Janusz Korczak

Another brave and courageous individual whose story is often overlooked by the West is that of Janusz Korczak. (I put a quote of his on this blog a couple of months ago). He was born in Warsaw in 1878 as Henryk Goldszmit and grew up in a Jewish family before studying medicine.

From 1911 he ran an orphanage in the City, and was always fighting for better conditions and education for children. As well as running the orphanage he was an author of both children's stories and medical books. Throughout the early 30's he also became well known for a radio show which he hosted until it was taken off the air following complaints by anti-semites.

When World War II began he was forced to move the orphanage to the Jewish Ghetto. Although he had several chances to save himself from the captivity of the ghetto he refused the opportunities, preferring instead to stay and protect the children, suffering along with them in inhumane conditions.

On August 5 1942, the Nazis rounded up nearly two hundred children in his care and lead them to to trains going to the Treblinka death camp. Despite further opportunities to save himself Korczak stayed with the children and helped them march with dignity through the city while they held hands and carried their belongings.

This is an eyewitness account of the procession;

... A miracle occurred. Two hundred children did not cry out. Two hundred pure souls, condemned to death, did not weep. Not one of them ran away. None tried to hide. Like stricken swallows they clung to their teacher and mentor, to their father and brother, Janusz Korczak, so that he might protect and preserve them. Janusz Korczak was marching, his head bent forward, holding the hand of a child, without a hat, a leather belt around his waist, and wearing high boots. A few nurses were followed by two hundred children, dressed in clean and meticulously cared for clothes, as they were being carried to the altar. (...) On all sides the children were surrounded by Germans, Ukrainians, and this time also Jewish policemen. They whipped and fired shots at them. The very stones of the street wept at the sight of the procession.

Korczak and the children boarded the trains to Treblinka at Umschlagplatz and were never heard from again.

There is a nice statue to the memory of Korczak in the gardens of the Palace of Science and Culture, which was inaugurated in 2006. I passed by the statue yesterday. Do take a visit if you're in the centre of Warsaw, (it's about 2 minutes walk from Swietokrzyska metro stop).

If you want to read more about Janusz Korczak and his work then click here