Janusz Korczak (Henryk Goldszmit,1879-1942) - a writer, an educator, a doctor and the director of an orphanage in Warsaw - was never involved in politics. It was politics and politicians who paid attention to Korczak (Old Doctor). In my (Wiesław Theiss)attempt to sketch a so-called political portrait of the Old Doctor, I am interested in the socio-political context of the perception of Korczak\u27s heritage in Poland after 1945. I try to answer what was the role of "great" as well as "small" politics in the development of Korczak\u27s image. In the first case, what I have in mind are official activities of the state and the political parties, and in the second - the activities of the particular communities and institutions. One can distinguish 3 perspectives within Korczak\u27s political portrait: martyrological, religious, and ideological. The first perspective presents Korczak on his way to death in the Nazi death-camp Treblinka. The Old Doctor is, in this case, almost always an object of a surperficial cult. The second perspective concerns lively and never-ending debates and arguments on Korczak\u27s creed. There are even those who believe that Korczak should be considered a saint. The ideological perspective uncovers the relationship between Korczak and communist propaganda. In this context, the attempts of taking over and using the name and heritage of Old Doctor by a monopolist ideology become clear*
