The Polish Book Institute

A translation of Janusz Korczak's novel Król Maciuś Pierwszy (“King Matt the First”) has been published in Germany. The publication of the translation by Hans Gregor Njemz was supported by the Book Institute under the ©POLAND Translation Programme.

The book 'König Matz der Erste', as reads the title of the translation, was published by the Atlantis Kinderbuch publishing house.

King Matt the First is probably the best-known novel by the famous Polish-Jewish doctor, educator, writer, publicist, and social activist. It tells the story of a boy who becomes king after the death of his parents and, although at first, he is treated as a child by those around him, he eventually proves his worth and becomes a real, independent ruler.

The novel King Matt the First is a literary reflection of Janusz Korczak's educational theories and practices. They consisted of treating children as equal partners, stimulating self-education, and creating child-led, albeit completely serious, establishments and governing bodies.

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The ©Poland Translation Programme is one of the Book Institute's flagship programmes. Its aim is to promote Polish literature around the world by providing financial support for the publication of Polish books in translation into foreign languages. Foreign publishers may use the funding grant to finance part of the work's publication costs, including, among other things, the translation of the work from Polish into another language, the purchase of copyright licences, and the printing of the book. In 2023 alone, we have subsidised 229 foreign editions of Polish books to be published by publishing houses from 46 countries, to which we have allocated almost PLN 5 million. In all editions of the programme, we have already subsidised a total of more than 3,000 translations of Polish books into foreign languages.

RP/IK