During the Second World War, Krakow was ruled by the Third Reich. What were the streets and squares like in 1939-1944? How was life in the city? See photos from the German album “Krakau” published in 1944.
For more photos of Krakow 1944, I suggest also looking up this article from Gazeta Krakowska (in the Polish language).
Generally speaking, we’re taught very little about Polish history, including what Poland endured under Hitler and Stalin during World War II. Outlined below are a number of historical facts.
Hitler & Stalin wanted the destruction of Poland
Many are unaware that, when Hitler and Stalin jointly attacked in September 1939, the destruction of Poland was their main objective and, in the first two years of the war, Poles were the primary target of a coordinated German and Soviet extermination process designed to annihilate them on both sides of the Ribbentrop-Molotov line, which was the border between Hitler’s half and Stalin’s half of the former 2nd Polish Republic. Poland now ceased to exist as a nation state.
Top priority: Annihilation of the Polish people
As the first step of his Lebensraum policy, Hitler attacked Poland not only to annihilate the Poles but also to take over their land and settle it with Germans. A week before attacking, Hitler directed his senior generals to “Kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish descent or language. Only in this way can we obtain the living space (Lebensraum) we need.” Hitler annexed his occupied half of Poland to Germany, which became Reich District Danzig, Reich District Warta River, Upper Silesia, and the General Government. The General Government was a purely military occupation zone that was ruthlessly administered by the Germans.
What was Stalin’s reason?
Stalin’s reason for attacking Poland was that Russia was “obliged” to come to the aid of its “blood brothers,” the Ukrainians and Byelorussians, who were trapped in territory that had been “illegally annexed” by Poland after the Poles defeated the Soviets in the 1919-20 Polish-Soviet War. In fact, in the 1921 Treaty of Riga, the defeated Soviets agreed to Poland keeping this territory, which was historically Polish before Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland and erased it from the map in 1795. Stalin annexed his occupied half of Poland to Soviet-occupied Belarus and Ukraine and transferred the Wilno region to Soviet-occupied Lithuania.
Hitler demands the Polish elites to disappear
As Hitler’s first step in annihilating the Poles, he murdered up to 100,000 Polish elites. When the Germans attacked Poland, they had in hand a list of Polish elites whom they then arrested and summarily executed. This list, called the Special Prosecution Book-Poland (Sonderfahndungsbuch Polen), was developed with the help of ethnic Germans who were Polish citizens. The Germans called them “Volksdeutsche”, and many collaborated with the Germans against the Poles.
At the same time, the Germans imprisoned virtually all of Poland’s Jews in German-operated ghettos. Meanwhile, Poles were in a day-to-day struggle for survival because of the brutalities and severe conditions exacted by the occupiers. The Germans imposed near-starvation rations, confiscated crops and livestock, enforced onerous quotas on farmers, conducted daily executions to terrorize the populace, randomly arrested and tortured Poles, and conducted regular round-ups for deportation to concentration and labor camps.
The Red Army and NKVD
For his part, Stalin’s Red Army and NKVD (secret police) arrested and removed over 1 million Poles from Soviet-occupied Poland and deported them to the deep Soviet interior, where many thousand died from the harsh conditions of the gulags and labor camps. A fact not commonly known is that pro-communist Polish Jews greeted the Soviets with welcome banners, formed militias and revolutionary committees to support them, and identified Poles for deportation to Siberia. Another fact not commonly known is Stalin’s earlier murder of about 100,000 Poles who were Soviet citizens and were victims of his Great Terror campaign during 1936-38.
It’s important to understand that the consequence of Hitler’s and Stalin’s coordinated defeat and destruction of Poland was that Hitler was now free to round up Poland’s Jews, imprison them in ghettos across German-occupied Poland, build the death camps in the remote eastern part of German-occupied Poland, and transport Poland’s 3 million Jews, and later 3 million European Jews, to their deaths in these camps.
True Facts – #LestWeForget
Another little-known fact is that only in occupied Poland did the Germans have a standing order that anyone aiding a fugitive Jew in any way would be executed together with immediate family. Despite the Germans’ standing execution order, estimates of Poles who aided fugitive Jews range from 300,000 to 1.2 million, and estimates of those killed for doing so approach 50,000.
About 7,000 Polish rescuers are listed by Israel’s Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations, far more than rescuers of any other country. Keep in mind that two Polish institutions were critically instrumental in rescuing Jews.
The first, Żegota, was the only government organization in the German-occupied countries established specifically to rescue Jews. The second was the Catholic Church, which rescued Jewish children on a massive scale by hiding them in convents, orphanages, and rectories. No German-occupied country had such an organizational and logistical infrastructure for rescuing Jews.
Countries during the Holocaust
Finally, it’s important to remember which countries played a prominent role in the Holocaust. Some established collaborationist governments with the Germans that not only helped round up Jews and deport them to concentration and death camps but also killed many of them. Countries that did so include Vichy France’s Petain, Slovakia’s Tiso, Croatia’s Pavelic and his Ustase militia, Hungary’s Worthy, and his Arrow Cross militia, Romania’s Antonescu and his Iron Guard militia, and Holland’s Henneicke Column. In several occupied countries, well-known fascist politicians such as Quisling in Norway, Degrelle in Belgium, and Mussert in Holland, formed Nazi-style political parties and took an active part in deporting Jews.
Ukrainian militias were involved in running Hitler’s extermination camps in occupied Poland and Auxiliary Police Battalions from the Baltic countries took part in the liquidation of the German-operated ghettos. In the case of military collaboration, many countries formed Waffen SS units and operated under German command. These included Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Latvia, Hungary, Estonia, Italy, France, Holland, Albania, Ukraine, and Croatia. It is important to remember that in occupied Poland, no collaborationist government was established, no Polish militias were formed to round up, deport, or murder Jews and no Polish SS units were created.
6-year-old Amos Steinberg was sent to the Auschwitz camp together with his mother in 1944. Most likely, they were both murdered in the gas chamber right after the selection. In one of the shoes at the Memorial, a handwritten record was found containing the boy’s data.
The inscription was probably made by Amos’s mother. The discovery was made while working to secure the shoes of the victims of the German Auschwitz camp, which are on display at the main exhibition at the Memorial.
In one of the children’s shoes a handwritten inscription was found: the child’s name and surname, transport designation and the number under which the child was registered on the transport list (transport Ba 541). It belonged to Amos Steinberg, who was born on June 26, 1938. He lived in Prague. On August 10, 1942, together with his parents, Ludwig and Ida, he was imprisoned in the Theresienstadt ghetto near Prague. They were all deported to Auschwitz
Paweł Sawicki from the Museum’s press office
Split families
Hanna Kubik from the collections department of the institution informed that the preserved documents show that the mother and son were deported to Auschwitz in one transport on October 4, 1944. The father, on the other hand, was deported in another transport. We know that on October 10, 1944, he was transferred from Auschwitz to the Dachau camp. He was liberated in the Kaufering sub-camp.
Shoes with news
Hanna Kubik also informed the TVN24.PL NEws Site that these are not the first, and probably not the last, shoes that hold papers inside them. The papers (newspapers usually) would be inserted to the soles to keep warm – for good insulation. They are valuable items now, as they are in good condition. But this piece that was just discovered is unique in the data that it holds – because it bares dates, names and even handwritten signatures. More items as such emerge, coming from 1941-1942.
The documents belonged to people who probably lived in Munkacz and Budapest. “Some of them are official documents, there is also a fragment of a brochure and a scrap of paper with the name on it. The names of Ackermann, Bravermann and Beinhorn appear. Probably these people were deported to Auschwitz in the spring or summer of 1944 during the extermination of Hungarian Jews”, said Hanna Kubik.
Letter of intent regarding the creation of the “Museum – Memorial Site of KL Plaszow in Krakow. German Nazi labor and concentration camp (1942-1945) ”was signed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the City of Krakow. The new museum will cover an area of about 40 hectares and will be a self-government cultural institution of the Krakow City Commune co-run by the Ministry of Culture.
Screenshot from the Letter of Intent, that can be downloaded HERE
Who signed the Letter of Intent?
The signatories of the letter are the deputy prime minister, minister of culture and national heritage prof. Piotr Gliński – represented by Jarosław Sellin, secretary of state in the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and prof. Jacek Majchrowski, president of Krakow.
Due to the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the document was signed electronically.
What is this Letter of Intent?
Letter of intent regarding the creation of a new cultural institution called “Museum – Memorial Site of KL Plaszow in Krakow. German Nazi labor camp and concentration camp (1942-1945)” is a declaration of the joint will of the signatories for the proper commemoration of the victims of the German Nazi labor and concentration camp Plaszow by covering the area where the camp was located, institutional protection and establishing a Museum – Memorial Site.
The letter of intent is another important stage in actions taken to commemorate the former German labor and concentration camp in Plaszow. It was preceded by an agreement signed on January 26, 2017 between the City of Krakow, the Jewish Religious Community in Krakow and the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow, constituting a declaration of cooperation between the parties for a dignified commemoration of KL Plaszow. The ordinance of the city president also set up a task force for the KL Plaszow camp coordinating work on the creation of this Memorial Site.
Photo of the Plaszow concentration and labour camp taken 1943-1944 – Unknown Author – Taken from the Institute of National Remembrance
When will the new Museum start operating?
It is planned that “Museum – KL Plaszow Memorial Site in Krakow. German Nazi labor and concentration camp (1942-1945)” will start operating on January 1, 2021, and will be a self-government cultural institution of the city of Krakow, co-run by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The content of the letter assumes the cooperation of the parties to create the Memorial in both financial and substantive terms. It is anticipated that the Krakow City Council will establish a new institution by the end of 2020.
What are the next steps?
In the next stage, an agreement will be signed between the city and the ministry, which will determine the principles of co-running a new museum institution. The estimated time necessary to complete the work on establishing the Museum – Memorial Site and permanent exhibition is estimated at about five years.
KL Plaszow Fot.PAP/J.Bednarczyk
Where will the Museum be built?
The Museum – Memorial Site of KL Plaszow will be built on land belonging to the Municipality of Krakow, the Jewish Community in Kraków, and the Treasury. It will cover an area of approx. 40 hectares, which has been entered in the register of monuments kept by the Małopolska Provincial Conservator of Monuments since 2002, and an adjacent area of approximately 3 hectares.
How will the Museum look like?
The Historical Museum of the City of Krakow, as a substantive supervisor, developed the script for the new Museum – Memorial Site and conducted archeological research in the post-camp area.
According to the scenario, “historical stops” will be created in the post-camp area, ie boards with an archival photo and a short commentary in English. Polish, English, and Hebrew and in the Memorial building a permanent exhibition, thanks to which visitors will learn, among others what historical events led to the creation of concentration camps; learn the history of the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto and the founding and organization of KL Plaszow. The everyday life of prisoners will also be shown. Educators attach great importance to preserving the authenticity of the commemorated place.
Yours sincerly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug, Always Bringing You The Most Up-To-Date Informations About My Beloved Krakow
The German daily Allgaeuer Zeitung wrote about its “Polish concentration camp” on its website. The Polish Embassy in Berlin intervened in this matter, demanding that the editors quickly correct this false statement.
News Taken from TVP.INFO (Site in Polish Language)
Auschwitz I – the “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign at the entrance
Allgaeuer Zeitung mentioned Auschwitz as “Polish” Concentration Camp
The newspaper, discussing the story of Enegelbert M., wrote that he was one of the last prisoners who was tattooed with a camp number on his shoulder in the “Polish” Auschwitz concentration camp.
Requests for correction
A press spokesman for the Polish embassy in Berlin, Dariusz Pawłoś, told Polish Radio that a letter was sent to the editor of the Allgaeuer Zeitung in Kemtpen immediately to request a correction.
“Words such as “Polish concentration camps” or “Polish death camps” or “concentration camps in Poland” are not only offensive to Poles and Polish citizens who suffered and died in these camps, but also to their families and the whole Polish society” – said Dariusz Pawłoś.
Auschwitz – Poland
Always on the look-out
The press spokesman for the Polish Embassy assured that the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Berlin and Polish consular offices will always intervene in situations where the history of Poland is falsified and when the good name of Poland and Poles is defiled.
Yours truly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug Bringing You The Polish News (Even From Abroad)
The Poznań Regional Court issued a European Arrest Warrant for a former SS supervisor from the forced labor camp, Rzeczpospolita informed. The woman is 93 years old and lives in Germany.
The newspaper reports that the European Arrest Warrant was issued after “former SS overseer (SS Aufseherin) in the Mittweid forced labor camp, which was a branch of the German concentration camp KL Flossenbürg.”
This is the result of the investigative division of the Poznań IPN, which investigates the crimes committed in this camp. According to the newspaper, the woman is suspected of “complicity in committing in the years 1944–1945 crimes against humanity against Polish citizens imprisoned in this camp, involving their killings and deliberate creation of conditions aimed at their biological destruction.”
The allegations also concern her participation in the so-called death march of prisoners from Mittweida via Hainichen and Freiberg towards Prague. “During this evacuation, the camp crew shot dozens of prisoners, including two Polish women who could not withstand the pace of the march,” we read.
“Rzeczpospolita” reminds that Mittweid’s German camp was founded on October 9, 1944. There, detained after the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising; among them were also Poland. They were beaten regularly.
Bringing you Daily Polish News,
The Twisted Red LadyBug
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