Krakow, seat of the famous Jagiellonian University founded in 1364, was the capital of the Polish kingdom from 1038 until 1596. Jews are known to have been residents of the city since 1176. In 1935, Krakow had a population of 245,000, including more than 68,000 Jews. German troops captured Krakow on September 6, 1939, less than a week after Nazi Germany invaded poland. After carrying out a military maneuver that spared Krakow significant destruction, Soviet troops liberated the city on January 19, 1945.
The Germans deported two thirds of Krakow's Jews (more than 40,000) between Oct. 1940 and March 1941. The remaining Jews were forced to live in the Krakow ghetto. By October 1941, nearly 25,000 Jews lived in the ghetto.
In two deportations, in June and Oct. 1942, the Germans sent almost half of the ghetto population, 12,000 Jews, to the Belzec killing center. In March 1943, the ghetto was liquidated: approximately 6,000 Jews were sent to the forced labor camp in Plaszow, and the remainder were either killed in the ghetto or deported to the gas chambers in Auschwitz. Less than 700 Jews remained at Plaszow when the Soviets liberated the camp in January 1945. Perhaps 6,000 Krakow Jews (10%) survived the war.
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