Author. He gained international fame for his children's books and for his loyalty to orphans. Korczak was born Henryk Goldszmit in Warsaw, into a Jewish family. Trained as a pediatrician, he also served as a military doctor with the Polish armed forces during the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, and the Polish-Soviet War, achieving the rank of major. In 1898 he chose the pen name Janusz Korczak when he entered an essay contest. He kept that name during his literary career. Some of his more popular works were "Children of the Streets" (1901), "Child of the Drawing Room" (1906), "Bobo" (1914), "King Matt the First" (1923), and "King Matt on the Desert Island". His love for children went far beyond his writings and pediatric practice. In 1911 he became director of a Warsaw orphanage, setting up a "Children's Republic" where they participated in their own parliament and published their own newspaper. After World War I he founded a second orphanage in Warsaw. At the start of World War II, Korczak tried to reenlist in the Polish Army, but was rejected because of his age. He returned to his orphanage, where in 1940 the Nazis forced his staff and children to move to the Warsaw Ghetto. Two years later, German soldiers came to the orphanage and collected the almost two hundred children and one dozen staff members, to send them to the Treblinka extermination camp. The famous author was offered asylum on more than one occasion, but refused, saying he would not abandon his children. The young orphans dressed in their best clothes, took their favorite toy or book, and marched with the "King of Children" through the ghetto to the trains that were bound for the gas chambers of Treblinka. Korczak was never heard from again.
Author. He gained international fame for his children's books and for his loyalty to orphans. Korczak was born Henryk Goldszmit in Warsaw, into a Jewish family. Trained as a pediatrician, he also served as a military doctor with the Polish armed forces during the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, and the Polish-Soviet War, achieving the rank of major. In 1898 he chose the pen name Janusz Korczak when he entered an essay contest. He kept that name during his literary career. Some of his more popular works were "Children of the Streets" (1901), "Child of the Drawing Room" (1906), "Bobo" (1914), "King Matt the First" (1923), and "King Matt on the Desert Island". His love for children went far beyond his writings and pediatric practice. In 1911 he became director of a Warsaw orphanage, setting up a "Children's Republic" where they participated in their own parliament and published their own newspaper. After World War I he founded a second orphanage in Warsaw. At the start of World War II, Korczak tried to reenlist in the Polish Army, but was rejected because of his age. He returned to his orphanage, where in 1940 the Nazis forced his staff and children to move to the Warsaw Ghetto. Two years later, German soldiers came to the orphanage and collected the almost two hundred children and one dozen staff members, to send them to the Treblinka extermination camp. The famous author was offered asylum on more than one occasion, but refused, saying he would not abandon his children. The young orphans dressed in their best clothes, took their favorite toy or book, and marched with the "King of Children" through the ghetto to the trains that were bound for the gas chambers of Treblinka. Korczak was never heard from again.
Bio by: Bigwoo
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