Barnkonventionens föregångare. Anteckningar om den polske barnläkaren och pedagogen Janusz Korczak

Abstract

The Polish paediatrician and educationalist Janusz Korczak ( Henryk Goldszmit 1878-1942) is one of the great names in the progressive wave in the decades around the First World War. International interest in Korczak is focusing on his many-sided work as an author, physician, educationalist and advocate of children’s rights. He was also one of the martyrs of the Holocaust. His work is one of the inspirations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children. This paper focuses on different professional dimensions of educational work as described by Korczak: practice, basic values and educational science. It also deals with Korczak as a typical representative of modernity in medicine and education. Zygmunt Bauman’s view on modernity and Holocaust is applied on Korczak’s work. You can find similarities between Korczak and the Nazi doctors, for instance. But there is also a crucial difference connected to the moral dimensions of professional work. Respect for humanity and respect for children is a fundamental principal in the writings of Korczak. His thoughts about children’s right to respect are original and still worth reading.