2012 - THE JANUSZ KORCZAK YEAR at the Jewish Historical Institute

Jewish Historical Institute in cooperation with various organizations, including the Fundacja Korczakowska and Historical Museum of Warsaw, has launched the yearly educational and memorative program for the Janusz Korczak Year. One reason to remember Janusz Korczak in 2012 is the 70th anniversary of his death at the Treblinka camp, where he was murdered together with over 250,000 Warsaw Jews in 1942. Yet, our tribute to him goes primarily to the great educator and innovator in the field of pedagogics and child's psychology, leader in the struggle for children's rights and for social improvement. Korczak was also an outstanding physician and great Polish writer. The JHI program aims at reclaiming his heritage and reinstating it in the public consciousness. The major goal is show the contemporary significance of Korczak's ideas and practices in the face of present social challenges such as multiculturalism, exclusion, civic activities.

KORCZAK - THE MAN OF OUR TIME?

PROGRAM

MY KORCZAK : a series of popular lectures (Thursdays on Tlomackie, January-May, October- December) Krystyna Starczewska „What would Korczak say about contemporray Polish school system” (5 Jan) - Wojtek Lasota „Korczak – an efficient idealist” (9 Feb) - Olga Medvedev-Nathoo (8 March) – Marta Ciesielska – Paweł Fijałkowski (5 April) – Anna Sobolewska (24 May) – Joanna Olczak-Ronikier and more.

KORCZAK IN FILMS (Thursdays on Tlomackie, Feb. May) documentaries and feature film

HOW DOES KORCZAK WORK : workshop for teachers (March)

READING KORCZAK during the Museum Night (19 May) happening with lots of public, students, actors, foreign visitors. Let them read short fragments of Korczak's texts and give feed back. Let us create a multilingual noise, including Jewish languages: Hebrew and Yiddish.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF KORCZAK: WARSAW CITY WALKS (May-October) Since Korczaka wrote: „„…I love the Vistula in Warsaw and miss the city bitterly when far away. Warsaw is mine and I am hers." Except for short periods, he spent all of his life in Warsaw. The city is full of meaningful sites connected with Korczak, to mention only Dom Sierot (Orphanage) on Krochmalna Street and Umschlagplatz.

MEMORIAL MARCH - 22 July On the anniversary of the beginning of the liquidation action against the Warsaw ghetto we shall walk city streets in honor of all the murdered Jewish children. SCIENCE FESTIVAL lectures, walks, presentations (September)

KORCZAK GOOD PRACTICES SEMINAR - teachers' conference on using Korczak's methods in their daily practice. (Oct.-Nov)