Through the Lands of Holocaust: February 2015

Poland was home to Europe's largest Jewish population (3.3 million) before war, but unfortunately also the epicentre of the Holocaust. It is estimated that 3,000,000 of the 3,300,000 Jews who lived within Poland’s pre-war borders perished in the Holocaust! In this blog, I will discuss the major sites and holocaust monuments associated with the Polish Jewry in the areas of Warsaw, Krakow, Plaszow, Lublin, Zamosc, Wlodawa, Lodz, Gdansk, Stutthof, Poznan. A special focus will be given to the six notorious extermination camps in Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek, Sobibor, Belzec and Chelmno. The memorial in Westerplatte where the Second World War began, will also be covered in the blog.

WARSAW

Remains of Warsaw Ghetto Walls. Pre-War Jewish Population (1939): 375,000. Post-War Jewish Population (1945): 10,000.

KRAKOW

Izaak Synagogue of Krakow (1644), Pre-War Jewish Population (1939): 68,482. Post-War Jewish Population (1945): 2,000.

PLASZOW

A rare front view of Amon Goeth's House, the infamous commandant of Plaszow Concentration Camp (Schindler's List). Plaszow held 25,000 inmates in 1944.

LUBLIN

Was once the Headquarters of Operation Reinhard-the place where deaths of 2 million people were planned. Pre-War Jewish Population (1939): 40,000. Post-War Jewish Population (1945):300.

LODZ

Radegast Train Station Memorial-close to 150,000 people were deported to Chelmno and Auschwitz from here. Pre-War Jewish Population (1939): 223,000. Post-War Jewish Population (1945): 850.

GDANSK

Frank Meisler's Kindertransport memorial commemorating the 10000 children who were rescued from Nazi territories to UK, 100 were from Gdansk. Pre-War Jewish Population (1939): 3,500. Post-War Jewish Population (1945): 22.

STUTTHOF

An estimated 65,000 people died in this concentration camp.

POZNAN

Jewish Cemetery in Głogowska 26a, Poznan with the grave of the famous Rabbi, Akiva Eger. Pre-War Jewish Population (1939): 3,000. Post-War Jewish Population (1945):Vanished.