Powered By Blogger

Friday 3 October 2014

Schindler's Factory - worth visiting

3rd October 2014

Yesterday with other European friends we visited Cracow we started our international trip in Kazimierz the Jewish Quarter in the city. Before WWII in Cracow had lived 70 000 Jews and almost all of them lost their lives in Concentration Camp in Poland.

History of ‘Schindler’s Factory’ in Krakow, Poland.

Oskar Schindler arrived to Krakow hot on the heels of the German invasion in September 1939. As a member of the Nazi party and an agent of the German military intelligence he managed to appropriate the factory which had been set up by a group of Jewish businessmen in 1937. Krakow’s two Jewish proprietors who became dependent on Schindler, Abraham Bankier and Samuel Wiener, provided him with necessary capital. The factory originally known under its Polish name as Fabryka Naczyn Emaliowanych i Wyrobow Blaszanych ‘Rekord’ was renamed Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik (DEF). Under Schindler’s control the plant at 4 Lipowa street continued to produce cookware and varied metal vessels, primarily for the German army. He accomplished ambitious plans of the rapid expansion of production facilities. Schindler also succeeded in launching a munitions division so his factory was able to contribute directly to the Third Reich’s war effort as supplier of cartridge cases and fuses for bombs and artillery shells. He reduced costs by replacing the original Polish staff with cheap labor from the Krakow Jewish ghetto the Nazis organized not far from Schindler’s factory. When Germans liquidated the ghetto in 1943 and moved the remaining Jews to the Plaszow concentration camp, Schindler opened its branch on the premises of his factory complete with barbed-wire fences and watchtowers. 
A monument to the Jewish workers of Schindler's factory has been placed in his former office
'Tin-ware Sarcophagus' - erected opposite Schindler's desk in his spacious private office - is one of several monuments commemorating Jewish workers in the factory turned museum.  
In the face of the Soviet Red Army's advances Schindler relocated, with the blessing of the German authorities, his munitions business and its workforce in the late 1944 to the branch of Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp in Bohemia’s Brunnlitz. About 1,200 Jewish prisoners from Krakow survived there to be liberated by the Soviets on May 8, 1945. In 1993 Steven Spielberg immortalized Schindler’s Factory in his movie ‘Schindler's List’.
From 1948 to 2002 the retooled plant at 4 Lipowa street manufactured parts for telecommunications equipment produced by Krakow’s company Telpod.

In June 2010 the Schindler Factory (Fabryka Schindlera) opened as a branch of the City of Krakow Historical Museum. 

So now you can see photos which were taken in this Museum by me yesterday 2nd October 2014.
Enjoy the photos. They are very unique....

Sergio - history teacher from Italy ( my blogger friend) we have became friends and I believe next summer I am going to see him with my daughter in Sicilia Racalmuto. Thanks very much for a great week!!!

(Sergio blog https://www.facebook.com/regalpetralibera?fref=ts)



Entrance to the Schindler's Factory



Photos of typical Cracow people during WWII





My students












Karol Wojtyla - later John Paul II. He lived during WWII in Cracow.



Typical gifts for children for Christmas in 1944



Our European Team Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania and Turkey.

THANKS FOR VISITING


17 comments:

  1. quite a serious and important piece of history, there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's truly important for young people to learn about history and try to learn from it. What an amazing museum!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kay,it is the most important especially for German...

      Delete
  3. I should know more about Schindler. I now do.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for your wonderful post. The movie made a huge impact on me, and I love Liam Neeson, so perfect for the part. I will never forget the black and white image in the movie with the little girl's red coat. Such a horrible time in history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda, I love this film very much I have seen it many times unforgettable one...

      Delete
  5. Enjoyed the photos of the old photographs...Schindler's factory looks like a fascinating place to visit. It was a terrible time in history, but still there were some who made a difference.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bethany it is unique, fascinating place and so depressed and the question is Why????...

      Delete
  6. Very interesting post, although I'm not sure it is politically correct to post photos of swastika flags on your blog. They are forbidden where I live. If I were you, I would remove that photo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rita, Personally I don't support Nazis but it only a photo of flag which is the Museum.. So it is no problem and it is only educational purpose..

      Delete
  7. I am so pleased that you took photos and shared them with me/us. A lot of history from the past...wonderful that you also met an internet/blogger friend....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Margaret , I am very gald I have met another blogger friend

      Delete
  8. A sad time in history, and it must have been sobering to go through the museum. It's good that young people are having this experience, too.
    I am wondering about the spelling of Cracow. I have always seen it spelled Krakow and in one of your photos it is spelled with the Ks as well. Do you know why the variations?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kraków is Polish spelling but Cracow is the most popular as the city and it is English spelling.

      Delete
    2. Wow, very interesting! I loved that movie, too.

      So, this big group of students was traveling together? I had to do a double take when I noticed the young man in the grey tee-shirt that says, "FU*K YOU" (with a backward C). Do you think he, or the teachers, realize that that is one of the most vulgar phrases in English? Probably not. But, wow. It's bad :)

      Delete