Warsaw is not what I expected it to be! It is a fascinating mix of old and new. Modern high-rises can be seen behind beautiful older buildings, reminders of a city that was nearly destroyed, rebuilt, and somehow found a way to move forward.
We spent time walking through Old Town and visiting the site of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It is impossible to walk these streets without thinking about the history beneath your feet and the lives forever changed here.
But the part of the day that touched me most deeply was our visit to the orphanage founded by Janusz Korczak, a Polish Jewish educator, physician, author, and pioneer in children’s rights.
Korczak believed something that seems so simple today but was revolutionary for his time: children deserved dignity, respect, and a voice. They were not simply adults in the making, but human beings who mattered right now. He devoted his life to caring for children, especially those who had no one else.
When the Nazis forced Warsaw’s Jews into the ghetto, Korczak and the children in his care were forced to leave their orphanage and move inside the ghetto walls. Despite the horrific conditions, he continued to give the children as much normalcy, comfort, and love as he could.
As I mentioned in my earlier reflection after our visit to Wannsee, in August 1942, as part of the Nazi’s final solution, the children were ordered to be deported to Treblinka, where they would be murdered. Korczak had opportunities to save himself, but he refused to abandon them.
What struck me most was not simply that he stayed. It was how he chose to lead them on their final journey.
Accounts describe the children being carefully dressed and prepared, walking together in an orderly procession. Even in those final moments, Korczak was determined to preserve their dignity.
He could not save their lives, but he could make sure they did not face their fate alone.
And so, he walked with them.
There is something about that image that I cannot get out of my mind. A man walking alongside the children he loved and cared for, knowing where they were going, yet doing everything he could to offer them comfort.
The Nazis could decide their fate, but Korczak refused to let them take away their humanity. In a world where everything had been stripped from these children, he made sure they still had their dignity.
Korczak went out on his own terms. Not because he chose his fate, but because he chose how he would face it: with love, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to the children who trusted him.
There is another beautiful part of this story.
Korczak’s original orphanage was located outside the Warsaw Ghetto. When he and the children were forced to relocate, the building was taken over by the Nazis and, as a result, it survived the war and is still standing today.
Moreover, it continues Korczak’s mission to serve children in need.
Standing there, I couldn’t help but feel that this is the ultimate tribute to his memory. Not simply preserving a building or telling a tragic story but continuing the work of someone who believed so deeply in the dignity of every child.
Throughout this journey, I have found myself asking what I would have done if I had lived during those terrible times.
But Korczak’s story left me thinking about something different.
Sometimes courage is not about changing the outcome. Sometimes it is about refusing to surrender your values, even when everything else has been taken from you.
