Korczak during the Memorable Days of September 1939, as Bombs from German Aircraft Fell upon Besieged Warsaw
The tragic evacuation of "Nasz Dom" to Wolność Street, the march to Mokotów, and the return of the Old Doctor's voice to the airwaves.
German Junkers Ju-87 (Stuka) dive-bombers in formation.
During the memorable days of September 1939, as German bombs devastated besieged Warsaw, the capital became a symbol of heroic resistance. Citizens and soldiers fought under extraordinarily difficult conditions, treating the wounded and extinguishing fires under continuous enemy shelling. German aircraft dropped bombs daily on hospitals, residential buildings, and historical monuments. Severed water mains forced people to draw water from a few remaining wells. Civils built makeshift barricades and aided in civil defense.
Korczak, a major in the medical reserve corps, donned his Polish military uniform and wore it with pride throughout September (and later on, until his arrest by the occupier). Although friends urged him to take off the uniform due to the immense risk, he firmly refused, viewing it as an expression of loyalty to the state and an officer's duty.
Utilizing his authority and the instantly recognizable voice of the "Old Doctor," he spoke on Polish Radio, appealing to residents to remain calm. He explained the reality of war to children in a way that did not provoke panic, and offered guidance to parents on how to shield the minds of the youngest from wartime trauma.
Organizing Rescue and Supplies for the Orphans
As the director of the Orphans’ Home at 92 Krochmalna Street, Korczak had to contend with a permanent lack of food, water, and medicine. Educators from Nasz Dom (Our Home), which had been evacuated from the Bielany district to Wolność Street, turned to him for help. Korczak traversed the bombarded streets of Warsaw to secure food for his wards and for other children wandering the city. He also organized medical assistance for those wounded by the German air raids.
During the heavy bombing of Warsaw in September 1939, the decision was made to evacuate Nasz Dom to 14 Wolność Street, where it was thought to be safer. The building previously housed a night shelter for homeless boys run by the Society of Youth Hearths (Towarzystwo Ognisk dla Młodzieży). Choosing the Wola district as a safer haven proved fatal, as Wola became one of the most heavily bombed quarters of Warsaw. The children of Nasz Dom described those nightmarish days of bombardment spent in the cellar, and how the food hastily brought from Bielany quickly ran out.
An educator from Nasz Dom in Bielany, Mrs. Wira-Irena Wiewiórska, describes how, during the siege of Warsaw in September 1939, she sought help alongside Korczak from the Polish military authorities in distant Mokotów:
"One of my heaviest experiences from the 1939 war is marching with Dr. Janusz Korczak from Okopowa Street to distant Mokotów to reach the military authorities in order to obtain food for the evacuated wards of Nasz Dom. It was a terrifying march through a burning city, amidst fire and war, with bombs and artillery shells relentlessly exploding around us. Dread, fear, and determination accompanied our march through streets deserted by people. The doctor remained composed; he walked forward bravely—a courage that was somehow passed on to me—thanks to which we managed to reach our destination and receive the means to survive the worst days of 1939."
A ward, Helena Wróbel, recalls the hunger and one of the educators of Nasz Dom, Mrs. Oleńka Staszewska:
"The hunger was dreadful. Mrs. Oleńka rationed us one herring from a tin and two iris candies each."
Another ward, Maria Żurawska, remembers how Mrs. Oleńka went to the Orphans’ Home at 92 Krochmalna Street (also located in Wola) to beg for help. She later recalled:
"One day, Doctor Korczak appeared at our place. His silhouette was heavily bent toward the ground; he was carrying a large sack of bread."
Following the capitulation of Warsaw late in September 1939, the children returned on foot from 14 Wolność Street back to Bielany, where a Polish military hospital was still operating.
The Germans considered the street name "Wolność" (Freedom) to be provocative, so during the German occupation, the street was renamed Zegarmistrzowska (Watchmaker Street).
Editor Adrian Czermiński, one of the journalists participating at the time in the Information Service and Emergency Response of Polish Radio, recalled Korczak years later (in the daily newspaper “Życie Warszawy”) exactly as he remembered him during those days:
"Our task was to bring help to the population, provide medical care, find shelter for those who lost their homes, locate the missing, and inform the residents of their needs through Radio and the press. We were in constant contact with all the authorities of the besieged city; furthermore, we had our own informants who came to Mazowiecka Street regardless of the looming danger. One of them was Janusz Korczak. The voice of Korczak, silent for several years, returned to the airwaves during the tragic days of the siege.Diminutive, in a faded overcoat, when he entered the premises which were devoid of window panes, he instantly brightened everything with his humor and infectious faith in a better tomorrow—no! a better evening, if he spoke with us at noon, and a better morning when he arrived at night. Disregarding exploding shells and whistling bullets, he appeared several times a day, bringing news about those who needed help and about those who were willing to provide it to others. (...) When we attempted to hold him back upon hearing the intensifying artillery fire, he would break away:
— 'No, no, I cannot. I must go now, I have no time'—and would quickly vanish past the door.Only the sound of receding footsteps could be heard amidst the rattle of bursting shrapnel and the sound of shattering window panes. We knew that the Old Doctor was rushing to his children and charges, that he was going to bring aid to the suffering and unfortunate, to pour courage into the hearts of those who had already lost spirit."
