Oskar Schindler's Factory Museum

February 18, 2024

Today as part of my stay in Krakow, I visited the Oskar Schindler's Factory Museum.

I'm afraid the photos don't really do it justice. It is really well set up with different rooms explaining aspects of life in Kraków before the Nazi invasion in 1939, the guide took us on a journey through Krakow life at the time of the invasion and occupation via different rooms/ streets explaining the step by step targeting of Jews in Krakow and explaining what it was like for Poles and Jews living through the war. Schindler's former factory is the site for the museum (and the modern art museum) showing his office, his secretaries office and the main characters in his story.

Street names removed and changed to Nazi names for example the Rynek Glowny (city square) was renames Adolf Hitler Square.

This is the hall of choices. 1st hand accounts of choices Cracovians made to help or save people

This one refers to the tram driver who drove the No 3 bus from one side of Kracow to the other through, but not stoping in the ghetto area and slowed the tram down so that people could throw food out of the windows to help the starving jews. Jews in the ghetto were allocated 250 kal of food per working person, not including women, children, the elderly or those unable to work.

In the space of 5 days from the 1st day of the invasion, the only language allowed was German. Poles could go to elementary school only for the 3 R's nothing more and Jews were forbidden education. Information was proclaimed only via megaphone in the morning and death lists were published every day, those who had been murdered on the left and their family and connection who were being hunted in the remaining 2 rows.

Before the invasion 65 000 Krakow Jews made up 25% of the town's residents. now there are 140 in the Kasimir district, north of the river above the Schindler's Factory Museum.

This is the ghetto area, formerly housing for 3,000 poor poles who were removed and 490,000 Jews and a few hundred Roma Gypsies barricaded in . There were tow parts A and B. A for those who could work - they worked for no wages for the Nazis and in B everyone else.