The Jewish District

**Disclaimer** The videos posted may be very graphic.  Please be aware that this is a serious (but very informative) post.

Now, where were we?  Oh!  Day number two in Krakow, Poland!  Of the two tours we took (we booked with escape2poland) involved a tour of the rather large Jewish district of the city.  Located in the heart of the city is a variety of synagogues, restaurants, shops, and other buildings that were once (or still are) run by Polish Jews. Although I am not from Polish descent, I do have a strong, Jewish background.  Cameron, as well, is Jewish, so we found this tour to be very informative.  Neither one of us knew much about Poland and how involved it was during WWII.

Our tour started off of where one of many important scenes of Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" took place.  It was the scene where a Jewish boy helping the German Nazi's helped hide a woman from being caught.  I posted a clip from YouTube so you can see exactly what scene I am talking about if you start from 6:40 in the video below.  I would highly recommend watching not only the whole clip, but the whole movie if you not have done so.  The Polish Jews were liquidated from their homes and evacuated to work camps (such as Auschwitz) and put into forced labor, or into Schindler's factory (which we'll get into later).

Standing right here at this spot sent shivers down my spine.  Although the scene depicted in the film may not be 100% accurate of happened, it was about as close as you could get to understanding exactly what happened during the liquidation process.

After walking for about 10 minutes or so, we eventually crossed the bridge that led us to the old Jewish ghetto.  In the picture to the left, you can see steel chairs spread out through a plaza.  The chairs are a memorial of the 65,000 Polish Jews who were victim to the Nazi's.  The chairs are open to be sat in, and even intrude in the tram stop to show that anyone can be victim.

Jewish Memorial

The Krakow Ghetto was established by the Nazi's for the Polish Jews in early 1941, in which around 15,000 - 20,000 Jews were forced inside of the Ghetto surrounded by barbed wire and a cement stone disconnecting them from the rest of the world.  They were then forced to work for the Germans in factories (like Schindler's Factory) and work in non-Jewish facilities outside of the Ghetto.  In 1943, the Germans liquidated the Ghetto (as so like in the clip), and were sent off to work camps.  There is a memorial Polish Jews that were killed by the Nazi's as it reads: "Place of meditation upon the martydom of 65 thousand Polish citizens of Jewish nationality from Cracow and its environs killed by the Nazi's during World War II."  



 

Reproduced Ghetto Walls

This was definitely something that did not settle well in out stomachs because we were so unaware of the events that actually happened here.  To be able to comprehend everything that happened was almost impossible because it just seemed as though the events were so unreal and that something like that would never happen.  Just thinking about it now really makes me think back to learning this just five days ago.

Cameron and I were able to finish our tour of the Jewish District at Schindler's Factory.  Now for those of you who need a crash couse of Schindler's list, let me put it to you this way in a nutshell:
Oscar Schindler (1908-1974) employed Jews at a steal factory during the Holocaust to create jobs for them.  He used them to make money for himself because he knew that using Jews was such a low cost for good labor.  However, German Nazi's S.S. were a part of the factory, as he had an agreement with the German army at the time, so often times there were Jews that were treated poorly.  Although he was profit-driven, he made a silent decision to save Jewish lives even though it required massive payment to the German Nazis.  This video is a short depiction of how the Nazis treated the Jews inside of the factory behind Schindler's back.  **This video may contain graphic material**

As we walked through the museum (which is relatively new), we were exposed to so many things (that I could not take pictures of) on how Jewish Poles were treated.  Both Cameron and I were so unaware of everything that actually happened in Krakow during those years, and we felt extreme sorrow in a matter of minutes within walking into the museum.  However, we both felt that this is something that everybody should learn and someday visit to really appreciate where we are today.  I would deeply advise you to visit Krakow, Poland, if you're up for some history and adventure.  

Thanks for keeping up with my blog!  Keep a look out for my final post in Poland of Auschwitz.

A wall of actual materials created in the factory

Also, on a lighter note, Cameron and I ate at a real, authentic-Jewish restaurant right in the heart of the Jewish District.  It was a candle-light dinner with live Klezmer music (Jewish Music).  I have a feeling my family will enjoy this...