To commemorate the legacy of second world war Polish hero and humanitarian Irena Sendler, Newark and Sherwood District Council and Newark Town Council launched the Irena Sendler Young Person Award — on Holocaust Memorial Day.

The award has been introduced to identify and celebrate the positive contributions that young people are making within their local communities.

Primary and secondary schools will be invited to nominate pupils to be recognised for selfless and thoughtful acts, and good deeds towards others.

During the war, Irena worked tirelessly to help protect and rescue many Jewish children and their families in German-occupied Poland.

She was part of a network of workers and volunteers who smuggled Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. She would provide them with false identity documents and shelter them with willing Polish families or in orphanages and other care facilities, saving them from the Holocaust.

The opening of nominations will coincide with Irena’s birthday on 15th February and will close in May, with the awards to take place at the Newark and Sherwood Community Awards in September, alongside the already established Irena Sendler Humanitarian Award.

Four winners will be chosen and will receive a voucher and certificate. Their nominating school will also receive a contribution of £125 towards learning resources.

More information about the Irena Sendler Young Person Award is at www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/irena-sendler-young-person-award

Coun Paul Peacock, leader of the district council, said: “The courage of Irena Sendler to save many Jewish children from the horrors of the Holocaust, while sacrificing her own safety, is an enduring legacy that is still felt today.

“The Irena Sendler Young Person Award will recognise the important acts of selflessness that our younger generation show to their peers and to the wider community.

“It will also acknowledge that acts of kindness — no matter how big or small — can make a huge impact and change the world for the better.”

Coun Diane Ledger, Mayor of Newark Town Council, said: “The Holocaust stands as a stark reminder of the very worst of humanity. The scars of the Holocaust atrocities will never fully heal.”
Karolina Gorazda, head of Cultural Heritage at the Polish Cultural Institute in London, said: “We are humbled that Irena Sendler is so warmly welcomed in Newark, that she has become a lasting symbol of humanity here, and that her award serves as another reminder of the strong relationship we have built with Newark over the past few years.”

The launch coincided with Holocaust Memorial Day, which this year marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. To mark the day, wreaths were laid at the statute of Irena Sendler by Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire Air Chief Marshal Rt’d Sir Andrew Pulford, Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Manchester Ireneusz Truszkowski, representatives of the Polish Airman’s Association UK, Newark and Sherwood District Council chair Coun Jean Hall, and Newark Town Mayor Coun Diane Ledger.

Newark has a long history with Polish culture and Polish Service personnel during the second world war with former Prime Minister Władysław Sikorski being buried at Newark Cemetery for a time. Many Polish airmen were also stationed in Newark during the conflict and the town has a significant number of Polish war graves. Newark is also twinned with the city of Sandomierz, one of Poland’s oldest and historically most significant cities.

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