Krakow is a different kind of beast to Wrocław. Namely in size and less of the city was destroyed by The second world war. The city was deemed too difficult to defend, meaning the buildings are in their original state. This is clearly shown in the main square which is stunning along with the cathedral and its trumpeter. Yes there are a team of people employed to play the trumpet every hour.
Much of the medieval parts of the city were destroyed, not through war but because the locals thought they were ugly. However, part of the outer wall and some gates were saved by Professor Feliks Radwański. The Professor convinced the city leaders that the demolition would cause drafts, exposing the inhabitants to diseases!
Walking tours
Touring through the city we were taken to the Jewish quarter where many of the Jewish inhabitants lived. This is not to be confused with the ghetto created by the Nazis in WWII. This part of the tour causes much confusion after the Schindler’s list movie; some of the locations used don’t actually match up with history. We also visit the castle which is very impressive but many queues to get tickets and enter the cathedral.
The afternoon brought about another tour specifically on the Jewish inhabitants of the city. Many of the Jews initially came to Krakow to avoid persecution from the west of Europe. A remnant from the times of the Crusades. The Polish invited them in with welcoming arms, because they brought a wealth of knowledge which would help their country develop.
The Nazis wanted to remove the Jewish from the main city. So they were pushed out of the Jewish quarter across the river into another area. This area originally homed about 2,500 people (who were subsequently moved out) and 15,000 Jewish were moved in. This became the Jewish ghetto. With this many people squeezed in there was no privacy with everyone living on top of each other.
When the Nazis came to liquidate the camp the majority were sent to Belzec extermination camp and not Auswitzch. I had never heard of Belzec before. It had only operated for 9 months and was responsible for 500k murders. We only know what happened because of two survivors who managed to escape.
Auswitzch and Birkenau
I extended my stay in Krakow by an extra day so I could complete a tour of Auswitzch and Birkenau. It takes approximately 7 hours and you can arrange for someone to pick you up and take you there. If you have ever thought about doing this tour or not got around to arranging it, do so. What I did not realise about Auswitzch was that there were three main camps and 40 sub-camps. Birkenau, the second, was an extermination camp primarily and where the majority of the 1 to 1.6ML people lost their lives.
Auswitzch was a converted Polish barracks which initially housed the Soviet PoWs from the initial invasion when the Nazis came into contact with the Soviet army. Then were added the Polish political prisoners, Jews, gypsies and anyone else not in favour with the Nazi regime. Whilst many of the buildings were housing for the prisoners, some had other purposes. One was devoted to Josef Mengele’s research; another to a punishment area ran by the Gestapo. This area alone created huge amount of suffering combined with death by firing squad.
Birkenau was a different beast altogether. What you first notice is the sheer size, it actually goes beyond your peripheral vision and beyond the edge into the forest. The famous picture of the tracks leading to the ‘death gate’ is only a tiny part of the complex. After which many would find themselves heading towards one of the 4 gas chambers on site. Each chamber capable of gassing 2,000 in 20 minutes. The attached crematoriums would take 24 hours to cremate the 2,000 bodies. Often they would burn the bodies in open pits, which are still present today.
At all stages the victims did not know what was going to happen, being told they were getting a disinfection before being allowed into the camp.
This is a place you must visit to truly understand the horrors of the Nazi’s.