A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Janusz Korczak’s dedication to orphaned children during World War II serves as a reminder of the good one person can do in a world gone dark.

Henryk Goldszmit, known by his pen name, Janusz Korczak, was a quiet, unassuming doctor, veteran, respected author, director of a children’s home—and a Jew in Poland at a time when Nazi ideology was on the rise in neighboring Germany. Considered a pioneer in child psychology, Korczak and his chief assistant, Stefania Wilczyńska, operated Dom Sierot, a home for orphans in Warsaw, guided by the philosophy that children were worthy of respect as whole beings, not just future adults, and deserving of autonomy and self-determination. Unfortunately, the nurturing environment of Dom Sierot was no match for the Nazi war machine and Korczak, Wilczyńska, and their beloved children died in the gas chambers of Treblinka in 1942. Marrin (Very, Very, Very Dreadful, 2017, etc.) uses Korczak’s life to explore 20th-century Germany’s path to extremism and brutality. Going beyond simple biography, the book focuses on eugenics and the Nazi’s molding of youth, the roots of anti-Semitism and racism, and their modern legacies. The readable tone makes the long text accessible and engaging. Disappointingly, more attention is paid to Wilczyńska’s perceived lack of beauty than to her intellectual accomplishments as a rare woman able at that time to complete a science degree.

Meticulous research supports a Holocaust book worthy of attention.