This is the tragic story of Janusz Korczak (as featured in the major
motion picture The Zookeeper's Wife) who chose to perish in Treblinka
rather than abandon the Jewish orphans in his care. Korczak comes alive
in this acclaimed biography by Betty Jean Lifton as the first known
advocate of children's rights in Poland, and the man known as a savior
of hundreds of orphans in the Warsaw ghetto. A pediatrician, educator,
and Polish Jew, Janusz Korczak introduced progressive orphanages,
serving both Jewish and Catholic children, in Warsaw. Determined to
shield children from the injustices of the adult world, he built
orphanages into 'just communities' complete with parliaments and courts.
Korczak also founded the first national children's newspaper, testified
on behalf of children in juvenile courts, and, through his writings,
provided teachers and parents with a moral education. Known throughout
Europe as a Pied Piper of destitute children prior to the onslaught of
World War II, he assumed legendary status when on August 6, 1942, after
refusing offers for his own safety, he defiantly led the orphans under
his care in the Warsaw Ghetto to the trains that would take them to
Treblinka. Introductions by Elie Wiesel, Curren Warf and Allison A. Eddy
[Subject: Biography, Holocaust Studies, Jewish Studies, WWII,
Children's Rights]
