Figure 1.--This photograph was taken in the Jewish are ao Crakow during 1939 before the NAZIs established the ghetto in 1941. The children here are playing and appear to be warmly dressed. It looks to be late fall or winter. Notice the boy with a cap that covers his ears and the long stockings worn with short pants.

Crakow is a major city in southern Poland. The Jewish community dated from the 14th cebntury. The Jewish community there was one of the most important in Europe. The Jewish population in 1939 was about 60,000, this was a quater of the city's population. The Wehrmacht reached on September 6, 1939. The Germans disbanded Jewish organizatins and created a Judenrat to oversee Jewish affairs. expelled the city's Jews. The NAZIs ordered Jews to evacuate the city (April 1940). They were given 4 months to do so. About 35,000 Jews left the city and 15,000 were allowed to remain. The NAZIs made Cracow capital of the General Government (NZI-occupied Poland). A ghetto for the remaining Jews was established (March 1941). It accomodated about 20,000 Jews. This included about 6,000 Jews from neighboring areas. The NAZIs began deportations to the death camps (June 1942). The first transports were 5,000 Jews transported to Belzec. Another 6,000 Jews were transported to Belzac (October 1942). Patients at the hospital, residents of the old age home, and 300 children at the orphanage were killed. Several hundred Jews were hilled in the ghetto. There were resistance groups acrive, including the Jewish Combat Organization and Akiva which merged with a left-wing group to form ZOB. The NAZIs liquidated the ghetto (March 1943). The surviving Jews were transported to the Plaszow labor camp. Oscar Schindler was a German businessman who had come to Crakow to benefit from the opportunities created by NAZI policies. He found and operated a formerly Jewish factory in the Zablocie district. He used his factory to save 1,098 Jews from the Plaszow camo. Speilberg's film "Schindler’s List" was filmed at the site of the Cracow ghetto. Only about 2,000 Cracow Jews survived as well as some who had made it to the Soviet Union.

The City

Crakow is a major city in southern Poland seen by mnt Poles and the historical center of the Polish nation and cultural center. It is one of the oldest cities in Poland. Crakow is situated on the Vistula River at the foot of Wawel Hill. Crakow is the historical capital of Poland during the 14th-16th centuries. The city was destroyed in a fire (1595) after which the capital was transferred to Warsaw. Even so the coronation and burial of Polish kings continued to occur at Crakow. The city was acquired by Austria in the Third Patition (1795). After the Mapoleonic Wars, diputes on how to award Crakow among the victorious Allies (Austria, Prussia, and Russia) resulted in Crakow and the surronding area being made a small independent republic as a pat of the Congress of Vienna settlement (1815). Austria annexed the city after an insurrection (1846). The Kraków Legions led by Jozef Pilsudski fought for the liberation of Poland during World War I. Crakow became a part of the new Polish Republic after World War I (1919). Crakow played a role in World War IInas the NAZI capital of occupied Poland. After the War Krakow played a major in the history of Communist Poland. The Communist buit a huge steel works at nearby Nowa Huta. The Communists wanted to reduce the influence of generally anti-Communist intellectual and artistic groups in Crakow. They sought to win over the Polish working class to Communism by building what they presented as a modern new city. They refused to allow the Catholic Church to buld a Church. It was hear that the furure Pope John Paul II became notable as a leader of the struggle for a church at Nova Huta.

Jewish Community

The Jewish community dated from the 14th cebntury. The Jewish community there was one of the most important in Europe. The Jewish population in 1939 was about 60,000, this was a quater of the city's population.

NAZI Seizure of the City (September 1939)

The Wehrmacht reached on September 6, 1939. The Germans disbanded all existing Jewish community organizations and created a Judenrat to oversee Jewish affairs.

Expullsion Order

The NAZIs expelled most of the Jews from the city. The city's Jews were ordered to evacuate the city (April 1940). They were given 4 months to do so. About 35,000 Jews left the city and 15,000 were allowed to remain.

NAZI Capital in Poland

The NAZIs made Cracow capital of the General Government (NAZI-occupied Poland). Governor General Hans Frank set up his headquarters in Wawel Castle. The NAZIs in Crakow as in other cities set out to destoy Polish national identity and culture. The NAZIs summon over 150 professors and scientists from Jagiellonian University to a meeting and then arrested them and interned them in Sachsenhausen concentration camp where almost all died (Sonderaktion Krakau). NAZI vandalized and looted art treasures, relics. and monuments. The NAZIs built many concentration camps near Crakow, especially Plaszow and Auschwitz. The NAZIs evacuated the city to escape being encirled by the Red Army in 1944. Thus there was no major battle for the city , saving many historic buildings and works of art. Frank after the War was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and hung.

Ghetto (March 1941)

The NAZIs issued registration forms during the Summer 1940. The NAZIs established a ghetto for the remaining Jews and forced them into it (March 1941). It accomodated about 20,000 Jews. This included about 6,000 Jews from neighboring areas. The NAZIs began deportations to the death camps (June 1942).

Transports (1942-43)

The first transports were 5,000 Jews transported to Belzec. Another 6,000 Jews were transported to Belzac (October 1942). Patients at the hospital, residents of the old age home, and 300 children at the orphanage were killed. Several hundred Jews were hilled in the ghetto. The NAZIs established the Crakow-Plaszow Concentration Camp (January 11, 1943). The NAZIs liquidated the ghetto (March 1943). The surviving Jews were transported to the Plaszow labor camp.

Resistance

There were resistance groups acrive, including the Jewish Combat Organization and Akiva which merged with a left-wing group to form ZOB. The resistance groups conducted sabotage and attacks on the Germans within their limited abilities. They attacked German officers in the Cyganeria Café (December 23, 1942).

Oscar Schindler

Oscar Schindler was a German businessman who had come to Crakow to benefit from the opportunities created by NAZI policies. He found and operated a formerly Jewish factory in the Zablocie district. He used his factory to save 1,098 Jews from the Plaszow camo. Speilberg's film "Schindler’s List" was filmed at the site of the Cracow ghetto.

Survivors

Only about 2,000 Cracow Jews survived as well as some who had made it to the Soviet Union.

Created: May 23, 2004
Last updated: May 23, 2004