In 1999 three young ladies from Uniontown, Kan., uncovered and researched the history of Irena Sendler resulting in Sendler’s legacy in Poland, the United States and the world.

Because of Communist rule, it is a history has always been hushed.

In 1941, 500,000 Jews were put in a 2-square-mile ghetto area in Warsaw, Poland. There were rations of 250 calories a day to live on.

Every day, 5,000 Jews were transported to extermination camps. When children started being shipped, Sendler was determined to act.

She organized a secret group to smuggle kids out to safe houses. The children were given new identities but their family history was recorded and hidden in buried jars until the end of the war.

During Nazi occupation, anyone — and their families — who aided the Jews were executed. Sendler was captured and sentenced to execution but escaped with help from Nazi guards.

Those three young ladies from Uniontown, Kan., were so successful their efforts have resulted in books, movies and play productions throughout the world.

Growing up Irena Sendler was told, “If you see a drowning person, you must try to save them even if you can’t swim.”

I know of no other woman as dedicated as Irena Sendler.

— Daniel G. Jadlowski, Whitesboro