When We Had Wings

An original play based on true stories from the world’s first democratic orphanage. The institute was founded in Warsaw, Poland, in 1912 by Janusz Korczak, a revolutionary pedagogue, pediatrician and writer who dedicated his life to children and their right to live in dignity. For thirty years, the institute, self-managed by the children, served as a loving home for hundreds. It had a court, a constitution and a newspaper, and provided a self-supporting system. The children enjoyed culture and sports, and all worked as cooks and cleaners. They called it a “Garden of Eden for kids”. In the novel, the main character, Janek Wolff, is a street boy and thief who joins the orphanage. As was often the case, life there enabled him to find the strength to become a strong, honest and caring person. The novel ends before the beginning of World War II, as Korczak persuades Janek to leave Poland and save his life.
"When We Had Wings” (Known in hebrew as "I’m not a Thief”) won Andersen Honor Citation 2014, Lea Goldberg Prize 2013, Dafdaf prize 2012, Israeli Public Libraries Prize, was selected for school book list by The Ministry of Education, selected as most beloved book by students for 2014 and 2015, and became a bestseller.