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| Chairman of the Korczak Committee in 1948 became Stanislaw Żemis, educator from Our House in Pruszkow, here standing next to Janusz Korczak (1925). |
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| The Committee for the Commemoration of Janusz Korczak was established operating until 1968. It was created by people who were personally close to him. |
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| The Kielce Pogrom refers to a violent massacre of Jews in the southeastern Polish town of Kielce on July 4, 1946. Here is a common grave of the 42 victims. |
1946 - 2016
Shortly after World War II was finished - to perpetuate the memory of Korczak and his accomplishments - survivors of Holocaust and Polish friends of Korczak started gathering of materials and artifacts. It was in 1946, the same year as Kielce Pogrom in Poland.
70 years ago, in 1946, The Committee for the Commemoration of Janusz Korczak was established operating until 1968. It was created by people who were personally close to him.
In 1948, when ZG RTPD in 1948, after the name change continue to operate the world's first Committee of Janusz Korczak. RTPD a Workers Association of Friends of Children. ZG is the Main Assembly.
Chairman of the Committee become Stanislaw Żemis, who was also the president of the Board RTPD. The Korczak Committee consisted of: Marek Arczyński, Wanda Drozdowska, S. Lamotowa, Janina Ładoszowa, Ida Merżan, Igor Newerly - Abramov, Louis Oliszewska, Irena Sendler, dr. Joseph Wodzyńska.
There were several peoples supporting the Committee of Janusz Korczak, ao. professor Kotarbinski, general Zarzycki, professors from Waraszawa Polytechnics
Before WWII Stanislaw Żemis was a teacher at Our Home in Pruszków, and one can him in the photo above, the first on the left side.
It is known that Polish Korczak Committee successfully operated and grew until year 1952.
And what happened later?
Later it was collapse!
What is collapse: a state of extreme prostration and depression, with failure of circulation, the falling away of an organ from its surrounding structure abnormal falling in of the walls of a part or organ. circulatory collapse shock...
Collapse is the nomenclature that present Korczak Association in Poland, is using to describe the history of Committee of Janusz Korczak. Actually there were two collapses!
First collapse Lewin-Stalinist
How did this happened? It was due to the writings by Alexander Lewin: Problems of collective education: reflections on educational background experience from the Polish orphanage and school in the Ural - Warsaw. Państ. Zakł. Publisher. School (PZWS), 1953. - 324 p.
Yes, after Lewins big breakthrough, suddenly, during the worst Stalinist period, the views and ideas proclaimed by Janusz Korczak suddenly became obsolete! Russian pedagogue, Makarenko should have no competition!
The first edition Aleksander Lewins work was published in 1953, second edition in1955. Lewin glorified Makarenko and threw mud on Korczak pedagogy. As result of it, the Korczak works and books were removed from bookstores and libraries, even school and those just printed went on milling.
After that Alexander Lewin in 1955 was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Polish precisely for this his treatise on Makarenko and his own pedagogical experience.
Wislawa Szymborska asked about her publishings during the Stalin answered honestly:
It is difficult, so I wrote in that way, the end!
Lewin never said, Mea culpa!
Second Collapse Anti-Semitic
After the collapse of the I, just on the "odwilżowej" democratic wave of 1956. It was reborn anew Committee Janusz Korczak. Then set up a permanent Commission Archival (1957.), And this on a larger scale began collecting documents, publications, memories, photos, and even took the first works bibliographical. in Poland, in 1962, solemnly celebrated the year of Janusz Korczak on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of his death. during the celebration this year was organized, among others, Korczak session Pedagogical Academy and the Chamber Theatre. the press and the media uproar of information about the activities of the life and works of Korczak. Issued also on this occasion a series of colorful postage stamps with motifs from King Matt I.
This second "collapse", anti-Semitic, was in the years 1968 - 1969. Polish authorities ordered closing and sealing of the premises of the Committee of Korczak Street at Jasna street in Warszawa. In the buildning of Jasna Street there was Polish Society of Friends of Children, with which that was affiliated with the Committee of Janusz Korczak. The last chairman of the Committee, Michael Wroblewski was persecuted by the Polish authorities and in November 1969, like many other from the Korczak Committee leaves Poland Society of Friends of Children, with which he was affiliated with the Committee of Janusz Korczak.
"Thereafter came a change" using the title story by Maria Dabrowska, for the description of the rest of the 1960s and the activities of the committee Korczak whose agony was parallel with the Government's a raising wave of anti-Semitism. 15,000 Polish Jews were forced into emigration among others many members of the Committee Korczak. Also Korczak archives Korczak were removed from the TPD.
The Polish authorities urged my father, Michael Wroblewski that, after Igor Newerly, was the chairman of the Committee Korczak, to convene the general meeting of the Committee of Korczak and relinquished under any circumstances his position (just like during the Stalin period. The only difference was that one was not sent to Siberia. My father refused definitely. Kazik Dębnicki - a board member - said that if my father convened such a meeting, which is to transform the Committee in the Association that was "Juden frei" on at least a part in it will not take! My father did not give up a committee and so closed!
Reactivation of the Korczak activities after the collapse was forced by foreign "korczakowcy"- friends of Korczak. Polish authorities "elected" the new board. The new bord consisted by among others dr. Jadwiga Bińczycka, an employee of the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology at the University of Silesia in Katowice.
This choice actually great for the third revival of Korczak movement in postwar Poland.
