Commemorating Irena Sendler, a woman whose bravery saved the lives of thousands during the Holocaust and remembering her legacy of courage, selflessness, and hope.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 361, a resolution I introduced commemorating Irena Sendler, a woman whose bravery saved the lives of thousands of children during the Holocaust, and remembering her legacy of courage, selflessness and hope. I want to thank Chairman Berman for his leadership in bringing this to the floor, and also Senator Obama for offering similar legislation in the Senate.

Irena Sendler lived her life by the standards of humanity that she learned from her parents. She once stated, ``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.''

Sendler was a 29-year-old Catholic employed by the City of Warsaw when the German invasion of Poland ushered in one of the darkest chapters in human history. Disguised as an infection-control nurse, she was able to enter the Warsaw Jewish ghetto to distribute supplies. In 1942, Sendler joined the newly formed underground organization Zegota, working to assist thousands of Jews who had survived mass deportations and were living in hiding.

Utilizing her contacts with orphanages, Sendler organized the rescue of Jewish children, smuggling some out in boxes and suitcases, leading others through secret passages and sewers. Children were hidden in Roman Catholic orphanages and convents, as well as private homes, under false identities. Sendler buried a jar with the true name of every child in a friend's garden in hopes of reuniting the children with their families after the war.

After she was arrested in October of 1943, Sendler refused to provide the list of names or the identity of her collaborators, even when she was tortured and sentenced to death. She was spared execution only because underground activists managed to bribe officials. After her release, Sendler was forced into hiding but she continued to work to rescue Jewish children. It is estimated that she rescued over 2,500 children.

She passed away in May of 2008 at the age of 98. I introduced this resolution with the hope that her legacy will inspire people to fight for human rights. Her heroic story reminds us that the actions of one person can make a real difference in this world.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, pay tribute to Irena Sendler, and remind all of us to stand up against oppression and fight for those without a voice.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 361, a resolution I introduced commemorating Irena Sendler, a woman whose bravery saved the lives of thousands of children during the Holocaust, and remembering her legacy of courage, selflessness, and hope.

I would like to thank the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congressman Berman, for his leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor today. I would also like to thank Senator Obama for offering similar legislation in the Senate.

Irena Sendler lived her life by the standards of compassion and humanity that she learned from her parents. She once stated, ``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.''

Sendler was a 29-year-old Polish Catholic, employed by the city of Warsaw as a social worker, when the German invasion of Poland ushered in one of the darkest chapters in human history. Jews were rounded up and crowded into the Warsaw ghetto, where poor hygiene and a lack of food and medical supplies led to the outbreak of disease. Sendler managed to pass herself off as an infection-control nurse, enabling her to enter the ghetto and distribute supplies, and she began to smuggle Jews out of the ghetto and into hiding. In 1942, the underground organization Council for the Aid of Jews, known as Zegota, was established following the deportation of 280,000 Jews from Warsaw to Treblinka. Sendler joined the organization, working to assist thousands of Jews who had survived the deportations and were living in hiding.

Working with Zegota, Sendler utilized her contacts with orphanages to rescue Jewish children. Young children were smuggled out in boxes and suitcases; older children were led through secret passages and sewers. Many of the children were sent to Roman Catholic orphanages and convents, while others were hidden in private homes. All were given false identities and non-Jewish names. Sendler buried a jar with the true names of every child in a friend's garden, in hopes of reuniting the children with their families after the war.

A mother herself, Sendler later recalled that the most difficult part of her work was to convince parents to give their children into her care. They would ask her if she could guarantee their survival, and she would respond that she could not, but she could guarantee that they would likely die if they stayed.

Irena Sendler was arrested by the Nazis in October 1943. She managed to hide critical information, including the addresses of the hidden children, before her capture. Although she endured torture and was sentenced to death, she refused to provide the location of the lists of names or the identity of her collaborators. She was spared execution only because other underground activists managed to bribe officials.

After her release, Sendler was forced to go into hiding, but she nevertheless continued to work to rescue Jewish children. Although the exact number of children she saved is unknown, it is widely estimated to be over 2,500. After the war, she unearthed the hidden lists and worked to reunite the children with their families. A large majority of the children had no surviving family members, and many were adopted by Polish families, while others were sent to Israel.

Irena Sendler's remarkable story garnered little attention after the war. She was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Israel's Yad Vashem on October 19, 1965, but her story was not widely known until 1999, when four high school students in Kansas wrote a play, Life in a Jar, based on her life. The play has since been performed across the United States, Canada, and Europe. In 2003, she was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest civilian decoration, and in 2007 she was honored by the Polish parliament, which unanimously approved a resolution honoring her for organizing the rescue of Jewish children. She was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Irena Sendler passed away in May 2008 at the age of 98. Even though her actions saved countless innocent children from a horrific death, she said that she always regretted being unable to do more.

In speaking about those non-Jews, like Irena Sendler, who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, Elie Weisel stated, ``In those times there was darkness everywhere. In heaven and on earth, all the gates of compassion seemed to have been closed. The killer killed and the Jews died and the outside world adopted an attitude either of complicity or of indifference. Only a few had the courage to care. These few men and women were vulnerable, afraid, helpless--what made them different from their fellow citizens? . . . Why were there so few?''

I introduced this resolution with the hope that Irena Sendler's legacy would help inspire people to fight for human rights and social justice. Her heroic story reminds us that the actions of one person can make a real difference in this world. As the Talmud teaches, ``whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.'' There is no higher act of selflessness than to protect people who cannot defend themselves.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, to pay tribute to Irena Sendler and to remind all of us to stand up against oppression and fight for those without a voice.

Madam Speaker, I rise today as an original co-sponsor and strong supporter of House Concurrent Resolution 361, a resolution which commemorates the life of Irena Sendler, a woman whose courage and selflessness saved the lives of thousands of Polish citizens from Nazi brutality during the Holocaust.

I would like to thank my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, for introducing this legislation, as well as the 63 other bipartisan Members of Congress for their co-sponsorship of H. Con. Res. 361.

This important resolution commemorates the work of Irena Sendler, a Polish woman who dedicated her life to saving 2,500 Jewish children from Poland's Warsaw Ghetto and Nazi extermination during the Holocaust. As an early activist during World War II, Sendler joined Zegota, an underground movement that provided a safe haven for Jews who would otherwise be sent to death camps throughout Europe. In addition, Sendler built strong connections in Warsaw's Welfare Department that enabled her to help ferry Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto.

Sendler was eventually caught by the Nazis, brutally tortured, and sentenced to death for her heroic acts. However, Sendler managed to escape and continued her work of saving children in the Warsaw Ghetto.

After the Holocaust, Irena Sendler was rewarded for her courageous efforts. In 1965, she was recognized as ``Righteous Among the Nations'' by Yad Vashem in Israel. In 2006, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Sendler was also awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest civilian decoration.

Irena Sendler passed away on May 12, 2008 at the age of 98. A woman who risked her own life to defend the lives of others, it is appropriate for Sendler to be recognized and honored by the Congress. Her selflessness and courage to fight against hate and genocide should serve as a model for others in our world to combat hatred and intolerance and seek to end the genocide in the Sudan.

It is unacceptable for citizens of this country or any other nation to allow, accept, or tolerate acts of hatred. Yet worldwide discrimination continues to exist and Holocaust deniers still serve as leaders of nations.

In honoring the life of Irena Sendler and her courageous acts to save Jewish children from the Nazis, we pay tribute to the righteous among us and reaffirm our commitment to combating worldwide acts of discrimination. I send my condolences to the Sendler family and hope Irena's story will encourage all citizens of the world to uphold justice, equality, and human rights.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 361) commemorating Irena Sendler, a woman whose bravery saved the lives of thousands during the Holocaust and remembering her legacy of courage, selflessness, and hope.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, this measure has been brought to us by our colleague, the gentlelady from Chicago (Ms. Schakowsky). It notes the loss of a true humanitarian last May, with the passing of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker who rescued 2,500 Jewish children from near certain death in the Warsaw Ghetto.

When it became clear to her that the Nazis planned to exterminate Poland's 1,000-year-old Jewish community, Ms. Sendler joined Zegota, the Council for Aid to Jews, an organization run by the Polish underground, committed to providing assistance and safe haven to the country's Jewish population.

Ms. Sendler became head of Zegota's children's department. Using her contacts from her days as a social worker, she placed thousands of Jewish children smuggled from the Warsaw Ghetto, often under Christianized names, in convents and orphanages to shelter them throughout the war.

These convents and orphanages were intended as temporary refuges, as Ms. Sendler recorded the actual names of these children on tissue paper. She stored those records in jars, buried them in her garden, in the hope that after the war, they would be reunited with their families.

In 1965, she was given the honor of being named Righteous Among the Nations by Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Her legacy of courage and hope until then was little known in Poland.

In 2003, Irena Sendler finally received the widespread recognition she so greatly deserved when she was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest civilian decoration, and in 2006, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

We all pay our respects and extend our condolences to the Sendler family.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield such time as she may consume to the author of the resolution, the gentlelady from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The Holocaust was filled with unconscionable inhumanity and horrors and revealed the tremendous cruelty some human beings are capable of imposing on others. But there were exceptions. Within the darkness of the Holocaust, the story of Irena Sendler, who repeatedly risked her own life to rescue thousands of Jewish children in Poland from being murdered by the Nazis serves as an inspirational example of human bravery and selflessness and compassion.

House Concurrent Resolution 361 commemorates Irena Sendler, who passed away in May of this year. The resolution, among other things, notes that the United States Congress mourns the loss of this heroine and remembers her for saving the lives of thousands of Jewish children and for her courageous dedication to justice and human rights.

I support this resolution, and I want to thank the gentleman for his inspirational words. I urge my colleagues to do so as well.

I reserve the balance of my time.

We will yield back the balance of our time.