KL Plaszow Concentration Camp – The Hidden History of One of Krakow’s Most Important Sites

When visiting Krakow, many travelers focus on visiting the charming Old Town, Wawel Castle, and the Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz. But just a short tram ride from the city center lies one of the most significant, yet often overlooked, historical places in Krakow: the former KL (German: “konzentrationslager”, concentration camp) Plaszow. For those wondering what to do in Krakow beyond the typical tourist trail, a visit to this haunting site offers a profound and deeply human insight into the city’s wartime past.

Before the War: Jewish Cemeteries and a Lost Community

The land where KL Plaszow was established in 1942 was not an empty space. It was once home to two Jewish cemeteries – the Podgórze Community Jewish Cemetery and the New Jewish Cemetery on Jerozolimska Street. These cemeteries served as sacred ground for Krakow’s Jewish community, which before World War II comprised nearly a quarter of the city’s population.

 

During the construction of the camp, Nazi authorities desecrated and destroyed these cemeteries. Tombstones were broken and repurposed as construction material for camp infrastructure, including roads and pavements. Even the pre-burial home, an important architectural and religious space, was stripped of dignity and converted into part of the camp’s system of oppression, where the commandant Amon Goeth intended to make his own stables.

 

Once Forgotten Place…

KL Plaszow was established in October of 1942 as a concentration camp. Even if it was never an extermination camp, thousands died here due to slave work, starvation, executions, disease, and brutality at the hands of Nazi guards.

By mid-1944, approximately 24,000 prisoners were held in KL Plaszow – mostly Jews, but also Poles and other groups. The camp also functioned as a key transit point. Many prisoners from Krakow and nearby ghettos passed through KL Plaszow before being deported to death camps such as Auschwitz.

 

The camp became infamous due to its commandant, Amon Goeth, who ran KL Plaszow with horrifying cruelty. Known for executing prisoners from his villa’s balcony, he became a symbol of Nazi sadism, later portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List.

One of the most important figures connected to KL Plaszow is Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved over 1,000 Jews by employing them in his enamel factory in Krakow and later relocating them to a safer place - his factory in Brünnlitz. Many of Schindler’s workers were originally prisoners in KL Plaszow. His actions were immortalized in Schindler’s List, which drew international attention to the history of the camp and the city itself.

One of the most tragic places within the grounds of the former camp is “Hujowa Górka” – a crude name derived from the surname of SS-man Albert Hujar, who supervised executions there. Prisoners gave the site its nickname as an act of dark irony and defiance (in Polish his surname is close to an English equivalent - "prick").

Hujowa Górka was a mass execution site where thousands of Jews were murdered by shooting. Eyewitnesses described how groups of prisoners were led in silence to the edge of mass graves and shot. Today, a stone monument stands on the site, but the silence still echoes with its brutal past.

 

…Remembered.

After World War II, the memory of KL Plaszow faded. This was in part due to the political reality of postwar Poland. The communist regime that took power shaped a historical narrative much simplified and focused on the suffering of the Polish nation and the role of the Soviet Union as the liberator. The Holocaust and the tragedy of the Jews were not emphasized. With much of the Jewish population murdered or having emigrated, and with their former homes now occupied by new Polish residents, there was little political or social will to preserve the memory of Jewish victims.

The site of the camp was not developed into a museum or a formal memorial space for decades. For many Krakow residents, the fields of Plaszow became a place for walking dogs or jogging – often without awareness of the atrocities that had taken place there.

Today, that has begun to change. Historical research, survivor testimonies, and public education efforts have led to a growing recognition of KL Plaszow’s importance. Commemorative plaques have been installed. The outline of the Appellplatz (roll call square) has been recreated through a series of symbolic paths, helping visitors visualize the scale and structure of the former camp. More extensive memorial work is currently in progress, coordinated by the KL Plaszow Memorial Museum.

KL Plaszow and its Meaning Today

Unlike Auschwitz-Birkenau, KL Plaszow is not located far from the centre of the city – it is situated within Krakow itself. This proximity makes it a uniquely powerful place of memory, particularly for Krakow’s residents. Many of the prisoners held here were locals. They had lived in the city, gone to its schools, walked its streets – and then, during the war, were forced into slave labor just kilometers from their former homes.

One of those prisoners was Niusia Horowitz-Karakulska, a Jewish girl from Krakow. As a child, she was deported first to the Krakow Ghetto, then to KL Plaszow. After surviving unimaginable conditions, she was placed on the list of Oskar Schindler workers and ultimately survived the Holocaust. Steven Spielberg put her in his movie - in the scene of Schindler's birthday party his workers are coming with gifts. Niusia was the person giving him the birthday cake and for that he kissed her in front of everyone - yet unlike in the movie she was the one put into custody as it was not allowed by the Nazi ideology. Her life story is just one of thousands that make KL Plaszow an essential site of memory – not abstract history, but lived experience.

Visiting KL Plaszow is not just about understanding the past – it’s about acknowledging a history that shaped this city and honoring those who fought to survive while trying to preserve their humanity.

 

Former KL Plaszow - Planning a Meaningful Visit

At Walkative Tours, we believe that visiting KL Plaszow is one of the most meaningful things you can do while in Krakow. While the site lacks museum infrastructure for now, guided walks allow you to fully understand its significance. We offer historical tours that explore not only the camp itself, but also the broader context of Krakow’s Jewish history, the Holocaust, and the personal stories of those who lived through it. You can join our KL Plaszow tour by booking it here.

For anyone interested in World War II sites in Krakow, Jewish heritage, or seeking something beyond the postcard version of the city, the area of the former KL Plaszow is an essential stop.