Janusz Korczak Search For Hope

All throughout history, humanity has searched for hope in troubling times, hoping for the best for them and the ones they love. This hope would provide people with a sense of resilience so that they could not remain hopeless and conquer any challenge in front of them, even if it has sacrifice involved. During the Holocaust era (1933-1945) the Jewish population were desperately in need of something to give them hope, as they were brutally oppressed by the Nazi party and Hitler. There were very brave individuals who stood up and fought against the Nazis. These individuals and groups were essential towards Jews displaying resilience while kept captive in horrific conditions, whether it be handing out leaflets or being a voice for those without

One of these was Janusz Korczak, famous children's author, who focused on keeping children calm and not afraid. He would do this through the act of education and never leaving their side, even when their execution was occurring. Korczak was a provider of hope to the children and people of the Treblinka extermination camp on 7th August 1942, even being recognised with a statue in his hometown of Warsaw. This was because he would not give up on the next generation, believing that they would make it out of this struggle so they needed an education. When others would see this, they realised that there were still people helping the needy. Anne Frank was also a very resilient Jewish girl, even while being hunted and told she does not deserve to be human. Anne's hope was shown in the pages of her diary, which are now a world-renowned book (The Diary of a Young Girl, 1947). This book shows her hope and resilience, up until the very last moments of her life, when she was found while in hiding in Amsterdam by Nazi soldiers. These soldiers then executed her, with her father (Otto Frank) being the only living family member. Otto, in an interview, one said "If she were there she would have been so proud. For all its passages of despair, Anne's diary is essentially a story of faith, hope and love in the face of hate".

One instance of this is the Sobibor Uprising, which occurred at the Sobibor Nazi death camp on the 14th of October, 1943, due to a 24-hour delay to their plans. The Uprising (organised by the Jewish Underground Society), involved baiting SS Officers into a shack and killing them with axes and knives. Those involved shortly had the upper hand on the Germans, with guns pointed at guard towers and the others escaping over a mine-field. Roughly 300 people escaped, with 50 of those surviving the remainder of the war. When Jewish people from all over Europe found out about this, it gave them the resilience required to survive in the tragic and brutal era. Another rebellion that happened was the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This uprising saw an act of Jewish resistance, as they fought for their lives back, with newfound hope provided by other happenings of other oppressed minorities or individuals. 16th of April 1943 marked the start of this month-long uprising, as the Jews fought back, taking their opponents by surprise. While the uprising resulted in a defeat for the resistance, the stories of people fighting back inspired many Jews and even the passive of those in the Ghetto constructed bunkers to house and hide those in