Krakow+Ghetto

Krakow Ghetto Jordan Springer When people think of the Holocaust, they usually think of the most familiar places or events, such as Auschwitz and the Warsaw Ghetto. Most people aren't aware of the countless less familiar events and locations. But they all still had an unimaginable impact on the contemporaries of World War II. And an unforgettable impact on the world. Krakow, the second largest city in Poland, was taken in the beginning of September 1943 when Germany invaded Poland. From November 1939 to March 1941, rules for the Jews of Krakow were created. One such rule was that the Jewish were to be concentrated in ghettos, an area of a city where a particular group is confined. In this case, it was part of a city set aside by the Nazis to contain only Jews. Ghettos were typically heavily guarded and lacking in necessities. The Krakow Ghetto, established on March 3, 1941, was a space of about fifty acres containing approximately 320 small houses. Its conception was by order of Otto Wächter, the governor of the Krakow district. The ghetto was in the center of Podgórze, an area of Krakow. Its reason to be was to trap the Jews of Krakow, leaving them with little space and little hope. By November 20 of 1941, a bleak area originally occupied by 3,000 people was now filled by about 16,000 Jews. More undocumented Jews fled to the ghetto to seek protection. After an October 15 ruling, around 6,000 additional Jewish entered the ghetto. The conditions there were terrible, with one apartment allocated to four families, giving each person around two square meters of living space. Factories were built inside the ghetto, with the Jewish acting as the forced labor. The Jewish also worked on construction jobs, such as working on bridges and rail track. Eventually, in January 1942, Hitler’s “Final Solution” began. On May 29, 1942, the ghetto was surrounded and documents inspected. Those without proper work permits were sent to Belzec death camp. On the day of June 6, all previous official papers were considered void, and Jews had to apply for a new document, a “Blue Pass.” If someone didn’t comply, he too would meet his end in Belzec. After all of this, 7,000 were sent to Belzec and some simply shot in the streets. In October, it was announced that all in the ghetto would be gathered and selections would be made. This resulted in another 45,000 for Belzec, and around 600 shot in the streets. After some parts of the ghetto were liquidated, the remaining section was divided. Part A was for the best workers, Part B for those who were destined to be deported. Eventually, Part A inhabitants were relocated to a labor camp, and Part B members sent to Auschwitz. The Germans then cleaned up, taking all valuables and removing the barbed wire. In the years since the liquidation of the ghetto, there are still many reminders left of the doomed Jewish living here. One such example is the Zucker Synagogue. A synagogue is a building used for Jewish religious activities, such as worship and celebration. There is also the Julius Madritsch factory, which is a great piece of history from the ghetto. Just before the liquidation, the owner, Julius Madritsch, let families into his factory, saving their lives. Finally, parts of the ghetto walls remain, a moving symbol of the Nazi’s oppression only some of the Jewish managed to escape. The Krakow ghetto may be gone, but the spirits of the Jewish who lived there aren’t. When one visits Krakow, they need to take a moment and reflect and think about the ill-fated Jews. Persecuted simply because of their race, they were abused by their Nazi captors. Although the Krakow ghetto may not be the most familiar part of the Holocaust, it’s still a part of it. Humanity will never forget the Jewish that lost their lives just because of their ethnicity.