The Moving Story of Janusz Korczak and the Dom Sierot Orphanage

This video [04:25], published by Yad Vashem, tells the moving story of Janusz Korczak (1878-1942), a Jewish pediatrician, author, and teacher, who headed the Dom Sierot orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw. Dedicated to his work, Korczak designed his own unique education system for the children, and wrote over twenty books about children’s rights and experiences in the world of adults. Additionally, he established a Polish children’s newspaper and hosted a radio program in which he answered educational questions, earning him a positive reputation among Jews and non-Jews. Korczak’s orphanage was forced to move to the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940, and though he was repeatedly offered the opportunity to remain on the “Aryan side” of Warsaw, he honorably refused, wishing to remain to take care of the orphans. In 1942, Korczak, his assistant Stefania (Stefa) Wilczynska, 12 other staff members, and his 200 orphaned children, boarded the cattle car to the death camp Treblinka, where they were murdered by the Nazis.