If you’ve never heard of Janusz Korczak before, you are not alone. He is often called the “father of children’s rights”.
There is a movement afoot to get Janusz Korczak better known, especially his philosophy of child-care, because some think it’s exactly what Canada needs more of right now.
Janusz Korczak ran an orphanage in Poland in the 1920s and 1930s, and after the Second World War and the Holocaust began, he became well known for his brave stance of refusing to abandon the Jewish children in his care.
There’s just been a new book released about his orphanage. It is the biography of Schlomo Nadel, now 95 and living in Israel, who was one of the children who grew up in Korczak’s orphanage.
The book is called Taking Root: My Life as a Child of Janusz Korczak.
- Lea Lipiner is the author of “Taking Root: My Life as a Child” and family friend of Schlomo Nadel
- Irwin Elman is Ontario’s Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth
This segment was produced by the Current’s Liz Hoath.