Heroes

Calmeyer’s Legacy

Hans Calmeyer Righteous Gentile 1903-1972

“The Dutch Schindler”

Lawyer for Life


	WHY SAVE LIVES ?

On this page, we are in the process of collecting the many inspiring stories of heroism during the Holocaust. We ask for submissions of stories that may not have yet been publicised, given the difficulty of such campaigns. In having organized the Calmeyer Foundation, the goodwill of many Jews and Christians is amazing, but it is still hard to get the story out, “Tell Them” in any effective, efficient, or inspiring way,


	from VOICES - Education Project: Irena Sendler never thought of herself as extraordinary or a hero. Below are three quotes from her. Consider her position. We witnessed terrible scenes. Father agreed, but mother didn't. We sometimes had to leave those unfortunate families without taking their children from them. I'd go back there the next day and often found that everyone had been taken to the Umschlagsplatz railway siding for transport to the death camps. We who were rescuing children are not some kind of heroes. That term irritates me greatly. The opposite is true â€“ I continue to have qualms of conscience that I did so little. I could have done more. This regret will follow me to my death. We who were rescuing children are not some kind of heroes. That term irritates me greatly. The opposite is true â€“ I continue to have qualms of conscience that I did so little. I could have done more. This regret will follow me to my death.

		Jap Polak, Saver of Lives


	Irena Sendler: There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. Recently, Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected. However, Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming and Barack Obama won for a speech on peace.

			Dr. Ruth Gruber saved 200 children