A statue of a Polish woman who saved hundreds of Jewish children during the Holocaust has been unveiled in Nottinghamshire, UK.
The sculpture of Irena Sendler, who died in 2008, is located in Newark, a small town in the Newark and Sherwood region.
Newark Mayor Lisa Geary called the statue a “fitting tribute” to Sendler’s “inspirational” life, reported BBC News.
"Newark is honoured to be able to provide a location for this statue which will be a fitting tribute to the life of Irena Sendler,” she said. "Her story is truly inspirational, one of selfless service to others."
Born Irena Sendlerowa, during World War II, Sendler was a worker at the Department for Social Welfare and Public Health during the Nazi occupation of Poland.
She was member of a group of staff and volunteers in the department who sneaked Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto by providing them with fake identity papers and placing them in the care of Polish families or orphanages.
In October 1943, Sendler was arrested by the Gestapo. She was tortured and sentenced to death. However, on the day of her execution, she escaped after her guards were bribed.
After her escape, she continued helping Jewish children but went into hiding.
In 1965, Sendler was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. She received several awards, including Poland’s Order of the White Eagle.
Sendler’s statue was unveiled in a small ceremony on Saturday, reported the Newark Advertiser.
"The woman showed us how to behave in our darkest moment, that even in your darkest moment you can do something,” said Polish Ambassador Arkady Rzegocki at the event.
"Irena Sendler saved more than 1,000 people through the Polish underground resistance during the Second World War. This amazing story should be known not only in Poland and the UK but all over the world,” he added.