Janusz Korczak
Pediatrician and educator who died with his orphans.
Janusz Korczak was the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit, a Polish Jewish pediatrician, educator, children’s author, and pedagogue. He was also called Pan Doktor or Stary Doktor. Born in Warsaw on 22 July 1878 or 1879—his father never got a birth certificate promptly, so Korczak himself was unsure of the exact year—he was the son of Józef Goldszmit, a lawyer from a Haskalah-supporting family, and Cecylia Gębicka, whose family was prominent in Kalisz. When Henryk was about twelve, his father fell ill and was placed in a mental hospital, where he died in 1896. The family’s finances declined, forcing them to leave their large apartments in Warsaw’s Old Town. While still at gymnasium (now the 8th Lycée in Warsaw), Henryk began tutoring other students. In 1896, he published his first satirical piece on child-rearing, *Węzeł gordyjski* (The Gordian Knot).
In 1898, he adopted the pen name Janusz Korczak for the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Literary Contest, taking it from Józef Ignacy Kraszewski’s book *Historia o Janaszu Korczaku i o pięknej miecznikównie*. During the 1890s, he attended the Flying University, and from 1898 to 1904 or March 1905, he studied medicine at the University of Warsaw, writing for several Polish newspapers along the way. After graduating, he served as a military doctor in the Russo-Japanese War. From 1905 to 1912, he worked as a pediatrician at the Bersohns and Baumans Children’s Hospital in Warsaw. His novels *Children of the Street* (1901) and *Child of the Drawing Room* (1906) brought him literary recognition. He studied in Berlin in 1907 and in Paris in 1909.
Around 1907 or 1909, Korczak joined the Help for Orphans Society. There, in 1909, he met Stefania Wilczyńska, who became his close associate. In 1911, he became director of Dom Sierot (Orphan House) in Warsaw, an orphanage he designed for Jewish children, which opened the following year. During World War I, he was conscripted again as a military doctor, serving near Kiev as a surgeon in the Russian Army’s 4th Infantry Division, reaching the rank of lieutenant, until 1917. He also worked in orphanages near Kiev during that time.
After the war, he served as a major in the Polish Army during the Polish-Soviet War (1919–1920), with a brief stint in Łódź before being assigned to Warsaw. In his 1919 book *Jak kochać dziecko* (How to Love a Child), written during the war, he defined three basic r
- born
- 22 July 1878 or 1879, Warsaw
- died
- 7 August 1942, Treblinka extermination camp
- field
- Pediatrics, education, children's literature
- nationality
- Polish Jewish
- known_for
- Children's rights advocacy, orphanage director, author of children's books
Lore & Background
Korczak was born in Warsaw to Józef Goldszmit, a lawyer, and Cecylia Gębicka. His father fell ill around 1890 and died in 1896, worsening the family's finances. Korczak began tutoring while in gymnasium and debuted in literature in 1896. He studied medicine at the University of Warsaw from 1898–1904 or March 1905, and served as a military doctor in the Russo-Japanese War. He worked at Bersohns and Baumans Children's Hospital from 1905 to 1912, and his novels Children of the Street (1901) and Child of the Drawing Room (1906) gained him recognition.
In 1911, he became director of Dom Sierot, an orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw. During World War I, he served as a military doctor near Kiev. After the war, he cofounded Nasz Dom in 1919 and wrote How to Love a Child, defining three basic rights of the child. His orphanages had a parliament, court, and newspaper, Mały Przegląd, started in 1926. In the 1930s, he had a radio program promoting children's rights. He traveled to Mandate Palestine between 1934 and 1936 but felt he could not leave his children.
When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Korczak volunteered for the Polish Army but was refused due to age. In October 1940, his orphanage was forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, and he moved with them. On 5 or 6 August 1942, German soldiers collected the orphans and staff for transport to Treblinka. Korczak refused offers of sanctuary, insisting he would go with the children. He boarded the trains and was never heard from again, presumed killed at Treblinka shortly after arrival.
Reader's Guide
Janusz Korczak's significance lies in his pioneering advocacy for children's rights and his unwavering commitment to the orphans in his care. His 1919 children's constitution and the democratic structures he implemented in his orphanages—such as a children's parliament and court—were ahead of their time, emphasizing respect for the child's autonomy and dignity. His writings, including How to Love a Child, influenced later child psychology and education. Korczak's legacy is most powerfully embodied in his final act: refusing multiple offers of sanctuary to remain with the 192 orphans during the Holocaust, marching with them to the Umschlagplatz and onto the trains to Treblinka. This decision has made him a symbol of moral courage and self-sacrifice. His diary, which survived the war, provides a firsthand account of life in the ghetto. Until 2015, his legal date of death was set by Polish law as 9 May 1946, but was changed to reflect the consensus that he died in 1942. Korczak's life and death continue to inspire discussions on ethics, pedagogy, and the rights of children.
Did You Know?
- Korczak was unsure of his birth date; it is 22 July of either 1878 or 1879.
- He drafted a children's constitution in 1919.
- His orphanage had its own parliament, code of law with a court, and a newspaper.
- He refused offers of sanctuary from the Polish underground organization Żegota, saying he could not abandon his children.
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