In Memoriam: Jarosław Abramow-Newerly (1933–2026)
With Personal Remembrance from 1964
Jarosław Abramow-Newerly passed away on August 9, 2026, at the age of 93. He was a monumental figure in post-war Polish culture—a celebrated playwright, composer, and writer who co-founded the legendary Student Satirical Theatre (STS).
A deeply personal connection to his theatrical legacy occurred in June 1964 at the Teatr Ateneum in Warsaw. Jarosław Abramow-Newerly personally extended an invitation to attend his masterpiece, Niech no tylko zakwitną jabłonie (Let the Apple Trees Blossom). Meeting him at the theater during this specific run captures the writer at the absolute peak of his creative power. The show was a landmark musical review that beautifully used pre-war and wartime songs to chronicle Polish life, serving as a definitive cultural touchstone of 1960s Warsaw theater.
The Korczak Family Circle
Abramow-Newerly's life and unique worldview were fundamentally shaped by his childhood years spent in the immediate orbit of Janusz Korczak, owing to his parents' extraordinary history:
- His Mother, Barbara "Basia" Szeinbaum: She grew up as an orphan inside Korczak's Dom Sierot (Orphanage) on Krochmalna Street. Upon reaching adulthood, she remained devoted to Korczak's mission, working directly under him as a teacher and educator.
- His Father, Igor Newerly (born Jerzy Abramow): He served as Janusz Korczak’s personal secretary during the interwar period. In 1930, he succeeded Korczak as the editor-in-chief of Mały Przegląd (The Little Review), the revolutionary national newspaper written and produced entirely by children.
English Translation of the Page 38 from Lwy mojego podwórka
Here is the complete translation of the page you provided, capturing his memories of Gocławek, the children, and his interactions with Janusz Korczak:
"...I began to play around and show off by playing ball. With an unfortunate shot, I smashed a windowpane in the front door. I was told that a children's court awaited me for this, and neither my mother nor Grandma Stefa would help me, because such was the law there. I was deeply terrified. It ended up being nothing, because as a guest—I was spared, but the fear remained. From another, later visit, I remembered the garden patches at the back of the house, where the children were planting potato peelings, from which green leaves were growing. You could see that food supplies were already tight.From one of the last visits, just before the "Orphanage" was relocated to the ghetto, I remember a performance by actors, among whom was Michał Znicz. My mother told me that he was a famous Warsaw actor. Shortly afterward he perished in the ghetto, and after the war I saw him in a pre-war film played at our "Tęcza" cinema. Back then, in the "Orphanage," he played Doctor Dolittle. It must have been some big celebration, because my stay at Krochmalna Street was extended. In the great hall, the party was underway, children were dancing, and Mr. Szydełko was playing the accordion, walking between the dancing couples. I looked at him with admiration, seeing how easily he pulled the accordion apart and how fast his fingers moved. Someone told me that Mr. Szydełko was the father of Lutek, the most talented student of Mrs. Wanda Landy, and that after him, Lutek inherited such talent. Mrs. Wanda always held him up to us as a model, saying that one day he would grow up to be a great pianist. He didn't grow up. Lutek Szydełko perished in the ghetto.In 1940, I was in Gocławek at the last summer camp for the children of the "Orphanage." I fell ill with the measles then, and Doctor Korczak, who was himself lying sick in his isolation room, took me into his bed for a moment.— Come, Maciuś! — he said, because he often addressed boys that way. I felt very ashamed back then.At that summer camp, I managed to take part in a general battle fought on sand hills with the local boys from Gocławek. We fought on a huge, desert-like space among yellow dunes. With a loud shout: — Hooray! — I rushed into the attack. My enthusiasm was so great that out of overzealousness, I threw sand into my own eyes. After this suicidal shot, I had to be withdrawn from the front line.Today I understand that on the Gocławek desert, I was fighting on the Jewish side.* * *When the Germans issued the order to relocate the Jews into the ghetto, my mother was ready to go there with them, not wanting to expose my father to danger. However, my father categorically forbade it:— Never..."
Historical Commentary on the Memoir Page
The page shared from his memoir, Lwy mojego podwórka, provides an incredibly rare, firsthand child's-eye perspective of the final months of Dom Sierot before the Holocaust:
- The Republic of Children: His intense fear of the "children's court" after breaking the window references Korczak's democratic pedagogical system. Korczak established an internal peer-court run by the children to handle disputes. Even Korczak himself famously submitted to its rulings.
- Wartime Scarcity at Krochmalna Street: The passage details a devastating reality of late 1940: the children attempting to plant and grow potatoes from discarded peelings in the backyard of the Krochmalna Street orphanage. This poignant image illustrates the rapid onset of starvation, food shortages, and the desperate, creative efforts made by the staff and children to survive even before they were forced into the ghetto boundaries.
- "Come, Maciuś!": When Korczak addresses the young Jarosław as "Maciuś," he is using a term of endearment derived from his most famous fictional protagonist, King Matt the First (Król Maciuś Pierwszy).
- The Final Camp: The Gocławek colony in the summer of 1940 was the very last moment of relative freedom the orphans ever experienced. Upon returning to Warsaw, the Nazi decree forced the entire orphanage into the ghetto.
- "The Jewish Side": Abramow-Newerly's adult reflection on his childhood "sand battle" on the Gocławek dunes is profoundly moving. As a child, he was simply playing a game with his friends from the summer camp. Looking back, he realizes that by aligning with the orphanage, he had unknowingly but completely chosen his side in history. It was the last time the children from 92 Korochmalna Street visited Goclawek.
