Janusz Korczak’s House of Orphans on Krochmalna Street – An Extraordinary Children’s Republic in the Heart of Pre-War Warsaw

Discover the story of Janusz Korczak’s House of Orphans on Krochmalna Street in Warsaw, a pioneering educational institution that transformed the lives of Jewish children before the Holocaust.

A Different Kind of Orphanage

When people speak about Janusz Korczak, they usually remember the final image: the elderly doctor walking with the children of his orphanage through the streets of the Warsaw Ghetto towards the Umschlagplatz in August 1942. It became one of the most powerful symbols of the Holocaust.

Yet this image tells only the final chapter of a much longer story.

For nearly thirty years, Janusz Korczak — born Henryk Goldszmit — and his closest collaborator Stefania Wilczyńska created in Warsaw one of the most remarkable educational institutions of the twentieth century. The House of Orphans (Dom Sierot) at Krochmalna Street was not merely an orphanage. It was an ambitious social experiment that sought to create a true community built on respect, responsibility and dignity.

Long before the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Korczak was already putting many of its principles into practice.

Former “House of Orphans” in Warsaw (Korczakianum) @ by Simon Cygielski for Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

The Birth of the House of Orphans

At the beginning of the twentieth century Warsaw was one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe. Behind the elegant facades of the modernising metropolis lay poverty, overcrowding, disease and social inequality.

The situation was particularly difficult for Jewish children who had lost one or both parents. Existing charitable institutions often provided only basic shelter and food, while education and emotional development received little attention.

In 1906 the Jewish charitable organisation Help for Orphans Society (Towarzystwo Pomoc dla Sierot) decided to create something entirely new: a modern institution that would provide housing, education, healthcare and security under one roof.

In May 1910 the society purchased land at 92 Krochmalna Street for 24,000 roubles. A year later the cornerstone was laid and construction began.

The building was designed by architect Henryk Stifelman and financed largely through public donations. Although Korczak became the public face of the institution, the orphanage itself belonged to the charitable society and not to him personally.

The first eighty-five children moved into the building in October 1912, while the official opening ceremony took place on 27 February 1913.

Stefania Wilczyńska – The Forgotten Founder

Stefania Wilczynska @ Public Domain / author unknown

The Woman Behind the Everyday Life of the Orphanage

No history of the House of Orphans can be complete without Stefania Wilczyńska. Known affectionately as “Pani Stefa”, she was responsible for the daily functioning of the institution. She organised meals, supervised finances, coordinated staff and knew every child personally. While Korczak became the famous writer, physician and public intellectual, Wilczyńska provided the stability and continuity that kept the institution running. Many historians today consider her not merely Korczak’s assistant but an equal partner in creating the educational philosophy of the House of Orphans. Without her dedication, the orphanage could hardly have survived for three decades.

A Revolution in Education

Children Are People, Too

Korczak rejected the dominant educational methods of his era. He opposed systems based on fear, blind obedience and punishment. He believed that adults were not automatically right simply because they were adults. His famous principle was simple yet revolutionary: A child is not a future person. A child is a person already. This idea became the foundation of everything that happened inside the House of Orphans.

The Children’s Republic

Democracy for Children

The House of Orphans operated as a small self-governing republic.

Children had duties and responsibilities, but they also had rights and a voice in the community. The institution included:

• a children’s parliament,
• a notice board,
• collective decision-making,
• duty rotations,
• children’s meetings,
• and one of the most famous innovations: the children’s court.

For Korczak, democracy was not an abstract concept but something that had to be learned through daily experience.

The Children’s Court

Perhaps the most famous element of Korczak’s educational system was the children’s court. Its purpose was not punishment but responsibility and reconciliation. Children could bring complaints against other children, but remarkably they could also file complaints against adults and teachers. This was revolutionary in an age when corporal punishment and authoritarian discipline were still widely accepted throughout Europe. The court taught children that conflicts could be solved through discussion, listening and fairness rather than through force or authority.

Learning Responsibility Through Everyday Life

Work played an important role in the orphanage. Children cleaned rooms, helped in the kitchen, cared for younger residents and participated in the daily functioning of the community. Korczak did not view work as punishment. Instead, he believed participation created dignity and self-confidence. The children were not passive recipients of charity but active members of a community.

Observation Instead of Authority

As a physician, Korczak possessed an exceptional ability to observe children. He paid attention to gestures, fears, conflicts, silence and habits. He believed that children often cannot explain their suffering in the language of adults. Therefore, teachers needed to learn how to listen and observe. Educators, in Korczak’s view, were not commanders but guides. Teachers had to work on themselves first because every word and every reaction influenced the child.

The Golden Years of the House of Orphans

During the interwar period the institution became internationally known. Teachers, social activists and educational reformers visited Warsaw to observe Korczak’s methods firsthand. At the same time Korczak became one of Poland’s most respected public intellectuals. He wrote books, newspaper articles and hosted radio broadcasts while continuing his daily work with the children. Despite his fame, he remained deeply involved in ordinary life at the orphanage — meals, illnesses, arguments, fears and celebrations. The children simply called him the Old Doctor.

War Changes Everything

The outbreak of the Second World War destroyed the world Korczak and Wilczyńska had built. After the German occupation of Warsaw and the establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, the House of Orphans was forced to leave its beloved building on Krochmalna Street. Thanks to Korczak’s efforts, the institution moved to the Roesler Commercial School building at 33 Chłodna Street. Conditions rapidly deteriorated. Food shortages, overcrowding, disease and constant fear became part of everyday life. In October 1941 the orphanage was moved once again, this time to a building located between Sienna Street 16 and Śliska Street 9.

Humanity in the Warsaw Ghetto

Preserving Dignity in Impossible Conditions

Even inside the ghetto, Korczak attempted to preserve the dignity of childhood. Meals were organised, lessons continued and cultural activities remained part of daily life. The orphanage staged theatrical performances and tried to maintain routines that gave children a sense of security. In a world designed to strip people of their humanity, preserving normality became an act of resistance.

Rabindranath Tagore’s The Post Office

One of the most memorable events during the final months of the orphanage was the staging of Rabindranath Tagore’s play The Post Office. The story of a sick child waiting for liberation from confinement gained a heartbreaking new meaning inside the Warsaw Ghetto. Witnesses later remembered the performance as one of the last moments of joy experienced by many of the children.

August 1942

During the Great Deportation from the Warsaw Ghetto in August 1942, the House of Orphans received deportation orders. Several accounts suggest that Korczak had opportunities to save himself. He refused. Together with approximately two hundred children and the orphanage staff, including Stefania Wilczyńska, he walked to the Umschlagplatz. The children were told they were going on a journey similar to their earlier summer holidays. From there they were deported to the German extermination camp at Treblinka.

None returned.

Korczak’s Legacy

The importance of Janusz Korczak’s work lies not only in the manner of his death. His greatest achievement was proving that children deserve dignity, rights and participation in society. Korczak and Wilczyńska created an institution that was decades ahead of its time. At a time when children were expected to remain silent, they gave them a voice. At a time when orphans were treated as objects of charity, they treated them as citizens of a small republic. At a time of violence, they taught responsibility without humiliation. The historic building at Krochmalna Street still stands today. It remains one of the most important places connected with the history of Jewish Warsaw, the Holocaust and the development of modern educational thought. Its walls remind us not only of tragedy but also of an idea that survived the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto: the belief that every child deserves respect.

Janusz Korczak on Our Jewish Warsaw Tour

Janusz Korczak Monument in Warsaw @ Walking Warsaw

During our Jewish Warsaw Tour, we stop at the Janusz Korczak Monument and briefly tell the story of the renowned doctor, educator and advocate for children’s rights. The Korczak Monument stands at the same place, from where Korczak and his children moved to Umschlagplatz during the Extermination of the Warsaw Jews in Summer 1942.

We explain his work with Jewish orphans, his pioneering approach to education and his decision to remain with the children of the House of Orphans during the deportations from the Warsaw Ghetto. Although the former orphanage on Krochmalna Street lies outside the route of the tour, Korczak’s story remains an important part of the history of Jewish Warsaw.

His life and work are presented with particular respect for his educational achievements and his belief that every child deserves dignity, understanding and a voice.

The story of the final march to the Umschlagplatz is not only a story of tragedy but also one of humanity, courage and responsibility. It perfectly illustrates both the horrors of Nazi occupation and the extraordinary moral choices made by individuals during the darkest period of Warsaw’s history.

Today Janusz Korczak remains one of the most internationally recognised figures associated with Jewish Warsaw and the history of children’s rights worldwide.

Memorial stone dedicated to Janusz Korczak and the children of the House of Orphans at the site of the former Treblinka extermination camp @ dr. avishai teicher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons