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Life In A Jar: The Irena Sendler Project (2011)

by Jack Mayer(Favorite Author)

4.45 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

098411131X (ISBN13: 9780984111312)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Long Trail Press

review 1: I'm not one to leave reviews on books even if I really love them, I may tell friends about the book and encourage them to read it, but who am I to tell a perfect stranger that they should read a book just because I said so. But I had to leave my opinion on this book because this book and this story was so powerful. As someone who has studied the Holocaust and someone who has a list of Holocaust and World War II related books stacked all over my room, I have to say this was one of the best accounts related to the subject I have personally ever read. I had read other accounts about what ordinary Polish citizens did during the occupation to try and save their Jewish neighbors, I had heard of Irena Sendler and knew a little bit of what she did, and I watched the PBS film that ... morecame out in 2009, but as the book explains, up until these three students from Kansas began investigating the full story, there was not a lot of information to go on. My knowledge prior to reading this book on Irena and what she did is, I am ashamed to admit, limited to only knowing that she smuggled a large amount of Jewish children out of the ghetto. Again, if it's related to World War II or more specifically the Holocaust I will read it, watch it, study it; it is a subject I feel very passionate about, something I am always eager to learn more about and share what I do know with others. I have a BA in History and I'm currently going for my Masters in the subject, with a concentration on World War II, so the fact that I knew so little of Irena's story at least in my mind proves that more information needs to be taught and written about this very brave and very special woman. The bravery and selflessness that Irena and those helping her exemplified is the most powerful and beautiful story I have heard coming out of such a horrific event, not to forget the bravery of the parents who willingly entrusted their children to strangers in the hopes that they would survive the war. I will not go into detail about the book itself and leave it at once you pick it up and begin reading this amazing story you will not be able to put it down, even as the final chapter concludes and all that is remaining is the aftermath notes, a collection of photos, and acknowledgements, it will leave you thirsting for more of the story, to know more about Irena and what she did. I read each and every part losing myself in this account. The jumps between 1999/2000/2001 and beyond then going back to Irena's story was flawless and had a smooth transition. Never once did I lose where in the story I was, and even when the book left 1940s Poland and returned to "present day" it was very easy to pick up where the author left off with the three girls and their research into Irena's life and their own lives. This has turned into a ridiculously long review and I apologize. I will however leave the review with this, I have read many books about the Holocaust and many of them have left a lasting impact on me; Life in Jar is no different in the fact that it has left a very deep impression on me and I know it will do the same to others who read of this brave, brave woman, these three very amazing girls who started the project, and the 2500 children whose lives were saved because of what Irena Sendler did.
review 2: Except for a small newspaper cutting, the story of this heroine (who never wanted the acclaim) may well have been lost to us and to her part in history, had it not been for 3 Protestant school girls in Kansas, (America's mid west) and their need to present an original and unique project. The girls had to go "above & beyond" in their search,as so little was known about Irena Sendler. Slowly, the story was pieced together of how this Roman Catholic, Polish, Social-Worker engineered the hair-raising escapes of about 2,500 Jewish Children from the Warsaw Ghetto, as their parents were systematically shipped off to Treblinka Camp for extermination by the Germans. Much of the information had been suppressed by the communists who took over Poland following the war and the Poles themselves had ambivalent feelings about the war, the shame, betrayal and horrors that for years had become 'everyday life'- so they too were content to "bury" the awfulness of war & occupation. The students produce a play called "Life In A Jar" so named because, Irena buried the children's Jewish names and their new identities in glass jars in the garden, in the hope that families could be reunited after the war and that their Jewish identity would not be lost. However, the play only evolves after many months of the girls' own anguish as they learn about the horrors of the Holocaust,occupation and war; yet their own individual lives are continuing also, with much turmoil of teenage development and personal growth.They eventually present their play all over the U.S. and in Poland, along with meeting the elderly Irena in person. This is a 'must-read' especially because of the brilliance of the author in bringing together 2 time periods 6 decades apart-Jack Mayer brings alive the stark realities of life in the ghetto and yet readily crosses to the late 20th. century where one of our student's Mums attracts a cancer diagnosis. Will this play ever grace the stage? What became of Irena Sendler? Why is there no answer from her son in Poland? The story is so well researched that you can not but grow in understanding and historical perspective and take on Irena's legacy of tolerance and respect for all, yet also grasp the significance of the "power of one"to make a difference in our world. less

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