Korczak-ceremony - Zsolt Németh: Protecting lives is the mission of the state

Korczak-ceremony - Zsolt Németh: Protecting lives is the mission of the state

Budapest, 10 December 2012, Monday (MTI) – Protecting lives is one of the main missions of the state – Parliamentary State Secretary for Foreign Affairs said at the ceremony organized by the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday on the occasion of the unveiling of the memorial plaque dedicated to Janusz Korczak, killed in the Treblinka extermination camp seventy years ago.

As Zsolt Németh recalled: the Jewish-Polish teacher turned down the chance of saving his life, at the age of 64 - in 1942 – and chose death when decided to stay with the orphans from the orphanage set up by himself who were sent to the gas chamber. He added: the modern scientist and paediatrician, born to a Jewish family and originally called Henryk Goldszmit, until the very last moment defended the orphanage established by him 100 years ago, in 1912, in Poland, deprived of independence at the beginning of World War II, and created a "small Heaven in the middle of Hell." After Auschwitz and Treblinka, national responsibility has assumed a new meaning in this region. "We have a homeland and have responsibility for protecting those entrusted to us." - said the State Secretary. Sovereignty is not just an end in itself. Self-determination must be safeguarded in order to secure that the state could complete one of its most important missions: protecting lives. Korczak had to fulfill his destiny following this mission when his country was invaded. - stated Zsolt Németh, who also made reference in his speech to the novel titled Sorstalanság, written by Nobel Prize winner Hungarian writer, Imre Kertész.

Polish Ambassador to Hungary, Roman Kowalski said that Korczak's work as a teacher had had a major impact on the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Israeli Ambassador to Hungary, Ilan Mor, stated that he was half Polish, and welcomed the ombudsman's initiative emphasizing that Korczak's life-work is still timely as children continue to be exposed to heinous crimes.

Péter Feldmájer, President of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities said that Korczak has been a victim of hate however his life serves as an example of how a Jewish person become part of a society, a patriot who breaks down the walls dividing his country and the whole of Europe.

Polish Ombudsman for Children's Rights, Marek Michalek emphasized: Korczak teaches us that children should not be treated as „inferior" citizens and we can learn from them and we should talk to them, not to instruct them. Korczak was ahead of his time and there is still a lot to learn from him - said the Polish human rights defender.

At the ceremony, organized on the International Human Rights Day, Ambassador Roman Kowalski thanked Ombudsman Máté Szabó for his initiative and presented to him the Gold Cross of Merit awarded by the President of Poland in recognition of his merits in strengthening human rights and developing Polish- Hungarian relations in this field.  

The Janusz Korczak memorial plaque has been placed in the hall named after him. The plaque was unveiled by Máté Szabó and Marek Michalak.