Irene Gut-Opdyke | Holocaust Rescuer | Women’s History Month | USC Shoah Foundation
Author: USC Shoah Foundation via YouTube
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Irene Gut-Opdyke was born in Kielce, Poland in 1922. A teenage nursing student, Irene acted as an aid-giver during the Holocaust, and was later honored as a “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem for risking her life to save twelve Jews.
“About two hours, or maybe more, the Major came. He was drunk. […] He said, ‘Irene, I cannot see you dead. I want you to be mine. And, willingly, I’ll even help. But you have to be mine.’ There was nothing else I could do. It was not easy, but it was a small price to pay for so many lives. […] I gave myself to him, and I could not even tell my people. Because how would they feel?”
Irene’s story is one of heroism, but also one of gendered victimization. As a young woman, Irene experienced multiple instances of sexual assault (by both men and women; enemies and allies), and sexual coercion where she paid the ultimate price to protect her Jewish friends.
March is Women’s History Month in the United States.
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