Janusz Korczak (pen name of Henryk Goldszmit) was a Polish–Jewish physician, pedagogue, champion of children’s rights, and an author. His written legacy includes essays, novels, children's stories, and pedagogical works among others. He was also director of a Warsaw Jewish orphanage where he implemented innovative educational principles. During World War II he, along with two hundred orphanage pupils and staff, was murdered in the gas chamber of the Treblinka Nazi extermination camp.
Korczak was born in Warsaw in a Polonized Jewish family to Cecilia Gębicka, a homemaker, and Józef Goldszmit, a lawyer. In 1896, while still a high school student, he made his literary debut publishing humoresques in the …
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Citation: Medvedeva Nathoo, Olga. "Janusz Korczak". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 March 2019 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13977, accessed 24 November 2024.]