Killing of Janusz Korczak – Treblinka
Fact of the Polish figure „Rightous Among the Nations”
Part of the „The Holocaust” topic
Janusz Korczak became a symbol of an ultimate sacrifice and unwavering moral values in the face of death. Born to a Polish Jewish family in 1878 in Warsaw, Janusz Korczak became an early advocate for children rights, pedagogue, prominent children book writer and pediatrician. His work was focused on advocacy for children rights, his work became the groundwork for many aspects of pedagogy. In 1912 he opened a orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw, that at the start of the II World War was moved into the Warsaw Ghetto. In August 1942 during Grossaktion Warsaw the whole orphanage (almost 200 children) was ordered to be sent to Treblinka extermination camp. However, Korczak was offered sanctuary, that he refused, as he denied abandoning the children sentenced to death. In order to calm the children in the eyes of inevitable death, told them that their relocation is a good thing, as now they will be out of the city in the countryside surrounded by nature. The eyewitness remembers him walking with his head held up high, followed by the children dressed in their best clothes and in a happy mood, led by SS man. He died in the camp on 7th of August 1942.
