Janusz Korczak

Olga Medvedeva Nathoo (Independent Scholar - North America)
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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 …

3337 words

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 29 March 2024.]

13977 Janusz Korczak 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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