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May 30, 2017 · Nearly 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Families were broken and displaced from their homes. Poland lost its culture and the number of Jews living in Kraków went from 60,000 pre-war to under 200 identified Jews today. My initial thought about Poland was how beautiful it was and how lively the town square in Kraków felt.
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Nov 7, 2023 · The first wall displays a virtual map of Kraków, a cityscape made alien through the imposition of German names onto streets, squares, and alleys, echoing an imposed narrative of dominance. Opposite, the other wall depicts photographs of Kraków’s modest memorial sites, a stark contrast to the grandiose Nazi plans for the city.
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Main Topics. Warsaw, Poznań and Białystok, as well as many other Polish cities, were virtually razed to the ground during World War II, suffering under the subsequent marches of hostile armies. Meanwhile, Kraków, the biggest and most crucial city of southern Poland, remained almost untouched. How did Kraków make it through the war with ...
- A Really Brief History Lesson
- WWII Dark Tourism Day Trips from Krakow
- WWII Memorials and Museums in Krakow
- Bonus: Walking Tours
After taking over the city on 6 September 1939, the Nazis declared that Krakow was now the capital of the General Government. This was a newly formed territory of occupied states controlled by the Nazis. In fact, under the newly appointed Governor General, Hans Frank, the Germans went so far as to have Krakow declared an ancient German city. This w...
Typically we would save day trips for the end of a list. However, since Auschwitz, the number one WWII – and dark tourism – site in the world is also one of the most popular day trips from Krakow, it seemed pertinent to start there. Both of these sites will eventually be getting their own posts, so I won’t go into much detail here.
Kraków-Płaszów Concentration Camp
Millions of people from around the world travel to Krakow to visit the museum at Auschwitz. Yet few know that the remains of another Nazi Concentration Camp can be found in the outskirts of Krakow itself. Granted, not as much remains of Płaszów. It was completely destroyed by the Nazis in 1945 to erase any evidence of their crimes. But remnants of its past still exist. Like several of the KL concentration camps, Płaszów was initially established as a forced labour camp. Many of the Krakow Jew...
Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory
Schindler’s factory is one of the most popular Krakow museums for tourists. It’s so popular that you have to book in advance. In case you’re unfamiliar with Schindler, here’s a quick overview: Oskar Schindler was an Austrian born German, and a member of the Nazi party. He made a living by manufacturing weapons for the Nazis during WWII. He is also credited with saving the lives of 1200 Jews, whom he employed to work in his factory, and whose freedom he bought in doing so. Schindler spent ever...
Remnants of the Krakow Ghetto Wall
Shortly after Krakow was annexed by the Nazis and declared to be part of the newly formed General Government, Hans Frank proposed removing 50,000 Jews from Krakow’s Jewish Quarter. Between May 1940 and August 1940, a mass expulsion scheme was legislated. The program was considered voluntary, despite the fact that it was forced relocation. Nevertheless, any Jews that opted to leave were permitted to bring all of their possessions and relocate anywhere within the General Government territory. B...
We love a good walking tour – especially one focused on dark history. There are many available in Krakow, especially if you’re looking for something WWII based. Many of these tours will cover a lot of the places we’ve already discussed (though not all!). But they are great if you’re short on time, or prefer to get your history in the form of oral h...
Krakow WWII Occupation Map 1939~1945 Full-color map of the city center of Kraków, Poland, with suburban districts of Podgórze and Nowa Huta, and a detail inset of the Kraków old town, as it appeared during the German occupation of World War II (1939~1945).
Kraków Street Map Under Occupation ca. 1941 // Gesher Galicia Map Room. A general plan of Kraków (Cracow, Krakau, Krakow, קרקוב) under the German occupation of World War II, undated; from the timeline of the Jewish ghetto in the Podgórze district, the map date is estimated 1941~1942.
Plaszow, Nazi German concentration camp near Kraków, in German-occupied Poland, used chiefly as a forced-labour centre. Opened in June 1942, the camp was the main forced-labour camp for Jews rounded up from the general region of Kraków and, later, for Jews from Hungary.
