Pamietnik

by Janusz Korczak

Paperback

About the author

Janusz Korczak was a Polish-Jewish children's author, pediatrician, and child pedagogue, also known under the pseudonym "Stary Doktor".
He was born Henryk Goldszmit in Warsaw on July 22, 1878. During his youth, he played with children who were poor and lived in bad neighborhoods; his passion for helping disadvantaged youth continued into his adulthood. He studied medicine and also had a promising career in literature. When he gave up his career in literature and medicine, he changed his name to Janusz Korczak, a pseudonym derived from a 19th century novel, Janasz Korczak and the pretty Swordsweeperlady.
In 1912, Korczak established a Jewish orphanage, Dom Sierot, in a building which he designed to advance his progressive educational theories. He envisioned a world in which children structured their own world and became experts in their own matters. Jewish children between the ages of seven and fourteen were allowed to live there while attending Polish public school and government-sponsored Jewish schools, known as "Sabbath" schools. The orphanage opened a summer camp in 1921, which remained in operation until the summer of 1940.
Besides serving as principal of Dom Sierot and another orphanage, Nasz Dom, Korczak was also a doctor and author, worked at a Polish radio station, was a principal of an experimental school, published a children’s newspaper and was a docent at a Polish university. Korczak also served as an expert witness in a district court for minors. He became well-known in Polish societyand received many awards. The rise of anti-Semitism in the 1930's restricted only his activities with Jews.
In 1934 and 1936, Korczak visited Palestine and was influenced by the kibbutz movement. Following his trips, Korczak was convinced that all Jews should move to Palestine.
The Germans occupied Poland in September 1939, and the Warsaw ghetto was established in November 1940. The orphanage was moved inside the ghetto. Korczak received many offers to be smuggled out of the ghetto, but he refused because he did not want to abandon the children. On August 5, 1942, Korczak joined nearly 200 children and orphanage staff members were rounded up for deportation to Treblinka, where they were all put to death.

Source: Janusz Korczak Communication Center and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Reviews

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Książka bardzo potrzebna, skłaniająca do przemyśleń. Pokazuje jak wspaniałym i mądrym człowiekiem był Janusz Korczak. Mimo obrazów strachu i niepewności wojny, czytając pamiętnik można odczuć również spokój, dobroć i empatię autora. Korczak posiadał świadomość nieuchronnego i był w stanie pogodzić się z losem, równocześnie szerząc dobroć do samego końca. Człowiek ludzki w nieludzkim świecie.
Minusem jest niestety styl pisania, bardzo prywatny, dużo metafor i skrótów myślowych. Sam autor podkreśla, że nie do końca zrozumiał swoje zapiski. Tak jakby pisał tylko dla siebie, aby dać upust emocjom i reszta się nie liczyła. Dlatego mimo że książka jest krótka, ciężko przez nią przebrnąć. Uważam jednak, że pomimo trudnej formy, warto przeczytać myśli tak niesamowitego człowieka.

[Alicja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciężko jest przejść przez fasadę trudnego, mało zrozumiałego stylu i odniesień. Ale dla dalszej części warto. Nie ma tu zostawionej recepty na życie, ale próba przeżycia własnego. I wgląd w człowieka, który do samego końca myślał o dzieciach.