The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler is a 2009 made-for-TV movie that tells the true story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic woman who saved thousands of Jewish children during the Holocaust. The movie depicts the beginning of the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939 and the subsequent imprisonment of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Irena, played by Anna Paquin, works as a social worker and becomes determined to save as many Jewish children as possible. At first, she works with a network of social workers to smuggle children out of the ghetto and place them with non-Jewish families. However, the Nazi threat intensifies, and Irena eventually joins the underground network of Polish activists who are committed to rescuing Jews.
Irena risks her life on countless occasions to transport children out of the ghetto and find safe hiding places for them. She devises numerous strategies, including hiding children in potato sacks, coffins, and sewer systems, and convinces parents to entrust their children to her care, promising to reunite them after the war.
Despite the danger, Irena is ultimately successful in saving approximately 2,500 Jewish children, more than any other individual during the Holocaust. However, her efforts come at a great personal cost, as she is arrested and tortured by the Gestapo. She refuses to betray her network, even under severe torture, and is eventually sentenced to death. Irena is miraculously saved from execution when members of her network bribe a guard and smuggle her out of prison.
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler is a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who risked everything to save innocent lives. It highlights the bravery and selflessness of those who stood up against the Nazi regime and honors the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.