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Janusz Korczak

Author profile

born

July 22, 1878 in Warszawa, Poland

died

August 06, 1942

gender

male

About this author

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Janusz Korczak was a was a Polish-Jewish children's author, pediatrician, and child pedagogue, also known under the pseudonym "Stary Doktor".
He was born Henryk Goldszmit in Warsaw on July 22, 1878. During his youth, he played with children who were poor and lived in bad neighborhoods; his passion for helping disadvantaged youth continued into his adulthood. He studied medicine and also had a promising career in literature. When he gave up his career in literature and medicine, he changed his name to Janusz Korczak, a pseudonym derived from a 19th century novel, Janasz Korczak and the pretty Swordsweeperlady.
In 1912, Korczak established a Jewish orphanage, Dom Sierot, in a building which he designed to advance his progressive educational th...more Janusz Korczak was a was a Polish-Jewish children's author, pediatrician, and child pedagogue, also known under the pseudonym "Stary Doktor".
He was born Henryk Goldszmit in Warsaw on July 22, 1878. During his youth, he played with children who were poor and lived in bad neighborhoods; his passion for helping disadvantaged youth continued into his adulthood. He studied medicine and also had a promising career in literature. When he gave up his career in literature and medicine, he changed his name to Janusz Korczak, a pseudonym derived from a 19th century novel, Janasz Korczak and the pretty Swordsweeperlady.
In 1912, Korczak established a Jewish orphanage, Dom Sierot, in a building which he designed to advance his progressive educational theories. He envisioned a world in which children structured their own world and became experts in their own matters. Jewish children between the ages of seven and fourteen were allowed to live there while attending Polish public school and government-sponsored Jewish schools, known as "Sabbath" schools. The orphanage opened a summer camp in 1921, which remained in operation until the summer of 1940.
Besides serving as principal of Don Sierot and another orphanage, Nasz Dom, Korczak was also a doctor and author, worked at a Polish radio station, was a principal of an experimental school, published a children’s newspaper and was a docent at a Polish university. Korczak also served as an expert witness in a district court for minors. He became well-known in Polish societyand received many awards. The rise of anti-Semitism in the 1930's restricted only his activities with Jews.
In 1934 and 1936, Korczak visited Palestine and was influenced by the kibbutz movement. Following his trips, Korczak was convinced that all Jews should move to Palestine.
The Germans occupied Poland in September 1939, and the Warsaw ghetto was established in November 1940. The orphanage was moved inside the ghetto. Korczak received many offers to be smuggled out of the ghetto, but he refused because he did not want to abandon the children. On August 5, 1942, Korczak joined nearly 200 children and orphanage staff members were rounded up for deportation to Treblinka, where they were all put to death.

Source: Janusz Korczak Communication Center and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (less)

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Books by Janusz Korczak

Average rating: 3.65 · 407 ratings · 46 reviews · 20 distinct works

	King Matt the First by Janusz Korczak, Richard Lourie (Translator) 3.55 avg rating — 288 ratings — published 1923 — 12 editions	My rating:
	Loving Every Child: Wisdom for Parents by Janusz Korczak, Sandra Joseph (Editor) 4.29 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2007	My rating:
	Ghetto Diary 3.91 avg rating — 22 ratings — 5 editions	My rating:
	Kajtuś Czarodziej 3.33 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1960 — 6 editions	My rating:
	მეფე მათიუშ პირველი 5.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 1993	My rating:
	When I Am Little Again and the Child's Right to Respect 4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1992 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Король Матиуш. Повести-сказки by Janusz Korczak, Януш Корчак 3.33 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1979 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Little King Matty And The Desert Island 3.36 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 1923 — 5 editions	My rating:
	König Maciuś der Erste Roman in zwei Teilen für Leser jeden Alters 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1923	My rating:
	Sam na sam z Bogiem 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	My rating:

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Quotes by Janusz Korczak

“I never realized that a child is capable of remembering so well and of waiting so patiently”
― Janusz Korczak, Loving Every Child: Wisdom for Parents

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“I exist not to be loved and admired, but to love and act. It is not the duty of those around me to love me. Rather, it is my duty to be concerned about the world, about man.”
― Janusz Korczak, Warsaw Ghetto Memoirs of Janusz Korczak

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Classics for Begi...: Angie's Classics	51	93	Jan 23, 2012 12:07pm
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