Janusz Korczak (born Henryk Goldszmit; July 22, 1878 or 1879 – August 5, 1942) was a Polish-Jewish pediatrician, educator, children's rights advocate, and one of the pioneers of modern pedagogy. He was also a distinguished author whose writings profoundly influenced both the theory and practice of child-centered education.
Born in Warsaw, Korczak studied medicine and specialized in pediatrics before later pursuing educational studies. During the First World War, he served as a military physician. He gained international recognition through works such as How to Love a Child, Children of the Streets, Children of the Drawing Room, The Child's Right to Respect, and the beloved children's novel King Matt the First.
In 1911, together with his longtime colleague Stefania Wilczyńska, he founded the Dom Sierot (House of Orphans) in Warsaw. There he introduced revolutionary educational methods, creating a self-governing community in which children were treated with dignity and equality. The orphanage had its own parliament, court, and newspaper, encouraging children to participate in decision-making and to develop responsibility, justice, and mutual respect. During the 1930s, Korczak also hosted a popular radio program devoted to children's education and welfare.
His progressive ideas and outspoken defense of children's rights increasingly attracted hostility from the growing antisemitic movement in Poland. His radio broadcasts were eventually canceled, and he faced numerous obstacles in practicing medicine and publishing his works.
After the Nazi occupation of Poland in 1939, the Warsaw Ghetto was established in 1940, forcing Korczak to relocate his orphanage inside its walls. Despite extreme deprivation, starvation, and disease, he remained devoted to his children, struggling every day to secure food, medicine, and hope in conditions where countless people died from hunger.
In July 1942, during the mass deportations from the Warsaw Ghetto, the Nazis ordered that the orphanage's children and staff be transported to the Treblinka extermination camp. Shortly before the deportation, a German officer who admired Korczak's literary work reportedly offered him freedom. Korczak refused, replying that not all people are villains, and chose to remain with the children.
Eyewitnesses described the heartbreaking procession to the trains: Korczak walked at its head, holding the hand of a small child, followed by several caregivers and 192 orphans, all dressed in their best clothes, each carrying a small blue backpack and a favorite toy. Surrounded by German soldiers shouting orders, they boarded the train to Treblinka, where they were murdered together in the gas chambers on August 5, 1942.
