KL Płaszów – Krakow Concentration Camp and Memorial Site
Origins of the Camp
The Płaszów Camp (Konzentrationslager Plaszow – Krakow concentration camp) was established by Nazi Germany in 1942 on the grounds of two Jewish cemeteries in the Podgórze district of Kraków. Initially, it functioned as a forced labour camp (Zwangsarbeitslager Plaszow) for Jews from the Kraków Ghetto and nearby towns.
After the liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto in March 1943, thousands of its residents were deported to Płaszów. In early 1944, the camp was officially transformed into a concentration camp under the SS administration. It became one of the largest camps in occupied southern Poland, subordinate to the Auschwitz complex.
By that time, Płaszów held not only Jews but also Poles, Roma, and political prisoners, who endured forced labour, hunger, and violence.
Life and Conditions in the Camp
At its height, Płaszów housed between 20,000 and 25,000 prisoners. They were forced to work in German armament workshops, quarries, and supply depots. The camp’s infamous commander, Amon Göth, became a symbol of terror and cruelty. He was responsible for countless executions and public punishments carried out from his villa overlooking the camp.
Living conditions were brutal: overcrowded barracks, inadequate food, and constant fear of punishment. Many prisoners perished from exhaustion, malnutrition, or direct executions at the so-called “shooting hills” — the execution sites that still mark the landscape today.
Although Płaszów was not an extermination camp, it played a crucial role in the Nazi system of exploitation and annihilation. Many prisoners who survived initial selection were later sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they were murdered.
Amon Göth – the “Butcher of Płaszów”
The camp’s commander, SS-Hauptsturmführer Amon Göth, is remembered as one of the most brutal figures of the Holocaust. Appointed in 1943, he ruled the Krakow concentration camp through terror, fear, and arbitrary violence. Survivors recalled how he would ride his grey horse across the camp, carrying a rifle, and shoot prisoners for sport. He also trained his two dogs, Rolf and Ralf, to attack inmates on command.
Göth’s sadism went far beyond administrative cruelty. He personally executed prisoners for the smallest infractions — from picking discarded food to collapsing from exhaustion. Entire work groups were sometimes shot simply because someone had been caught with food from outside the camp. Witnesses described how he practiced his marksmanship by firing at prisoners from his car or the balcony of his villa overlooking the camp. It is estimated that Göth personally killed around 500 people.
In 1944, he was arrested by the SS for theft and corruption but never punished for his murders. After the war, he was tried by the Polish Supreme National Tribunal in Kraków, found guilty of crimes against humanity, and executed by hanging on 13 September 1946 at Montelupich Prison. His last words were reportedly “Heil Hitler.” His ashes were scattered in the Vistula River.
Source: Amon Göth – Wikipedia
The Grey House (Szary Dom)
One of the most significant surviving structures of the former camp is the Grey House (Szary Dom), originally built before the war as a residential building and later adapted by the SS administration. During the camp’s operation, it served as an interrogation and detention facility, where many prisoners were tortured and executed.
Today, the Grey House stands as one of the last tangible witnesses to the crimes committed in Płaszów. The building is currently being adapted into a visitor and education centre for the KL Plaszow Memorial, where future exhibitions and workshops will explain the camp’s history, its victims, and the post-war process of remembrance.
Liquidation and Liberation of Krakow Concentration Camp
In the summer of 1944, as the Soviet front approached, the SS began dismantling the Krakow concentration camp. Prisoners were sent to Auschwitz, Mauthausen, and other camps across the Reich. Barracks were burned, and mass graves were exhumed in an attempt to conceal evidence of crimes.
When Soviet troops entered Kraków in January 1945, the site was deserted — a barren landscape of ashes and unmarked graves. The estimated number of victims of KL Płaszów ranges from 5,000 to 8,000 people.
Nearby Forced Labour Site: The Liban Quarry
Close to the camp lies the Liban Quarry (Kamieniołom Liban) — a separate site of forced labour during the occupation. It was operated by the German authorities through a Polish company seized in 1939. Polish workers and forced labourers, including young men from Kraków such as Karol Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II), toiled there under harsh conditions.
Although sometimes confused with the KL Płaszów concentration camp, the Liban Quarry was a different site, located nearby but with its own function and administration. Prisoners were used for the extraction and transport of limestone under brutal working conditions.
The confusion between the two sites may stem from the fact that in 1993, director Steven Spielberg used the Liban Quarry to recreate the Krakow concentration camp for his film Schindler’s List. Out of respect for the memorial, the real camp grounds were not used for filming. Instead, the production built a full-scale replica inside the quarry, complete with watchtowers, barracks, and symbolic Jewish tombstones (macewy). For years, remnants of the set remained on-site, leading many visitors to mistakenly believe they were viewing the authentic remains of the camp.
Today, the quarry is also a protected natural area, home to hundreds of plant and animal species. After a series of accidents, the site was fenced off, and a safe walking path was marked around it. Entry to the quarry floor is now restricted, and climbing is allowed only after registration through the Polish Mountaineering Association.
Memory and Present-Day Exhibition
For decades after the war, the site remained neglected, overgrown, and silent. Only in 1964 was the Monument to the Victims of Fascism, designed by Witold Cęckiewicz, unveiled as a stark reminder of those who perished here.
A major step forward came in March 2024, when the Museum of Krakow opened a new outdoor exhibition titled “KL Plaszow. Miejsce po, miejsce bez” (A Place After, a Place Without).
The exhibition includes 14 large-format displays in Polish, English, and Hebrew, along with 41 field markers and 3 archaeological viewing points that help visitors trace the camp’s topography and key locations. Walking the route takes about one hour, and the entire site remains open 24 hours a day, free of charge.
The new display presents not only the historical reality of the camp but also its post-war transformation into a landscape of memory — where absence itself has become part of remembrance.
At the same time, ongoing work continues on the creation of the KL Plaszow Museum, which will further develop the site as an educational and memorial space. The future museum complex will include the Grey House (Szary Dom) as a visitor and education centre, new exhibition areas, and guided routes that will help visitors understand both the history of the camp and the broader context of Nazi occupation in Kraków.
Practical Information about visiting Krakow concentration camp
Location: Former Krakow Concentration Camp: Plaszow site, Jerozolimska Street, Podgórze District, Kraków
Admission: Free entry, open to visitors 24 hours a day
Exhibition: “KL Plaszow. Miejsce po, miejsce bez” (A Place After, a Place Without) – outdoor exhibition with 14 panels, 41 field markers and 3 archaeological viewing points, available in Polish, English and Hebrew
Estimated visit time: Around 1–2 hours
Accessibility: Open terrain with unpaved paths – comfortable shoes recommended; partially accessible for visitors with limited mobility
Visitor centre: The historic Grey House (Szary Dom) is currently being adapted into an educational and visitor facility for the future KL Plaszow Museum
Nearby attractions: Ghetto Heroes Square, Pharmacy Under the Eagle Museum, Oskar Schindler’s Factory Museum, Liban Quarry, Krakus Mound, Podgórze district