Krakow W Latach Wojny I Okupacji 1939 – 1945 [Krakow During the Years of War and Occupation 1939 – 1945]

Documenting the horrors of the Holocaust across Krakow.

This dense composition makes a valiant attempt to document the wartime horrors endured by the Polish city of Krakow, under German occupation from September 1939 until January 1945. A contemporary (1978) street plan of the metropolitan area has been overlaid with a variety of symbols used to explain different elements of the devastation, including events of the Holocaust. An inset in the lower right presents the Krakow Old Town, the historic city center.

The legend in the upper left corner, organized into three columns, describes many of the icons used across the map. ‘Nazi Crimes’ is topped with the ominous skull and crossbones representing the Plaszow concentration camp. Other depicted features include labor camps, extermination sites (organized by body count), the Krakow Ghetto, cultural plunder, and areas of displacement. The two additional columns showcase the ‘Fight Against the German Occupier’ (resistance activities and the Soviet Army), as well as gravesites of different groups (Polish Army, Soviet Army, Polish Resistance, and Western Soldiers).

Krakow and its residents suffered severe hardships under the Nazi regime. Deportation of the local intelligentsia and Jewish population began almost immediately, followed by the organization of the Krakow Ghetto in 1941. Its inhabitants were almost entirely annihilated in 1943. As the capital of the General Government (Occupied Poland), the city was spared much of the physical destruction that plagued other urban areas in Poland. There were shining lights in the darkness – Oskar Schindler, whose heroic efforts were celebrated in Schindler’s List, operated his enamel factory just south of the Vistula.

The map was compiled by a team of researchers led by Tadeusz Wojnar, with cartographic editing by Kazimierz Trafas. Sponsored by the Historical Commission of the District Board of ZBoWiD Kraków-Śródmieście and the Council for the Protection of Monuments of Combat and Martyrdom. Published in Krakow in 1979 Polish National Cartographic Publishing Company (PPWK). Listed in WorldCat as OCLC# 947753860, though there were no related institutional holdings as of February 2025.

Sources: Holocaust Encyclopedia; Yad-Vashem; Culture.PL