Visiting Oskar Schindler's Factory

On a cold bright day last March, my family and I arrived in the beautiful city of Krakow for a few days.  I had determined that tired and cranky teenagers would not prevent me from sitting at one of the outdoor cafes that surround the medieval market square to enjoy a refreshing glass of Polish beer.  Truth be told I was tired and cranky and sick myself.  Four of the five of us were sick with a cold that included a terrible sore throat.   Clouds and rain had dominated the weather since we arrived in Poland the previous week.  I was feeling somewhat melancholy.  But this trip wasn't a vacation or a tourist excursion.  It was a family visit with the main purpose of spending time with my husband's elderly parents.   

Ever the teacher, I’m always attempting to insert some "lessons" into our family travels.  Our last time in Krakow, which had been seven years ago, we spent a lot of time exploring the Wawel Castle and the Wieleckza Salt Mine.  We had no firm plans or agenda this time.  But I had thought we might visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum.  A couple of decades ago, I had visited Auschwitz with my husband.

In March of 2016, many of us already felt a great deal of unease about the rhetoric coming out of the presidential campaign.  Anti-immigrant stances, racism, islamophobia.  I didn't know then how bad it would get.  But I had this idea that we should take our kids to Auschwitz to witness this very dark and tragic part of our world's history – genocide - that is really so very recent.   

I have attempted to make history real for my kids.  In particular, I want to give them a sense of time.  All four of your grandparents were children during World War II.  By the time Auschwitz was liberated in 1945, they were about the ages you are right now.  Your Polish grandparents lived through the German occupation themselves. 

This isn't Ancient History.  I want them to know.  The history of the world is so vast, not even counting prehistoric times.  It's easy to look somewhat dispassionately at the brutality and violence of Ancient Rome, for example.  But this - the Holocaust - this was NOW. 

We didn't end up going to Auschwitz after all.  A fever and sore throat had kept me awake the previous night.  Rather than the full-day trip to Auschwitz, we decided to stay local.  We visited the Old Synagogue, which is now a museum, in the Kazmierz district of Krakow.  It is the oldest synagogue building still standing in Poland.  The museum focuses on the history and culture of Jews in Krakow. 

We also went to the Schindler factory, now a museum as well.  Like many people, I only became aware of Oskar Schindler through Steven Spielberg's movie Schindler's List.  The Old Synagogue and Oskar Schlindler's Factory are part of a network of history museums in Krakow.  The Schindler Factory is a very impressive museum.  It focuses on various aspects of the Nazi occupation of Krakow, with emphasis on the story of Schindler and the Jews he saved.  It’s overwhelming and inevitably disturbing.  We were there the week after Easter, when many people were on holiday throughout Europe.  The museum was crowded, and we were surrounded by people speaking Italian, Spanish, German, French.  Orthodox Jews, recognizable from their clothing, viewed the exhibits with tears streaming down their faces.




outside the factory/museum - a window of photos of those saved by Schindler

Our visit to the museum wiped us out physically and emotionally.  In retrospect, I realized that a full day of bus travel and visiting Auschwitz would have been too much, particularly for our youngest child. 

Oskar Schindler saved the lives of over 1,000 Jews during the Holocaust.  According to the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Jewish population in Krakow at the beginning of the war was between 50,000-70,000.  After the war, there were only about 4,000 Jews in Krakow.  Many emigrated, and the Jewish population in Krakow dwindled down to several hundred.  There has been a bit of a resurgence of Jewish culture in Krakow in recent years, with the Jewish Community Centre of Krakow serving as a hub. 

Six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.  Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 72^nd anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.  This year, in particular, let’s remember.  As right-wing populist leaders and xenophobic rhetoric gain ground in Europe and here in the U.S., let’s be deliberate in remembering.  Never again.  Let’s look at others with compassion and acceptance for the humanity of ALL people regardless of religion or race or nationality.   

Old Synagogue, Krakow



Oskar Schindler's office