Zdjęcia w artykule: Andrzej Rudiak
StElimelekh i Tamar Landau. Fot. Yad Vashem
was converted during the occupation into the SS headquarters and incorporated into the camp). The project does not provide for the reconstruction of the camp infrastructure or the erection of other buildings in the post-camp area. However, there are future plans to adapt the ruins of the building located at the beginning of Jerozolimska Street to house an Educational Centre. Entrance to the premises of the camp will be free of charge.
The creation of a professional institution, such as a museum, constitutes a globally accepted organisational formula for the care and management of memorial sites.
Preparations for the creation of the Museum
The signing of a letter of intent expressing the willingness of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, together with the Municipality of Cracow, to run a cultural institution entitled "KL Plaszow Memorial and Museum in Cracow. German Nazi Labour and Concentration Camp (1942-1945)" was preceded by an agreement between the city, the Jewish Community of Cracow and the Historical Museum of the City of Cracow, constituting a declaration of cooperation for the commemoration of the KL Plaszow camp (in 2017).
In 2018 the Cracow City Council passed a resolution on defining the directions of activities for the Mayor of the City of Cracow consisting in the creation of the "KL Plaszow Memorial and Museum". By order of the city's Mayor, a task force for the Plaszow Concentration Camp was also established to coordinate work on the creation of the Memorial.
In January 2020 the public consultations ended, which focused on the issues concerning the new museum, including the needs, expectations and comments of the residents on the land development concept and the surroundings of the KL Plaszow Memorial and Museum. The main demands made by the participants of the consultation concerned: improvement and regulation of traffic around the future museum, free (non-ticketed) access to the premises of the Memorial Site, no fencing of the area, preservation of greenery on the site of the camp and no erection of new objects on the former camp premises. The summary of the consultation is an extensive report containing answers to specific demands made - the report is available here.
We are obliged to remember
"The creation and operation of the Museum will be a worthy and proper place to preserve the full memory of the victims of KL Plaszow. With the creation of the Museum, the memory of the tragic past can become a warning and a lesson for future generations, so the human race never experiences an equally dramatic fate. The Memorial and Museum is a guarantee of the effectiveness of the activities carried out and an appropriate step in the spirit of full historical responsibility for our common history" - as we read in the justification of the resolution.
The Museum of Cracow, as the substantive supervisor, developed the scenario of the new Museum and Memorial and carried out archaeological research on the site of the camp. The Museum also conducts research and educational work in the area of knowledge and remembrance of the former camp; for many years it has been educating, recounting and commemorating the difficult period of World War II as part of the Memorial Route and its branches: Pomorska Street, Pod Orłem Pharmacy and Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory.
The next stage, following the adoption of city council resolution on the creation of the Memorial and Museum, will be the signing of an agreement between the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and the Municipality of Krakow on co-managing the new cultural institution. The new institution is to start operating on 1 January 2021. The estimated time necessary to complete the works on the creation of the Memorial and Museum, including the permanent exhibition, is approximately five years.
All pictures in the article: Tom Rollauer / krakow.pl