In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

By August 1942, Irena and Janina are in Ternopol, still performing domestic duties for the German officers. In addition to working in the kitchen, Irena is put in charge of the laundry facility, which is staffed by Jewish workers from the local work camp. Irena oversees twelve Jewish men and women, all of whom had once been “individuals of means” (120)—medical students, lawyers, nurses. These workers tell Irena about their mistreatment in the camp, and she promises to “look after” them, bringing them food when she can (121). One worker doubts she will be able to do much—after all, she is “only a young girl” (121)—but she soon finds her status as “only a girl” allows her to accomplish quite a bit.

Irena meets Sturmbannführer Rokita, the SS commander who mistreats her workers, and is surprised to discover he’s a strikingly handsome young man—and he finds her to be a “pretty girl” as well (122). She feels sure that Rokita has a “heart of ice” (122), and she decides that she will “try to thwart him” (123). She begins by asking if she can have more workers to help her and her sister out, and she is given ten new workers who will be better off with her than in the factory or work camp.