Gal Gadot to Star in, Produce Movie about Christian Who Saved Thousands of Jews from Nazis

Gal Gadot to Star in, Produce Movie about Christian Who Saved Thousands of Jews from Nazis

Gal Gadot, who found fame as Wonder Woman, will produce and star in a new movie featuring a Polish woman who saved over 2,000 Jewish lives during World War II.

Teaming up with her husband, Jaron Varsano, Gadot has started a production company called Pilot Wave. Their first movie will feature Gadot as Irena Sendler, an activist who smuggled thousands of Jewish children away from the Warsaw ghetto.

“As producers, we want to help bring stories that have inspired us to life,” Gadot told Deadline. “Pilot Wave will create content that promotes the perspectives and experiences of unique people and produce impactful stories aimed at igniting the imagination.”

According to CBN, the historical thriller Irena Sendler will document the woman’s harrowing efforts to save the children. Disguised as a nurse, she entered the ghetto to administer aid and medical care to the Jewish prisoners. But when she discovered that the children would be sent off to a concentration camp, she and her team smuggled as many people as possible out of the ghetto in coffins, suitcases, ambulances, sacks and even the sewage system.

Once the children had escaped, Sendler established them in Christian homes and nun convents. In time, however, the Gestapo discovered her efforts and she was captured and tortured.

Though the Gestapo attempted to uncover the identities of those who had been saved, Sendler stood her ground and refused to reveal their whereabouts.

Though she was sentenced to death, on the day of Sendler’s execution, the guards were bribed and she managed to escape. The State of Israel later gave her honorary citizenship in 1991 and she was deemed as Righteous Among the Nations in 1965. Her home country also honored her with the Gold Cross of Merit and the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honor.

The pioneering woman died in 2008 at 98 years old.

Screenwriter Justine Juel Gillmer will write the screenplay for Irena Sendler and Stuart Hazeldine, who recently finished The Shack, will direct. 

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Gregg DeGuire/Stringer

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