parts, but it is a mesmerizing story. The resistance in Poland had such strength of character and the moral right on their side.

Mazzeo does an amazing job of setting the scene for the reader, I could picture what was going on almost as it I was there, although I am glad I was not. She brings the characters to life in a way that makes the reader feel as if you really know them. You can feel what they feel from despair, pain, discouragement, fear and in some cases relief and excitement. Irena's cell of "saviors" were so important to her story. She constantly said she was not a hero, there were so many others that risked so much more than she did and many of them were mentioned in the book. I felt sick in my heart to know that anyone had to endure what these people lived through. The number of Polish people (both Jewish and non-Jewish) that perished during this time was unbelievable. The strength shown by so few to save as many as they could is empowering knowing that good will go up against evil to save even one. This is a must read for those who are interested in WWII, not for the fighting and war, but for the positive spirit shown by so many that had been counted down and out. As they were referred to in the book by the Germans, "Untermensch" or subhuman showed that they were the most human of all.

Books like this one are not easy to read, and they shouldn’t be. But, when well written, books like this can teach us a lot about how and why average men and women either went along with the masses, silent in the face of atrocities, or stayed true to their values, fought against the tide, and became heroes. This book is exceptionally well written.

Tilar Mazzeo writes an engaging narrative. This is absolutely not a dry, textbook type of read. Mazzeo gives us emotion, passion, and insight. She lets us see and feel what the people involved experienced. We don’t tackle the whole of WWII or even the whole of the Holocaust, but instead we witness the destruction of Poland and its people from the perspective of a handful of people.

This story feels personal. This story hurts. But it also offers hope, because people like Irena are quietly living their lives all around us, and maybe, if we pay attention, we can learn something from them.

*I was provided with an advance copy by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.*

IRENA’S CHILDREN tells a story of one Polish woman’s courage and decency during the Holocaust. Irena Sendler was a name that was unfamiliar to me until I read of her incredible exploits as she defied the Nazis during WWII, saving 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto.

Daughter of a doctor whose primary patients were poor Jews, Irena was appalled when in 1939, Germany invaded Poland and began their systematic annihilation of the Jewish community. She, with the assistance of her colleagues, began to smuggle children out of the hands of the Nazis and the certain death that awaited them by forging papers and hiding them in Catholic convents, orphanages and private homes.

Author Mazzeo has done an excellent job in researching the exploits of this incredible woman whose unsung valor was responsible for saving the lives of so many and bringing the story of his heretofore unknown heroine to light. This is a bit of history that needed to be told.

Irene's Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo is the story of a young social worker named Irena Sendler decided to do her part to help Warsaw’s Jews. She worked with the Polish Underground to smuggle over 2,000 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto and into safety. During this time, Irena was arrested by the Gestapo and brutally tortured. Through it all, she never betrayed her fellow Polish Underground members or her rescued children.

Tilan Mazzeo tells this remarkable story in her book Irena’s Children, adapted for young readers by Mary Conk Farrell. I was familar with Farrell from her young adult book Pure Grit: How WWII Nurses in the Pacific survived Combat and Prison Camps. This was a difficult book for me to read because of the horror’s these women endured. However, Farrell did an excellent job relating their story and keeping the content accessible to her intended audience. Irena’s Children was not an easy read; Holocaust books never are. I think the choice of Farrell to adapt it was a great idea.

At times, the writing seemed a bit awkward or even repetitive. I think this was simply the result of adapting a book written for adults into a book that children will read. As a librarian, I would have some trouble gauging the book’s intended age group. There was some pretty tough vocabulary in the book, and the subject is a difficult one. At the same time, the tone of the writing seemed geared towards a younger reader instead of a young adult reader. This puts the book in danger of being too difficult for middle grade readers, but not able to hold the interest of young adult readers. However, I think any reader who is interested in the subject matter would stick with this book to the end.

The story of Irena Sendler is a remarkable one, and an important one. Irena’s Children makes this story accessible to younger readers. This is a story that needs to be told and Mazzeo and Farrell have done just that. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed Philip M. Hoose’s book The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club, as both focus on a young person sacrificing personal safety to do the right thing, even when those around them are doing otherwise.

I received this book from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and Margaret K. McElderry Books via NetGalley for an honest review.

"Irena's Children" by Tilar Mazzeo is the story of a courageous group of Polish citizens who put their lives in danger to rescue and hide Jews and resistance fighters during the Nazi occupation. The scale of their operations is shocking, and they were able to save hundreds of lives. The author tells this story well and you can appreciate the dangers and horrors of the Nazi regime, but questions appeared in my head--such as why some of the Jewish children "had" to be baptized in order to pass and survive--couldn't a set of fake papers and teaching the children Catholic prayers have sufficed? But overall, this is an excellent book about these courageous people--sadly there were not more like them, and more could have been saved from murder and degradation. To her credit, the author is clear about the appalling levels of anti-Semitism present in Poland during this period, which had a negative effect on those willing to help.

I was surprised at the amount of research and labor that went into this novel. The back section of this novel has pages and pages of documented notes/bibliography and an extensive list of characters which I enjoyed looking at. The author acknowledges that she also had to use her own judgment in this novel and she lists some of the reasons why things didn’t fall into place, the author writes, “I have made a leap of inference based on my best judgment and larger knowledge of the period and the people about who I am writing.” I have to say, with all the documented information and her cast of individuals, this novel is fantastic. This time period is a sad, destructive period in our history but it is also an interesting time as stories like Irena’s have touched my heart and shaped me. If you talk amongst individuals you can usually find someone who has had a family member who had lived during this time period. You don’t even need to hear their voice to know their story, you just need to look at their face, their story is right there. My father-in-law was a POW, he walked across Germany and he liked to share his stories. I heard them over and over again, his voice would ask, “Have I told you the story of ….” and of course, I would say no.

As I read, I found that Irena she was a person who always, and I mean always was looking for opportunity and that opportunity was not for herself, it was for helping others. This woman was selfless; this woman was pushing the envelope for just one more thing that could be done, for she was a leader. She didn’t work alone, she was part of a vast network of individuals that she helped put together to help the children in Warsaw. When she saw a need, she worked to close it, even in the worst of times. Working in a welfare office, she soon built up a nice network of individuals that she could rely on to help her and who supported her cause. Her husband wanted her to concentrate on starting her own family but Irena’s eyes were focused on the children whose lives were being shattered by Hitler and his troops. I enjoyed how the novel transitioned around the events occurring in Warsaw during this time period, sights and sounds brought this time period to the forefront as the author provided vivid accounts and narratives. As Warsaw falls, Irena fights, her network builds in strength and the number of children she pulls to freedom grows. I could feel the urgency and vigor as their efforts intensifies, the desperation grows as time is of the essence as the city is crumbling, tempers are hot and the hunt is on to account for everyone. This is quite an impressive novel, there are many individuals inside it, too many for me to account for and their stories remarkable and moving. I highly recommend this novel for individuals who enjoy this time period or individuals who like to read about someone who is inspiring as Irena was truly someone who was generous and devoted to her cause.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest opinion.

Author and university professor Tilar Mazzeo has written an unforgettable story of courage, sacrifice, selflessness, honor and survival amidst the horrors and brutality of the Nazi occupation of Warsaw, Poland.

Irena Sendler had graduated from university with a Master’s degree and had just begun a job with Warsaw’s municipal welfare office when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939. She, along with many of her former classmates, became active in the resistance movement. Although she was not Jewish, Irena had been raised in a small town outside of Warsaw with a large Jewish population. She could speak Yiddish and had quite a few close friends who were Jewish.

As the Nazis began to implement their plan of complete annihilation of Poland’s Jews, Irena focused her attention on saving as many innocent Jewish children as she could. Together with her extensive network of friends and colleagues, she was able to save over 2,500 Jewish children.

In Poland, Irena is seen as a heroine, and is often referred to as “the female Oscar Schindler”. But her story is little known to people in the West. In 1965, based on the testimony of survivors, Israel’s Yad Vashem added Irena Sendler’s name to the list of those who are deemed “Righteous Among the Nations” and an olive tree was planted in her honor on the Mount of Remembrance. Despite receiving this honor, Irena humbly insisted that she only was the coordinator of her network and that she did not do it alone.

Tiller Mazzeo’s exhaustive research brings to life one of the darkest periods in history. The sense of urgency and fear are palpable as the Nazi regime tightens it’s grip on the city of Warsaw. The true story of Irena Sendler reads like a novel and is hard to put down. Her story is a reminder of how, together, people can stand up to evil and make a difference in the world.

Thank you to Net Galley and Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, for giving me the opportunity to read the advance copy of this outstanding book!
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Irena Sendler’s story was banned from being told during the communist administration of Poland after WWII.

So it is with great kudos to author Mazzeo for now telling the compelling and gripping account of a woman whose bravery and courage knew no bounds at a time when the most heinous crimes against humanity were being perpetrated.

Up to her death in 2008 Irena Sendler would not accept praise for her deeds only saying that what she did was “normal”. This excessively researched book tells quite a different story.

While there may be many names to contend with it is not as important as the story itself and I found early on that I did not necessarily have to keep track of every name. In any case the important names are listed at the back of the book in a section called “Cast of Characters”.

“What Irena never forgot was that she was simply one member of a vast collective effort of decency. She did not want the world to forger either.” (Pg. 261) The word ‘decency’ is what stands out so glaringly in this sentence.

What is important is that this story is read and told and talked about. Consider what you would do in similar circumstances and then read it again.

This book is very well written and tells of courage and caring in a very dark and fearful time inn the history of the world. Every person that doubts the holocaust happened should be required to read this account, which has been carefully researched.

This book is both powerfully uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time. The powerful is the book's ability to draw the reader into Irena's world and make you feel the character's, both the triumph and the tragedy, as though you were there to witness it. Irena and her collaborator's faced the realities of the cruelties of the Nazi Machine everyday and knew that what they risked if caught was almost certain death. However, this did not stop them from saving what children, and even adults, they could. I found myself cheering for Irena's group with every victory and feeling sad with every death and cruelty that the Nazi's dished out. Every time someone got on one of the trains for transportation to Treblinka, I found myself thinking no, don't get on that train, fight those Nazi's as Treblinka is a death camp and those "showers" are death chambers!! While Irena and her collaborator's where powerless to stop the Nazi's, they stood bravely to do what they could. The world really needs more of people like Irena and her associates. This book will stay with me forever as it is a great testament to the power of people.

WOW! So profound, powerful, and overwhelmingly sad. This book was just difficult to read and to process. I just cannot get over the horrors of what happened in Poland during WWII. But, Irena Sendler and her friends were so brave and daring, even as the noose tightens around them and all the people living in Warsaw. At the end, one of the most disgusting things that came of this all, was when Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and Al Gore won! That literally made me angry and sick to my stomach. After all that she endured to save 2500 children, Al Gore won for telling us about global warming!!! It makes no sense. Back to this book, however, it is well written, well documented and proves, that even in the face or terrible, horrible odds, there are still good people in the world. Oh, Irena, you always declined the title of hero, and it's true that you hade people helping you, but you are a true hero in the face of insurmountable odds. This is an extraordinary book, for sure.

In the midst of Warsaw during WWII, Irena Sendler set up a network to rescue Jewish children. She not only smuggled children from the ghetto, she sets up an extensive network to house the children and provided money for their support. This was an absolutely fascinating book. I had never heard of Irena before, and I read a lot of WWII novels. Despite great risk to herself, imprisonment and torture she never betrayed anyone around her. I hope that many will take inspiration from her determination and desire to help people. Overall, highly recommended.

Mazzeo has done a lot of research into the subject. She is well aware that the number of characters involved was staggering. In order to help readers remember who is who she prepared a summary of key characters at the back of the book. This is a big plus. The book was written in chronological order and is easy to follow.
I have learnt much more about the pain and suffering German brought to Poland, the torture as well as Russia's betrayal. Irena and her group (which Irena insisted on crediting) had done an amazing job for humanity.

" This is history, through a glass darkly, with all the attendant perils of the great darkness that was the Holocaust in Poland both during the Second World War and in the decades of communist rule that followed. I have used in all cases my best judgement as a historian and scholar and then proceeded to get on with telling the story of an astonishing group of men and women who saved from the darkness thousands of children." (Tilar J. Mazzeo in the Afterword of this book.)

I would guess that there are a lot of people like myself know who did not know of Irena Sendler. Until I read a review on Goodreads I had not heard of her or any of the brave, good people who worked with her, so many names to mention here. I was happy to see the list of people in Irena's network at the end of the book to remind me. I am grateful to Mazzeo for telling this story of these people who saved so many children from death, from the camps. Irena Sendler was a social worker in Warsaw who started her mission by at first fixing documents so the children would receive assistance, by smuggling food and medicine to the ghetto and moving to the most dangerous of acts - smuggling and hiding the children.

The author has done extensive research and displays a passionate commitment to telling this story that is evident on every page . She gives us a sense of what Irena was like as a person, what these Jewish families were going through, the gruesome descriptions of the conditions of the ghetto, the danger that Irena and those who were involved in the resistance faced, the courage and trust of these families who allowed strangers to take their children to safety. And of course she tells us about the children and their fears in leaving their mothers and fathers. It was difficult to read at times, but as I say whenever I read a book about the Holocaust whether it is fiction or non fiction as this is : it's so necessary to be told and read so we don't forget .

Irena tried to document by code the identities of the children and where they were hidden in hopes of reuniting them with their parents. The heartbreaking truth of the matter is that most of their families did not survive. "By the end of the war, ninety percent of Poland's Jews would perish - some three million people - but not Irena's children." I am heartened that some recognition has been given to her. She was awarded the highest honor given by the Holocaust memorial organization in Israel when she was named one of the "Righteous Among Nations", and thanks to Mazzeo Irena's story is elevated to further awareness to those of us fortunate enough to read it.

I received this ARC from Gallery, Threshold Books through NetGalley.

How do you review such a terrible part of the past? I can't even imagine being so brave as Irena in such a scary time in the world. It really makes you wonder if you could be such a good person. It's amazing that around 30 people could make such a difference in the lives of thousands of children. God bless all of them. Great book that should be read by all, especially in the times we find ourselves living in again. We cannot forget!!

This book is well done. It is an inspiring story that must be told. It is about the Warsaw Jewish ghetto in World War 2 . It is an account of human suffering. Irene Sendler, a young Polish girl, organizes her friends into a network that is responsible for saving the lives of 2500 Jewish children.
The reader is spared nothing, there is inhumane and brutal treatment by the Nazi. Irene is unbelievably brave, and a wise and excellent organizer. The Germans wanted to eradicate the city of Warsaw, and they almost did it. The Jewish children were an important target for the Naizi.
Irene smuggled them out of the ghetto in many ingenious ways. There are numerous names, but her operation needed all of these people. Mazzeo
writes well and has handled the story perfectly.

Its hard to be reminded of the horrible atrocities experienced by so many innocent people. It's inspiring to see those who rise to do what's right and one likes to think we would have had the courage to have been one of them and to be reminded that some things are more important than our mortal life.

A part of history few know about. People have heard of Schindler and all that he did to help during WW2, This is about Irena Sendler a courageous young woman and others who helped save the lives of more then two thousand Jewish children.
This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time.
Thank goodness there were and still are people in this world that care so much about others that they put their own lives on the line.

It read like two different people wrote this. In one sense, the writing is very elementary, and yet there are parts that seem to be written by a scholar. She is always asking questions and then answering them instead of just simply telling the reader. So many parts need clarification and unless you are well-versed in this moment in history, it leaves the reader asking more questions.

Extraordinary account of an exceptional Polish woman saving thousands of lives. A true mastermind!
This book is emotionally taxing so be prepared for several moments where you literally stop reading and just pause. The details will rip your heart apart.

It's so hard to rank a story like this one with a five star rating when it's about Hitler, World War ll and his atrocities toward his fellowman. But I am, because thank God Irena worried more about saving others lives than that of her own life! Great book and unfortunately the history is all too true. Prepare to cry and rejoice all in the same book!

I can't say enough for this book. Fascinating, heartbreaking, and very well written. There must have been mountains of research done to write Irena's Children, my hat is off to the author. In some ways this story restores your faith in humanity. A wonderful read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the arc of Irena's Children by Tilar Mazzeo! This true account of Irena Sendler and her friends in Poland warmed my heart and I was astounded by their bravery! Irena and her friends helped save Jewish families during World War II by placing themselves in grave danger, hiding and sneaking children to safety. This is a magnificent story of heroism that affected thousands of Jewish children and has since affected generations of families. This book needs to be read to get the full extent of what true courage Irena Sendler embodies! 4 stars.

I almost never read biographies, but this one was great to start with. The horror of the Holocaust mixed with the heroism of everyday people. Irena Sendler was a magnificently brave woman and her story is one that is worth being told.

A story that everyone should know. Sendler was an ordinary person but with an extraordinary drive and determination to resist evil. She exhibited the best that humanity has to offer in the face of the worst that humanity has delivered.

This book deserves 5 star s. Very descriptive and informational I have learned a great amount of knowledge from this reading. The characters were well developed and almost seemed real.,,,
Loved the book. Rosalie.I

This book was okay, but there was one thing I didn't like about it. On the front, it says something about how she saved 2,500 children from the ghetto, but it doesn't get to that part for a long time. I don't like this because at the beginning, all it does is explain how the Nazis were invading Poland, which I already knew. I think it could of explained that a lot faster. If you're looking for something that explains the Nazis invading, this book could be for you, but if you want to learn more about saving children from the ghetto, I would look for a different book.

Very informational, but this book went on and on. I've read other books about war and concentration camps etc. and this one just lost my interest. I did read it because of the positive reviews thinking that I would eventually be interested. Just would not recommend it.