The people of Krakow in times of terror 1939-1945-1956

By: Filippa Kajrup

In Poland there is a museum called Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Krakowa. There are several different exhibitions. During the World War 2, Gestapo's headquarters was located in Krakow, at Pomorska street. Today it is a place for national memories and also the most important point in the exhibition we went to:  The People of Krakow In Times of Terror 1939-1945-1956. This exhibition told us about the interesting, but also the very terrible history of the city. Where the Polish people fought for freedom and justice.

The exhibition was divided into 3 different parts. The first part presented the activities of the association, the history of the museum, and what meaning it had during World War 2. The second part was about how it really was in the city 1939-1945, and the third part was devoted to the period 1945-1956 and showed the different attitudes the population had towards Polish society.

The minute I walked in, I got an emotional feeling in my body, because these events are so terrible and tragic, and I will never understand what happened or why it happened. No matter what explanations I will get.

The inhuman world back then was presented to visitors with the help of people like Gestapo and Security Department. The exhibition was also filled with stories from ordinary people, citizens of Krakow, who lived in the city during this awful occurrence. During the exhibition, you were able to see documentaries how it was during that time, see documents and family photographs that allowed you to form an image of being a citizen in the city. And you could also listen to recordings from the witnesses, where they talk about how it was during these awful years. 

The whole exhibition was very interesting. You could follow date by date what happened just here in Krakow. At the beginning of the exhibition you got a background how everything started, why everything happened. You could see how the people lived before the war began, and also get more information about the similarities between the two totalitarian systems: the Nazi and Communist. You could read about their thoughts and ideas about how everything should happen. 

But the second part of the exhibition was the one that affected the psyche in a completely different way. Here you could read about so many awful things that happened during World War 2.  How, in the beginning, all Jews had to move to another area where only Jews could stay in. Where you could see people paint spray paint, the star of David was hanging from a rope that would symbolize Jews to die or swastika on doors to show who was in charge - the Nazis. Also, we got to know everything about how the victims were commuted to the concentration camps, and read about how badly they were treated. At the exhibition you could also see more photographs of people wearing blue-white pyjamas, the clothes they had when they were in the concentration camps

This exhibition was very interesting, and very important for us to be reminded of what has actually happened. This war was the worst. A war no one will ever understand why it happened. You learned a lot, when you left the exhibition you were completely set. 

It matters a lot to experience history like this. It’s good for us to learn about this to prevent similar things to happen again. The People of Krakow In Times of Terror 1939-1945-1956 is an exhibition that I strongly recommend.