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Description
You do not leave a sick child alone to face the dark and you do not leave a child at a time like this. Deeply in love and about to marry, students Misha and Sophia flee a Warsaw under Nazi occupation for a chance at freedom. Forced to return to the Warsaw ghetto, they help Misha's mentor, Dr. Janusz Korczak, care for the two hundred children in his orphanage. As Korczak struggles to uphold the rights of even the smallest child in the face of unimaginable conditions, he becomes a beacon of hope for the thousands who live behind the walls. As the noose tightens around the ghetto Misha and Sophia are torn from one another, forcing them to face their worst fears alone. They can only hope to find each other again one day... Meanwhile, refusing to leave the children unprotected, Korczak must confront a terrible darkness. Half a million people lived in the Warsaw ghetto. Less than one percent survived to tell their story. This novel is based on the true accounts of Misha and Sophia, and on the life of one of Poland's greatest men, Dr. Janusz Korczak.… (more)
User reviews
Misha and Sophia met at college and immediately connected with each other. They were both compassionate and loving people who worked to take care of others. Misha worked at the orphanage when he wasn't in classes and Misha soon became interested in helping. After the Nazis invaded Warsaw, their lives changed. They could no longer attend university and had to follow the strict rules of the new regime. Soon the Jewish families were moved into a ghetto with terrible conditions. Misha and Sophia still worked with the children and tried to help Dr Janusz take care of them. As things got worse, they walked away to try to find a safer place to live. They are torn from each other and can only hope that they will find each other again after the war. Back in Warsaw, the doctor kept trying to protect the children and keep them from the concentration camp. He was a real glimmer of light in the darkness that was covering Poland at the time.
This well researched novel is another chapter about that horrific war and some of the forgotten people who worked to help others. It's a look at the war through the eyes of people who were there and about people who put their lives in danger to help others. Even if you've read lots of WWII books, you need to read The Good Doctor to learn more about a real life hero.
This is very well written, and makes you want to keep reading, even