Nearly 67 years ago, noted Polish pediatrician and author Janusz Korczak, refusing an offer to spare his own life, accompanied 195 children from his orphanage as they were all led to their death at the Nazi death camp of Treblinka.
On Sunday, Jan. 11 at 4 p.m., the Kehillah Schechter Academy in Norwood presented a program focused on Korzcak’s life, including the award-winning film “Korczak” directed by Andrej Wajda, and a lecture by Bob Minder, KSA faculty member who teaches Holocaust Studies.
In his book, “The Pianist” (also a film), author Władysław Szpilman describes the scene as the group was led out of the Warsaw Ghetto:
“One day, around 5th August (1942), I happened to see Janusz Korczak and his orphans leaving the ghetto. The evacuation of the Jewish orphanage run by Janusz Korczak had been ordered for that morning. The children were to have been taken away alone. He had the chance to save himself, and it was only with difficulty that he persuaded the Germans to take him too. He had spent long years of his life with children and now, on this last journey he could not leave them alone. He wanted to ease things for them. He told the orphans they were going out in to the country, so they ought to be cheerful…”
The first program in the film and lecture series featured a presentation by Holocaust survivor Israel Arbeiter and the opening reception for the Israel Arbeiter Gallery of Understanding at the school.
Read more: Film and lecture to focus on Warsaw ghetto hero – Norwood, MA – Norwood Bulletin http://www.wickedlocal.com/norwood/archive/x1060496829/Film-and-lecture-to-focus-on-Warsaw-ghetto-hero#ixzz1X2EjLXML
