Forced debates between Jews and Christians were a feature of medieval Jewish life, often with dire consequences.
Janusz Korczak: Hero to Children in the Warsaw Ghetto (This Week in Jewish History)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_jHNKbIXu4]
Beloved for his children’s stories, Henryk Goldszmidt wrote under the pen name Janusz Korczak.
A lifelong advocate for children’s rights, he ran an orphanage in Warsaw that was world-famous for his innovative pedagogic techniques.
Imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi occupation, he continued to serve in this capacity until the terrible order to deport the Jews to the Treblinka death camp in August 1942. He refused all offers of personal rescue, choosing rather to remain with his young charges right to the very end.