Renata Piątkowska

All of My Mums

Illustrations
Maciej Szymanowicz

Renata Piątkowska

All of My Mums

Original title:

Wszystkie moje mamy

© by Renata Piątkowska

© by Wydawnictwo Literatura

Cover and illustrations:

Maciej Szymanowicz

Translated by:

Krzysztof Kożurno

Katarzyna Wasilkowska (introduction)

Language consultation:

Cátia Lamerton Viegas Wesolowska

Ewa Żywicka

First publication in this edition.

ISBN 978-83-7672-455-3

Wydawnictwo Literatura, Łódź 2016

91-334 Łódź, ul. Srebrna 41

handlowy@wyd-literatura.com.pl

tel. (42) 630 23 81

faks (42) 632 30 24

www.wyd-literatura.com.pl

Iam overjoyed that All of My Mums, has found its way to you. On its pages, you will meet the figure of Irena Sendler, an extraordinary woman whose courage and goodness of heart deserves the highest admiration.

When we hear the word ‘hero’, we imagine a brave, gallant man. Not in this case, though. The hero turns out to be a woman who does not need any weapons and is armed only with a steadfast character and brave heart.

During World War II Irena Sendler, together with her colleagues, led more than 2,500 children out of the Warsaw ghetto. Risking her own life, she tried to save the most vulnerable from certain death. But she never allowed anyone to call her a ‘hero’. She claimed that she only did her duty, what she was taught at home. She never perceived it as something unusual. In life you have to do good – that was her motto. What a wonderful example, in our modern times!

I had the great fortune of meeting Mrs. Irena Sendler in person. Towards the end of her life I knighted her Dame of the Order of the Smile, which she accepted with great emotion. I remember her words: ‘I have always preferred to give than to receive. Is there anything more beautiful than the joy in the eyes of the receiver?’ When asked, what is most important in life, she replied: ‘Love, tolerance and humility.’ She also used to say: ‘To make the world better, it is necessary to love every human being. The only division of people which makes sense is the one of the good and the bad. Nationality, religion, education make no difference. And if someone needs help, you have to give him or her a hand.’ When asked, if necessary, if she would rescue German children from the ghetto, she replied without hesitation: Yes!

There are never enough memories of Irena Sendler and this book is just one of them. I am convinced that conversation with children about our history cannot rely only on teaching dry facts and dates. To talk about emotions and human destiny is no less significant. In this case, the destiny of a little boy – Simon Bauman, one of the 2,500 children saved by Mrs. Sendler.

Irena Sendlerowa and Marek Michalak

As the Ombudsman for Children and as a human, I bow my head before Irena Sendler, a woman who, in times of trial, helped the most vulnerable regardless of the circumstances. She fought for children’s right to life, trampled by the war, and the preservation of their identity.

I am aware that it is not possible to enclose Irena Sendler’s story in between the covers of a single book, but any attempt of introducing her to young readers is important and valuable. By getting to know Irena Sandler’s achievements you will learn a lot about respect, modesty and courage. She still remains a model beyond reach.

I remember her as a person sensitive to injustice, always friendly and full of goodness. I would like to be able to kiss the hands of Irena Sendler once again, put her on a pedestal, humble and timid as she always was, shaking her head in a gesture of ‘no, there is no need’.

Judge for yourself, if there is such a need. I invite you all to read All of My Mums.

Marek Michalak

The Ombudsman for Children

The Chancellor of the International Chapter of the Order of the Smile

Mister Szymon Bauman can be seen in the park every day. He walks along the asphalt paths in his long coat and black hat and when he feels tired he sits down on a bench. He will sit like this for hours. With his eyes closed he looks as if he has dozed off. But he’s not sleeping and probably none of you can guess what he is thinking about. He told me once and it began like this:

‘It’s enough to close my eyes for those images to appear under my eyelids. Some are slightly faded, almost blurred, while others are clearly visible in every detail. They keep coming back and, along with them, a little boy in shorts and lace-up shoes. Those laces annoyed me. Dragging behind me on the ground as I ran across the yard, and when I tried to tie them back I would end up with big knots instead of bows. But why worry about shoe laces when you had to hide behind a dustbin, as my best friend Dawid shelled me from behind the coal shed, shouting:’

‘Bang-bang! Bang-bang! You’re dead!’

‘Not true! You haven’t hit me at all!’ I insisted and clung firmly to the ground.

‘Okay, so now I’ll be running away and you’ll have to catch me’ he commanded, and at once we ran outside the house, brandishing wooden rifles.

Sometimes Dawid pretended to be injured. He would wrap his knee with a handkerchief and limp across the yard moaning:

‘Ouch, you hit me in the leg. It hurts badly. I deserve a medal.’

We made the medals from buttons wrapped in gold foil from chocolate Hanukkah gelt [1]. Because we were both brave generals, at every opportunity we awarded each other a medal. At home we heard time and again that the war was coming, so we decided to keep watch from the tallest tree in our backyard.

‘And what shall we do when we see German soldiers?’ asked Dawid.

‘What do you mean? We’ll tell my dad! Their noses will be out of joint when they see whom they have crossed’ I shouted, because my dad is obviously the strongest in the world. ‘We can also shell them with apple cores’ I added as an afterthought.

‘Or we could be spies’ Dawid always had crazy ideas. ‘We will sneak into their camp at night and take all their pistols. And piss into their helmets, too’ he chuckled.

- [1] Hanukkah coins – during the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (it usually falls around Christmas) children receive gifts. Traditional small gift are coins made of chocolate.