Janusz Korczak

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janusz_Korczak ())

A group of kids and an old man all comfortably sit together on a train. The kids are Jewish and the old man is Polish. They are being deported to Treblinka death camp. The kids do not cry, weep, or show any signs of fear. The old man was Janusz Korczak who was a wealthy Polish writer. But, Janusz Korczak is not remembered for his stories, He is remembered for his heroism. Janusz Korczak was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1878 . He devoted much of his life to caring and educating orphaned Jewish children. In 1911, he established a shameful Jewish orphanage in Warsaw. When World War 2 emerged he stayed behind to protect his orphans. He rejected many opportunities to escape to ensure the protection of his orphans. Even as a weak old man, Janusz Korczak continued to feed and care for his orphans. Janusz Korczak possessed the traits of selflessness for putting his orphans safety before his own. He also possessed courage because he put his life at risk and danger to protect his Jewish orphans. Janusz Korczak was a selfless and courageous hero, he devoted most of his life on the welfare of children.

Janusz Korczak devoted his life on the welfare of children when he had other options that would of been more beneficial for him. After World War 1, Janusz Korczak returned to Poland where he started his "work in the Jewish orphanage, but he was also asked to take charge of an orphanage for Polish children and to apply there the methods he had introduced in the establishment on Krochmalna Street"(Encyclopedia of the Holocaust). When he became independent, he started to spend his time and effort on his Jewish orphanage. He took the shameful orphanage with pride and honor and devoted his life on the orphanage. His selflessness allowed him to take the orphanage without hesitation and regret. Before he established the orphanage,"Korczak benefited from the best education then offered. He wanted to be a physician, and his specialty--quite naturally--would be pediatrics. He wanted to devote his life to the welfare of children, even if this meant he would never marry and have a family, a personal sacrifice he decided upon"(Encyclopedia of World Biography). Janusz Korczak had a great future ahead of himself. He was well educated and even had a great talent in writing. People thought that he would become a doctor or something that made good money. But, he made a lot of sacrifices and chose to devote his life on the welfare of children. He showed the people that selflessness overpowers money. Janusz Korczak devoted his life on the welfare of underprivileged children, he sacrificed to never marry and have a family to help others was a truly an act of heroism.

(https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biogr ())

Korczak protected, cared, and educated his Jewish orphans during World War 2. When World War emerged, "the economic situation took a sharp turn for the worse and the Jews of Warsaw were imprisoned in the ghetto, Korczak concentrated his efforts on the orphanage, seeking to provide the children there with food and the basics conditions of existence(Encyclopedia of the Holocaust)" Korczak got aware of the threat on the Jews and concentrated his efforts on protecting his orphans. Many people during World War 2 turned in Jews or ditched them to the Nazis. Korczak on the other hand, chose to risk his own life to protect and feed his 170 Jewish orphans. His act of great courage and selflessness shows a great example of a hero. When the Nazis ordered Warsaw's Jews to build a ghetto where the Jews were forced to live in poverty, "Korczak was not in the best of health, and friends urged him to go into hiding. When those friends could not guarantee the safety of his 170 orphans, Korczak declined"(People of the Holocaust). Korczak did not care about his own safety but cared much more about the safety of his orphans. He even rejected all opportunities to escape to secure the safety of his orphans. He shows an act of courage for putting others safety before his own. Korczak was one of the most courageous heroes to risk his life for the sake of his orphans.

Korczak gave the orphans a sense of security and hope during this dark time in history. A survivor from the Holocaust witnessed "Korczak and the children being placed in windowless railroads cars typically used to transport cattle, not humans: 'These children did not cry, these innocent little beings did not even weep. Like sick sparrows they snuggled up to their teacher, their caregiver, their father and their brother Janusz Korczak, that he might protect them with his weak, emaciated body'"(Encyclopedia of World Biography). The orphans discovered hope in Korczak and stayed comfortable. They did not cry showing how Korczak affected the their lives. He gave the orphans a sense of security and hope during this dark time in history. When the Nazi deportation was served "Korczak, suppressing the truth, told his children that they were going on a picnic in the country. When he, his assistant, and some 200 orphans at last reached the cattle trucks waiting to ship them to Treblinka, Korczak refused a last-minute offer of his freedom in return for abandoning his charges and went with them to his death"(Encyclopedia Judaica). Korczak knew that him and the orphans only had a little bit of time before their inevitable death. Even though he knew, He continued to give hope to the orphans. He was offered a last-minute of his freedom but refused and died with his orphans that he spent his life protecting and caring. He shows his traits of selflessness till the end. Janusz not only gave the orphans protection and food, but also gave them hope and a sense of security.

(http://culture.pl/en/article/2012-the-year-of-janu ())