How I Met Janusz Korczak
It is during my school days in post-war Poland, where Korczak and his books were compulsory reading for schoolchildren. I also remember quite vividly my primary school teacher, an elderly lady born before the First World War, who made us read The Bankruptcy of Little Jack and then tried to involve us in setting up and running a school cooperative, which operated several years. Now, I would say that this was pure Korczak in action (especially as we were almost the same age as Little Jack).
But my deep and conscious encounter with Korczak was many years later when I was able to grasp the genius of the original thought and the amazing life of the Old Doctor. It took place in New York in 2012, when the Year of Janusz Korczak was celebrated, and I was working for the Polish consular mission in New York City.
One of my tasks was to organize the Korczak Year in New York with the main event: A seminar dedicated to the thought and legacy of Henryk Goldszmit/Janusz Korczak with accompanying two exhibitions.
What’s more, in 2012 I met many people, great Korczakians from all over the world, who knew Korczak’s pedagogy and legacy, but more importantly, they seemed to perceive him like a family member. And I got infected too! Thanks to Korczak, I’ve found lifelong friendships! When my mission ended, I returned to Poland and … took “my Korczak” with me.
In 2021, I was asked by Korczak USA to join them as a consultant, and I accepted it gladly. So far, I managed to write an article on Igor Newerly, then I interviewed Marta Ciesielska, director of Korczakianum in Warsaw, an outstanding expert on Janusz Korczak life works and legacy (a short version is accessible in the video form and a full version as a typescript on Korczak USA’s website). In the same year we started a project – led and coordinated by Mariola Strahlberg – aiming to translate into Polish and publish a book by Marcia Talmage Schneider, Janusz Korczak A Sculptor of Children’s Souls. To our satisfaction, we found publisher in Poland and the project successfully completed in November 2023. In 2022 and 2023 I was also able to attend various Polish Korczak inspired conferences and the IKA conference.
Ewa (left) with Liliya Maidanek (right), the teacher from Kyiv, Ukraine,
whose class translated Marcia’s book into Ukrainian
Who is Korczak to me? He is definitely not an old figure from the past, living on the dusty pages of the forgotten books he wrote and the books and papers dedicated to him. In a way, Korczak is my “lighthouse” or signpost: He not only shows me the way and the direction but also helps me to understand the past and the present of my country.
Ewa can be reached at ewa.lukowicz9@gmail.com.