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Korczak International News: I'm small, but important, by Konrad Weiss
Also note a plethora of other topical links on this blog.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Ich bin klein aber wchtig
This film essay on Janusz Korczak shows many documents that are indeed precious on the life of Janusz Korczak: photographs, books, letters, friends co-workers and pupils tell of their memories, and,yes, the faces of the children. They show the vanished world of the Warsaw ghetto, not destined to last. Because memory is the mystery of the reconciliation. Ivo and Sabine are the 2 documentaries . Ivo Klauck,14, and in a wheelchair does not desire pity. His everyday life at Birkenwerder is featured.
- The first film ends with the communist Jugendweihe (ceremony in which children are given adult social status) of Ivo (QUOTE)
- The second film - seven years later - begins with the wedding in the church. Sabine, the wife of Ivo, is also paraplegic. When the film was turned, she was unemployed. The two young people aborted their study. Now they are at the beginning of a new period of life. Their home is particularly important for the both. (Quote)
- The second film voices their opinions and attitudes.
Ich bin klein, aber wichtig (I'm small, but important)Documentary about Janusz
Korczak
Directed by Konrad WeißScreenplay: Walther Petri and Konrad
WeißCinematographers: Gunter Becher and Michael LöscheEditor: Ingeborg
MarszalekProducers: Christina Eggert and Tadeusz RejnowiczDEFA Studio für
Dokumentarfilme, Berlin, 198844 min. - 35 mm - colour / black and whiteFirst
broadcast: 31st August 1989, Fernsehen der DDR
This is a film-essay
about Janusz Korczak, the Jew and
Pole, the doctor and educator and writer. A film about a wonderful man. The film
goes on the search for a lost time. It is the attempt to come closer to Korczak,
and it is a very personal film. He tries a dialogue over the time - always in
the knowledge about the terrible guilt of the Germans.
The film shows
precious documents: Photographs of Janusz Korczak and his orphanage children,
his books and letters. Friends, co-workers and pupils tell about their memories.
And the film shows the faces of children - faces from yesterday and faces from
today. And places, good places and bad places, the vanished world of Janusz
Korczak.
Above all: In the film are quoted his ideas and words, which he
wrote about children and for children. It is essential to preserve the memory of
Janusz Korczak and his children and their vanished world. Because memory is the
mystery of the reconciliation.
The Film on video an
DVD
Cinematography of the Holocaust
Ivo
Klauck, vierzehn Jahre alt, querschnittsgelähmt • Ivo und Sabine,
querschnittsgelähmt(Ivo Klauck, 14 years old,
paraplegic • Ivo and Sabine, paraplegic)2 Documentaries
about young handicapped People
Screenplay and Direction by Konrad
WeißCinematographer: Michael Lösche • Photographer: Harald
HauswaldSong: Barbara Thalheim • Tino und JessicaEditor:
Martina Hoffmann • Angelika ArnoldScript Editor: Andreas
Voigt • Ev WittmannProducers: Regina Lösche and Helmut
Gießmann • Rainer BaumertDEFA Studio für Dokumentarfilme,
Berlin, 1981 • 1988
The first film tells the story of Ivo Klauck.
He is a handicapped boy, 14 years old. To beginning says the boy in the
wheelchair: "I would not like to be pitied. I don't need that, the little
compassion." The film respects this attitude. It shows the everyday life of Ivo
and other young people from the school for handicapped persons in Birkenwerder:
The school, the boarding school, the home, the leisure time. Also are shown the
distance from non-handicapped persons and the various obstacles, who make their
everyday life so heavy.
The first film ends with the communist Jugendweihe
(ceremony in which children are given adult social status) of Ivo. The second
film - seven years later - begins with the wedding in the church. Sabine, the
wife of Ivo, is also paraplegic. When the film was turned, she was unemployed.
The two young people aborted their study. Now they are at the beginning of a new
period of life. Their home is particularly important for the both.
In focus
of attention of the second film are the opinions and attitudes of Ivo and
Sabine. They speak about their difficulties in a world, which is often
indifferent or hostile.
Korczak I'm small but important 2 film essays
The film searches for a lost time. That's what the film essay is always about. The lost time is an ultimate time of persecution and the testing of his values concerning children.The terrible guilt of the Germans is always in front of us. It is a vanished but conceivably a repetitive world in many aspects. His ideas and his words are the words quoted about the children.
Ich bin klein, aber wichtig (I'm small, but important)Documentary about Janusz
Korczak
Directed by Konrad WeißScreenplay: Walther Petri and Konrad
WeißCinematographers: Gunter Becher and Michael LöscheEditor: Ingeborg
MarszalekProducers: Christina Eggert and Tadeusz RejnowiczDEFA Studio für
Dokumentarfilme, Berlin, 198844 min. - 35 mm - colour / black and whiteFirst
broadcast: 31st August 1989, Fernsehen der DDR
This is a film-essay
about Janusz Korczak, the Jew and
Pole, the doctor and educator and writer. A film about a wonderful man. The film
goes on the search for a lost time. It is the attempt to come closer to Korczak,
and it is a very personal film. He tries a dialogue over the time - always in
the knowledge about the terrible guilt of the Germans.
The film shows
precious documents: Photographs of Janusz Korczak and his orphanage children,
his books and letters. Friends, co-workers and pupils tell about their memories.
And the film shows the faces of children - faces from yesterday and faces from
today. And places, good places and bad places, the vanished world of Janusz
Korczak.
Above all: In the film are quoted his ideas and words, which he
wrote about children and for children. It is essential to preserve the memory of
Janusz Korczak and his children and their vanished world. Because memory is the
mystery of the reconciliation.
The Film on video an
DVD
Cinematography of the Holocaust
Ivo
Klauck, vierzehn Jahre alt, querschnittsgelähmt • Ivo und Sabine,
querschnittsgelähmt(Ivo Klauck, 14 years old,
paraplegic • Ivo and Sabine, paraplegic)2 Documentaries
about young handicapped People
Screenplay and Direction by Konrad
WeißCinematographer: Michael Lösche • Photographer: Harald
HauswaldSong: Barbara Thalheim • Tino und JessicaEditor:
Martina Hoffmann • Angelika ArnoldScript Editor: Andreas
Voigt • Ev WittmannProducers: Regina Lösche and Helmut
Gießmann • Rainer BaumertDEFA Studio für Dokumentarfilme,
Berlin, 1981 • 1988
The first film tells the story of Ivo Klauck.
He is a handicapped boy, 14 years old. To beginning says the boy in the
wheelchair: "I would not like to be pitied. I don't need that, the little
compassion." The film respects this attitude. It shows the everyday life of Ivo
and other young people from the school for handicapped persons in Birkenwerder:
The school, the boarding school, the home, the leisure time. Also are shown the
distance from non-handicapped persons and the various obstacles, who make their
everyday life so heavy.
The first film ends with the communist Jugendweihe
(ceremony in which children are given adult social status) of Ivo. The second
film - seven years later - begins with the wedding in the church. Sabine, the
wife of Ivo, is also paraplegic. When the film was turned, she was unemployed.
The two young people aborted their study. Now they are at the beginning of a new
period of life. Their home is particularly important for the both.
In focus
of attention of the second film are the opinions and attitudes of Ivo and
Sabine. They speak about their difficulties in a world, which is often
indifferent or hostile.
The values assigned to good deeds
The king and the orchard maschal or parable explains why the king did not tells his workers the worth of each tree cultivated.Had we known the worth of each good deed we perform this would view mitzvah observance as the opportunity to earn reward alone and nullify the purpose for practicing the mitzvos, that of self-perfection spiritually. Note Makkos 23b of the Talmud and the 248 positive mitzvos.The self denial of true perfection which consists in doing a variety of tasks and experiences which constitutes perfection makes reasonable sense,each mitzvah in its own unique way.
The commentators quote a Midrash which explains by way of parable: A king
had a large orchard surrounding his palace. He asked his workers to tend his
orchard, and he did not tell them the worth of each tree and the wages they
would receive for tending each. The result was that all the fruit trees were
cultivated and flourished, and the palace grounds became a tapestry of beauty.
Had, however, the king told his workers the value of each tree, only the most
valuable would have been cared for. The palace grounds would have become filled
with exotic and magnificent trees, but would have lacked the harmony and
variegated beauty of a truly breathtaking landscape.
This, explain the
commentators, was G-d's intention as well. Had we been apprised of the relative
worth of each mitzvah, we would have focused on the most lucrative alone -- to
the neglect of many other worthy deeds. We would have begun to see mitzvah
observance as an opportunity to earn reward alone -- almost as if "reward" were
some kind of currency we accrue, to be "traded in" when we arrive in the World
to Come.
This, however, is not the true concept of mitzvah observance. The
mitzvos were not given to us in order to earn us reward or free mileage. They
are to perfect ourselves, to make ourselves "whole" ("shalaim") in the
terminology of Jewish thinkers. By performing all the mitzvos, we become whole
and perfected human beings. The Talmud tells us that the Torah contains 248
positive mitzvos corresponding to the 248 limbs of a person's body (Makkos 23b).
(The remaining 365 (out of 613) are negative commandments; correspond to the
days of the year.) The message is that each mitzvah perfects our spiritual
bodies and our characters in its own unique way. Had we focused on a few mitzvos
-- even theoretically very important ones -- we would have denied ourselves the
true perfection which must be our aspiration.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Good deeds hold a power of their own and induce/self-generates perfection in olam hazeh this world
In Judaism the performance of assigned good deeds the mitzvahs is not a capricious divine act and their weighted significance of performance is unknown to us and it is to our advantage we know not how the Holy One accords weight to the various mitzvahs in association with the 613 laws of the torah. They are designed by observance to perfect our spiritual bodies in accord with the positive commandments.In Pesachim 50a of the Talmud, the upper heavenly court(olam haba) is described as an upside down world in contradisnction to this world of trial (olam hazeh).The simple good in olam haba will be obvious and not convoluted beyond recognition or hid as in olam hazeh. Note the highest place in the world to come awarded to the Harugei Lud . AND charity subverts the wrath of God.He coming with his learning at hand will be a learning far more than that of the intellect but a thoroughly inegrated learning impregnating the body and spirituality of the student.
As Rabbi continues, the Torah rarely tells us the reward mitzvah
performance earns us. We have no means of determining -- and certainly no right
to arbitrate -- the relative importance of each mitzvah. We may well be
surprised one day to discover that the "insignificant" deeds which no one takes
much note of this world are far more consequential in the World to Come, whereas
the high-profile ones down here will hardly be noticed up above. As the Talmud
remarks, upstairs is an upside-down world (Pesachim 50a). It could very well be
that the few dollars and minutes we spent affixing that small mezuzah on our
doorpost was far more precious to G-d than the many thousands we spent on that
lavish Bar Mitzvah affair for our child. (And by the way, a mezuzah is supposed
to be reexamined by certified scribe twice every seven years.) We really have
little way of truly knowing, and even more absurdly, we often borrow the same
criteria we use to measure importance in the secular world -- prestige, public
recognition -- to the spiritual realm. For better or worse, chances are we'll be
in for some mighty big surprises after 120.
In Olam HaBa [World to Come],
the good in everything will be obvious and there will be no need for the
Blessing of "Dayyan Ha'Emet [Judge of Truth]": Pesachim 50a
The rich and
important will be taken lightly, while those who are downtrodden in this World
will be on top: Pesachim 50a
Light will be plentiful in the World to Come:
Pesachim 50a
One should even learn Torah without pure intent, for that will
bring him to do it with proper intent: Pesachim 50b
Praised is one who
arrives in The World to
Come with his learning at hand: Pesachim 50a
Martyrs killed by the King,
specifically the Harugei Lud [2 brothers who claimed to have committed a murder
in order to prevent the Jews as a whole from punishment], get the highest place
in The "World to Come":
Pesachim 50a
Charity overturns a Divine judgment for
death: Rosh HaShanah 16b
Brian Jacques and Redwall
Fighting riddles and quests are perennial themes and prominent in children's literature.I had the honor of being introduced to children's author Brian Jacques on Mouse Medicine blog. Some of the Reviews of the Redwall series are below . I want to get Loamhedge as part of my repertoire of books.
http://mousemedicine.blogspot.com/2009/06/everybodys-talking.html
http://www.redwall.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=26&osCsid=337d9ab2f013096b8890943d94c59467
Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.
Erik Erikson (b. 15 june 1902 - 1992) developmental psychologist & psychoanalyst
The other bright light in the world of children's books whose birthday it
is today is brian jacques (b. 1939).
jacques created perhaps one of my favorite children's book series, the redwall
series. the series started in 1986, today there are dozens of redwall books and
redwall spin-offs (including, of all things, a redwall cookbook, a
television series, and an opera). by the way, you don't have to be a child to
enjoy the redwall books, but of course, mouse lover that I am would say
that!
Eulalia![
Lord Asheye of Salamandastron has a prophecy: a new Badger Lord will soon reign over the legendary badger fortress, one who ‘shuns armour and sword’. But who is this youngbeast and how is he to be found?
A haremaid from the Long Patrol regiment is dispatched on a dangerous mission to find him, but the unsuspecting future Badger Lord has been captured by a murderous gang of Sea Raiders who are intent on conquering Redwall Abbey.
While the fate of many creatures, both good and evil, are caught up in the saga, somehow the young ruler must escape and find a way to defend Redwall, for only then will he be able to fulfill his destiny as leader of Salamandastron.
Current Reviews: 4
High Rhulain[Paperback]
Young Tiria Wildlough is an ottermaid touched by the paw of destiny. Her epic adventure takes her on a journey from Redwall Abbey across the Great Western Sea, to the mysterious Green Isle. There she must fulfill an ancient prophecy and gain her inheritance.
Green Isle is home to the otterclans, but they are beset by dangers from Wildcat chieftain Riggu Fellis and his catguard slave masters. Aided by two birds and a platoon of Long Patrol hares, Tiria joins forces with the outlaw leader of the otterclans in a battle that will test all their courage and skill.
In the true tradition of Redwall comes a new saga full of feasts and fighting, riddles and quests, and a heroine you’re not likely to forget as she strives to become the chosen one—the High Rhulain!
Loamhedge[Paperback]
Loamhedge, the deserted Abbey, forgotten for countless seasons. What secrets do its ruins hold?
Martha Braebuck, a young haremaid, wheelchair-bound since infancy, wonders about a mysterious old poem relating to the ancient Abbey. Could it really be the key to her cure? But how could she get to this Loamhedge? As fate has it, two old warriors, travellers returning to Redwall Abbey, are inspired by the spirit of Martin the Warrior to quest for the ancient place - and three young rebels are determined to go with them.
In another part of Mossflower Country, the giant badger Lonna Bowstripe thirsts for vengeance as he relentlessly hunts down the Searat Raga Bol and his murderous crew. He pursues them unto the very gates of Redwall - and finds valiant Abbeybeasts defending their home against the conniving band of marauding vermin!
Riddles, feasting, songs and battle intertwine with the forces of good and evil in this epic saga. Join the heroes in their far-flung misson. Stand on the ramparts with the Abbot and his friends. Face the Foebeast at the Abbey of Redwall. Take the high road to adventure in the search for the hidden secret of Loamhedge! Eulaliiiiiaaaaaaa!
Janusz Korczak -"Every child has a pillow made of chocolate"
http://korczak.com/Biography/kap-6.htm
The Magic of Dr Korczak,not his medicine, made the "children well".The true anecdotes of the children" and about them are inexpressible and beyond words. A case in point is the experience with the mug and Zofia. He would stay 7 years at the hospital yearning for a solution surpassing aspirin to cure the poverty of the children now going back to the streets whence they came.What was the prescription he could offer to cure the world of the dirty and hungry children? "Keep your mouth shut if you are not helping".
Still, inveterate actor that he was, Korczak did not easily admit the harsh
reality of hospital life. When the daughter of a colleague exclaimed: "How
terrible it must be to wake up in a strange hospital with no mommy or daddy," he
replied: "Oh, we know how to cope with that. Every child has a pillow made of
chocolate and whipped cream. If she wakes up and feels unhappy, she breaks off a
piece, and feels much better."
The truth of the matter was that the
frightened child would wake and see the twinkling eyes of the doctor trying to
put her at ease. It was apparent to everyone at the hospital, from the director
to the lowliest orderly, that it was not so much the medicine as the magic of
Dr. Goldszmit´s way with children that made them well. When a girl named Zofia,
who was becoming weak from not eating, refused her mug of broth, he told her how
sad the mug was at being rejected. If she did not drink the broth, it would roll
right out of the hospital into the street and be run over by a tramcar. Zofia
clasped the mug, then drank the broth right down.
Henryk Goldszmit, the
doctor, would stay at the Children´ s Hospital for seven years, but Janusz
Korczak, the writer and future educator, was restless. The doctor saw a feverish
child through the dramatic crises of his illness, but the educator was aware
that when the child was released, he disappeared back into a dark, sunless world
that the doctor could neither enter nor alter. "When the devil will we stop
prescribing aspirin for poverty, exploitation, lawlessness, and crime?" he would
complain to his colleagues. But what could he prescribe to change his patients´
lives? it was the same frustration the five-year-old reformer had felt-how could
he remake the world so that there would be no more hungry or dirty children?
Complaining about injustice wasn´t enough. As a schoolboy he had once been
rebuked by a tram conductor whom he had criticized for cracking a whip on the
horses to make them pull the tramcars more quickly: "If you are so full of pity,
get down yourself and pull, young man. it will be nicer for the horses." He had
taken the message to heart: "Keep your mouth shut if you´re not helping. Don´t
criticize if you don´t know a better way. "
Thinking back to that tramcar
incident, he had to admit to himself that for all of his dissatisfaction about
social inequities, he had not yet found the means to offer a better way of life
to deprived children.
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