A Hero and the Holocaust: The Story of Janusz Korczak and His Children

by David A. Adler

Book Overview

Janusz Korczak was an author, radio personality, teacher, and doctor. But above all else he was a hero. As the beloved director of a Jewish orphanage in Warsaw, Poland, during the years of the Nazi... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823415481
• ISBN13: 9780823415489
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Holiday House
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.8" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 7 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 4

Customer Reviews

A Real Hero

Many heroes arose during the holocaust but many are not remembered as well as they should be. This was a great story about courage and duty. It is a true story and Janusz Korczak was a true hero and should be thought of as much as Ann Frank or others from that time period. The illustrations are excellent as well. I highly recommend this. It tackles the subject with the sensativity that young children require yet introduces the subject to them and as it is an important part of history and culture, it is a good way to do it. The children can learn there was evil in the world but courage was also there. They will focus on the bravery and heroics while learning a tidbit about that time period.

A Great Man Whose Strenghth Showed in a Time of Crisis

This is a phenomenal book! Janusz Korczak, a writer, physician, and the ultimate child advocate, was also a great soul; indeed, if he had been born a Catholic he would be made a saint. He was a mixture of Dr. Benjamin Spock, Florence Nightingale, Patch Adams, and Mahatma Gandhi--rolled into one! Choosing to stay with the orphans in the Jewish orphanage he directed, he protected the children through their forced move into the Warsaw Ghetto, and then to the death camp Treblinka. His diary is quoted throughout and we see a man who was very much afraid but who conquered his fears so that he could serve the tiny humanity in the person of the children in his care. Indeed, at one point he could have saved his own life if he had abandoned the children, but he refused to do so. The book ends with a quote from his diary which gives us true insight into his character: "I never wish anyone ill. I cannot. I don't know how it is done." His life should have been one of happiness and fulfillment, of just deserved rewards for his goodness to others; however, like so many others, the Nazis terminated this great man far too soon. The illustrations are marvelous! They are rather like well done photographs.