In 1912, an orphanage for Jewish children was established in Warsaw on the initiative of Janusz Korczak. After the outbreak of the Second World War and the German occupation of the capital, the orphanage continued its work despite being forcibly relocated following the creation of the ghetto. Korczak helped those in need until the final moments of his life, when he and the children in his care were taken by the Germans to their deaths in an extermination camp.
Experience a moving journey into the past during a visit to the former orphanage once run by the dedicated educator Janusz Korczak. Discover the fascinating exhibition devoted to the “Old Doctor”, which tells the remarkable story of his life.
On 18 July 1942, the children at the orphanage performed “The Post Office” by Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. In the play, the main character observes the world from the confinement of his prison and, as he passes into eternity, leaves behind what is immortal—love, friendship and kindness. According to Korczak, the theme was intended to prepare the children for a dignified and conscious death, which came on 5 or 6 August 1942 in the gas chambers of the German Treblinka extermination camp.
From this location, Korczak, ten educators and 192 children were marched to the Umschlagplatz on 5 or 6 August 1942. From there they were transported to the Treblinka extermination camp, where they were murdered.
The visit can then continue to the Jewish Cemetery, where you can see the symbolic grave and monument to Janusz Korczak—a place of remembrance and inspiration.
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