The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler on CBS  

By Ally Matteodo

For fans of heart-warming, family-friendly entertainment, the Hallmark Hall of Fame seldom disappoints; and Hallmark’s latest special, The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, continued its tradition of drama showcasing heroism and love.  Aired on CBS at 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 19^th, this tale recounted the true story of Irena Sendler, a Polish woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children during World War II.  Irena smuggled the children out of the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland and brought them to Polish families who raised them as their own, until they could be reunited with their parents at the end of the war.  The movie also contained a nicely intertwined romantic subplot: Irena assists her Jewish love, Stefan, by hiding him at the house she and her mother share.  One day the Gestapo arrives and takes Irena away, and she is tortured in an attempt to gain knowledge of the underground resistance.  Irena does not betray any information; and on her way to execution, one of the guards allows her to escape. Miraculously saved, she makes her way to a remote log cabin, where she is reunited with Stefan. The real Irena Sendler passed away last year at the age of 98, and she is depicted at the end of the movie poignantly honoring the Jewish mothers who parted with their beloved children during the Holocaust, and the other women who gave the children sanctuary.

This movie deals with serious and emotionally intense subject matter, yet in the midst of death and heartache Irena represents an angelic ray of hope.  Indeed, Irena Sendler has been referred to as “the female Oskar Schindler” for her selfless acts.  We see the percolation and culmination of Irena’s heroic journey.  Always filled with compassion, we first see her entering the Warsaw Ghetto as a social worker to judge living conditions: typhus is spreading and the city is working to contain the disease.  One of her friends calls her late one night to give her a little girl. The girl is Jewish and the family is worried about harboring her.  That night, Irena comforts the girl, telling her she loves her and sleeps holding her.  This is one of the many beautiful images of the movie. Others show Irena holding hands with children and leading them out of the Warsaw Ghetto.  Never satisfied, Irena confides in her mother that she is not doing enough, saving enough.  Her modesty, sense of duty, and above all her bravery in the face of death and violence made Irena Sendler a true hero.  Her acts of kindness will live on in generation after generation to come.