Living in the Spirit of Janusz Korczak: Poem and Biography

Janusz Korczak (Henryk Goldszmit 1879-1942) was a physician, educator and writer who dedicated his life to orphaned children. An assimilated Polish Jew, he practiced universal humanism. Dr. Korczak is credited in Europe with the introduction of progressive orphanages designed as democratic republics; he founded the first national children’s newspaper, trained teachers in what we now call moral education and worked in juvenile courts defending children’s rights. He was a strong advocate of the need for a Declaration of Children’s rights long before such documents were drawn up by the Geneva Convention (1924), the United Nations General Assembly (1959) and the Convention of the rights of the Child (1989). His books, How to Love a Child and The Child’s Right for Respect gave parents and teachers new insights into child psychology. His classic, King Matt the First, enchanted children around the world. He stepped into legend when he refused offers to save his life and went with 198 orphans under his care and 9 staff from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka death camp. The Israelis revered Janusz Korczak as one of the Thirty-six Just Men whose pure souls, according to the ancient Jewish tradition, make possible the world’s salvation, and UNESCO declared 1978-79 the year of Korczak to coincide with the year of the Child and the centenary of his birth.

(these biographical details were used with permission from The King of Children by Betty Jean Lifton, Copyright©1988)

 

used with permission from The Champion of Children, by Tomek Bogacki

Poem attributed to Janusz Korczak:

 

How many fields did you plow,
How many loaves of bread did you bake,
How much seed did you sow,
How many trees did you plant,
How many bricks did you lay,
How many buttons did you sew,
How many patches, how many seams did you make,
To whom did you give your warmth
who would have stumbled but for your support,
Whom did you show the way
without demanding gratitude or prize,
What was your offering,
Whom did you serve?