Ludwika Wawrzyńska was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 teacher who worked at an elementary school in Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

. On February 8, 1955 she rescued four children from a burning house where they had been locked by their parents as they were leaving for work. She died ten days later, on February 18, from severe burns.

Wawrzyńska acquired a hero status in Poland and became a symbol of selfless sacrifice. She was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta

Polonia Restituta

The Order of Polonia Restituta is one of Poland's highest Orders. The Order can be conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, defense of the country, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries...

. Wisława Szymborska

Wislawa Szymborska

Wisława Szymborska is a Polish poet, essayist and translator. Many of her poems feature war and terrorism...

 and Leopold Staff

Leopold Staff

Leopold Staff was a Polish poet and one of the greatest artists of European modernism honored two times by honorary degrees . He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature...

wrote poems in her praise. Also, some Polish schools are named after her.