Calendar of Cultural Events

Please verify dates and times with The Kosciuszko Foundation Director of Cultural Affairs
Tom Pniewski -- (212) 734-2130 ext. 214

Thursday, June 3, 2004
Sendler's List: "Life in a Jar"
A play based on the amazing story of Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who rescued some 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust, will be presented Thursday, June 3, at 7 pm, at the Kosciuszko Foundation (15 East 65th Street, between Fifth and Madison). The actors are Kansas high school students taking part in the Sendler Project. A contribution of $15 is requested ($10 for KF members, seniors, students and children). Reservations are strongly recommended, and can be made by calling the Foundation Office at (212) 734-2130.

Life in a Jar grew out of a history project of three Kansas high school students. The play tells the story of a social worker who smuggled thousands of children out of the Warsaw ghetto to safety with Polish Christian hosts. Their parents were executed during the 6-year Nazi occupation of Poland; but the children were spared. Irena Sendler carefully documented their original names on lists preserved in jars that were buried for safekeeping. Later the children were told of their true identities.

At the time Poles who sheltered or aided Jews were shot, and Irena was in mortal danger every day. Eventually she was caught and tortured, but did not reveal the children's hosts. The Polish Underground bribed a guard to release her, and she went into hiding until the war ended. Today, 93 years old, she lives in Warsaw.

Irena Sendler's story went largely untold until 1999, when three Kansas high school students discovered her and wrote a play about her. Eventually they visited her, and the "Sendler Project" was born. This is also the play which is being performed at the Kosciuszko Foundation.
Additional information about Irena Sendler is available at www.irenasendler.org.

All events take place at the Foundation House, unless otherwise noted. Programs subject to change. Click here for directions.

Kosciuszko Foundation programs are supported by the Mary F. Koons Charitable Trust, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the Tadeusz Solowij Literary Fund, and the KF Cultural Fund.