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November 22, 2002
Helping the ghetto children
New exhibit at the Holocaust Education Centre focuses on Janusz
Korczak.
PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
In the face of human evil that epitomized the Nazi regime, there
are countless stories of exceptional acts of selflessness. The valiant
story of one man's dedication to humanity is being depicted right
now at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.
Janusz Korczak's exemplary life was dedicated to the welfare of
children. He was a very successful avocational writer, whose children's
books included a Polish classic King Matt the First. The
story reflected Korczak's view that children were the ones who could
repair the world that had been ripped apart by the First World War.
Professionally, Korczak was a medical doctor dedicated to the health
of children and he was instrumental in creating orphanages that
were not only equipped with the necessities of life, but inculcated
in children a sense of self-governance and personal responsibility.
Anti-Semitism was a constant factor in Korczak's life. He was born
Henryk Goldszmit and adopted the more Polish sounding pen name,
but eventually became known exclusively by his nom de plume.
His dedication to helping orphans was laudable, though perhaps not
history-making. Circumstances, however, would force him to make
choices that changed the world for those close to him.
Recognized in 1933 with the Silver Cross of the Polonia Restituta
for his enormous contributions to Polish society, Korczak nevertheless
faced discrimination because of his Jewish identity. He was offered
a radio program but, as a known Jew, he remained essentially anonymous
behind the on-air moniker "Old Doctor." Even so, word
got out about who the radio personality was and the program was
cancelled.
Though Polish society was infused with institutional anti-Semitism,
things took a brutal turn when the Nazis invaded that country in
September 1939.
Within a year, all of Warsaw's Jews were required to move to the
ghetto, which became an overcrowded slum that devolved into chaos.
For the 200 charges that were in Korczak's orphanage, though, the
horrific realities of life in the ghetto were cushioned by the doctor's
exhaustive efforts to shield them. He begged, borrowed and cajoled
from others within the ghetto for provisions to ensure his children
had enough to eat. Korczak and his staff attempted to prevent the
inhuman conditions outside the walls of the orphanage from penetrating.
Part of the strategy involved keeping the orphans indoors at all
times, which had the added benefit of preventing the spread of typhus,
which was rampant in the ghetto.
Though he succeed in making life for the 200 children as tolerable
as conditions permitted, Korczak could not prevent the inevitable.
The Warsaw Ghetto was being liquidated and, by July 1942, residents
(or, more accurately, inmates) were being deported to death camps.
In early August, the call came for the orphans, Korczak and his
staff to present themselves at the collection point for deportation.
Korczak, with a child on each hand, led the march of young people
the several miles to the designated location, from where they were
sent to their deaths.
According to one story, Korczak was himself exempted from the deportation,
but chose not to desert the children. Another report states that
Korczak was required to attend but, through the clandestine work
of friends, could easily have escaped the ghetto and fled to safety
under false papers. Whichever the case, Korczak would not leave
the children and sacrificed himself so the children would not face
their final days without his guardianship.
In the exhibit currently on display at the Holcaust Centre, Korczak's
experience is used to introduce the broader story of life for the
children in the Warsaw Ghetto. In the exhibit, the panels depicting
the writer's life progress to a contiguous but distinct exhibit
about the lives and fates of the children of the ghetto both inside
and outside the orphanage.
As was frequently the case with Nazi "morality," the fate
of victims was determined not by any human regard for youth or frailty,
but rather by the "usefulness" of the victims. In the
inverted world of the Nazis, children were not protected because
of their vulnerability, but rather were among the first victims
of Nazi atrocities because they were often too young to perform
labor.
The exhibit effectively tells the story of an aspect of Holocaust
history from both the individual point of view and the larger picture.
Janusz Korczak and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto continues until
Jan. 3, 2003, at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, at the
Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.
Pat Johnson is a native Vancouverite, a journalist and
commentator.
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