About the Museum
The KL Plaszow Memorial Museum in Kraków, which is dedicated to the remembrance of the victims of the Plazow German Nazi Labour Camp and Concentration Camp (1942–1945), started its operations on 1st January 2021 in line with a resolution adopted by the Kraków City Council. It is managed by the Kraków Museum.
The KL Plaszow Museum is established to preserve and manage the area of the former German Nazi concentration camp in Plaszow, operated in 1942–1945. According to estimates, about 35 thousand prisoners were detained in the camp: Jews, Poles and other nationals. 5–6 thousand people were killed in the camp.
The Museum performs research and educational tasks aimed to commemorate the history of KL Plaszow and its victims. The institution manages the former camp area entered in the list of protected heritage monuments, and an historical building known as the Grey House. A plot of land adjacent to the former camp area is designated for the Memorial construction. Both the Grey House and the Memorial will host permanent exhibitions illustrating the history of the camp.
The opening of permanent exhibitions arranged by the KL Plaszow Museum is scheduled for late 2025.
The KL Plaszow Museum is established to preserve and manage the area of the former German Nazi concentration camp in Plaszow, operated in 1942–1945. According to estimates, about 35 thousand prisoners were detained in the camp: Jews, Poles and other nationals. 5–6 thousand people were killed in the camp.
The Museum performs research and educational tasks aimed to commemorate the history of KL Plaszow and its victims. The institution manages the former camp area entered in the list of protected heritage monuments, and an historical building known as the Grey House. A plot of land adjacent to the former camp area is designated for the Memorial construction. Both the Grey House and the Memorial will host permanent exhibitions illustrating the history of the camp.
The opening of permanent exhibitions arranged by the KL Plaszow Museum is scheduled for late 2025.
Investments
The investment task named “Museum – KL Plaszow Memorial Site” is financed from funds provided by the Municipality of Kraków and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
The Museum project carried out in the memorial site aims to commemorate the prisoners and victims of KL Plaszow, give an account of their lives, and preserve the post-camp area. Establishing an institutional manager, organizing the area, constructing an exhibition building – the Memorial – all these goals are dictated by the need to broaden knowledge of the German Nazi concentration and forced labour camp operated in Kraków during World War II.
The Museum – KL Plaszow Memorial Site will consist of the post-camp area, the Grey House, the KL Plaszow Memorial and the Audio Monument of KL Plaszow. Additionally, sightseeing trails will be arranged in the former camp area and two permanent exhibitions displayed: in a new building (the Memorial) and in the historic Grey House. Currently, construction works are being carried out in the Grey House to complete moisture-control insulation of its foundation and repair the existing perimeter drainage system. Building, conservatory and archaeological supervisory authorities monitor the works.
The Museum – KL Plaszow Memorial Site will consist of the post-camp area, the Grey House, the KL Plaszow Memorial and the Audio Monument of KL Plaszow. Additionally, sightseeing trails will be arranged in the former camp area and two permanent exhibitions displayed: in a new building (the Memorial) and in the historic Grey House. Currently, construction works are being carried out in the Grey House to complete moisture-control insulation of its foundation and repair the existing perimeter drainage system. Building, conservatory and archaeological supervisory authorities monitor the works.
Visualisations: designs of the KL Plaszow Museum
The Museum – KL Plaszow Memorial Site in Krakow. The German Nazi Labour and Concentration Camp (1942–1945) (in organization) has completed work on selected detailed and building designs created as part of the investment task “Museum – KL Plaszow Memorial Site”. The designs present the Grey House, the area of former KL Plaszow and the Memorial. The investment task named “Museum – KL Plaszow Memorial Site” is financed from funds provided by Municipality of Kraków and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
The building design created by Grupa Projektowa GPP Sp. z o.o. was used to complete detailed designs for the Memorial (author: BBC Best Building Consultants sp. z o.o.) and the area of former KL Plaszow (author: Grupa Projektowa GPP Sp. z o.o. Borysław Czarakcziew and Sławomir Kogut). A building design was also created for the Grey House (author: Biuro Projektów Piotr Wolarek).
Visualisations of these designs will be displayed on 25 January 2023 in the Podgórze Museum at 17:00 during a meeting open to all interested visitors. Boards featuring the visualisations can be viewed until the end of February 2023 in the yard of Podgórze Museum (during its opening hours). The visualisations are also displayed on the website of KL Plaszow Museum at www.plaszow.org/budowamuzeum. The visualisations of designs were also presented to the media at a press conference.
More information at: https://plaszow.org/en/new/visualisations-designs-of-the-kl-plaszow-museum.
The building design created by Grupa Projektowa GPP Sp. z o.o. was used to complete detailed designs for the Memorial (author: BBC Best Building Consultants sp. z o.o.) and the area of former KL Plaszow (author: Grupa Projektowa GPP Sp. z o.o. Borysław Czarakcziew and Sławomir Kogut). A building design was also created for the Grey House (author: Biuro Projektów Piotr Wolarek).
Visualisations of these designs will be displayed on 25 January 2023 in the Podgórze Museum at 17:00 during a meeting open to all interested visitors. Boards featuring the visualisations can be viewed until the end of February 2023 in the yard of Podgórze Museum (during its opening hours). The visualisations are also displayed on the website of KL Plaszow Museum at www.plaszow.org/budowamuzeum. The visualisations of designs were also presented to the media at a press conference.
More information at: https://plaszow.org/en/new/visualisations-designs-of-the-kl-plaszow-museum.
The Grey House
Building design created by:
Biuro Projektów Piotr Wolarek
12 Świętokrzyska street, Kraków
Representative: Piotr Wolarek
In December 2022, construction works were completed on the Grey House foundations, a historic building located in the area of former German Nazi concentration camp Plaszow.
- About the KL Plaszow Museum
The establishment of the KL Plaszow Museum is a project supported by Kraków City and the government of Poland. The Museum preserves the memory of thousands of victims persecuted and killed in the former German Nazi camp KL Plaszow. Establishing an institutional manager, organizing the area, constructing an exhibition building − the Memorial − all these goals come from the need to respectfully commemorate the tragic history of this site and broaden knowledge of the German Nazi concentration and forced labour camp operated in Kraków during World War II.
The establishment of the Museum and the KL Plaszow Memorial Site in Kraków to remember the German Nazi Labour and Concentration Camp (1942–1945) (in progress) provides a response to appeals to commemorate the victims of KL Plaszow, expressed for many years. The Museum began its operations on 1 January 2021. It is co-managed by the Kraków Municipality and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. - How will the former German Nazi camp KL Plaszow be commemorated?
The KL Plaszow Museum was assigned to implement a project aimed to preserve the former camp area and describe and illustrate the fates of the prisoners and victims of the camp. This goal will be achieved by arranging sightseeing trails in the former camp area and two permanent exhibitions: in a new building (the Memorial) and in the historicalGrey House.
The Memorial building will be constructed outside the post-camp area, but on an adjacent plot of land in Kamieńskiego Street. The building will host a permanent exhibition and contain the infrastructure necessary to operate the Memorial site (a car park, information stand, ticket office, toilets). The project also includes the renovation and adaptation for exhibition purposes of the historical building preserved in the former camp area known as the Grey House that contained camp administration rooms and a prison at the time of the camp’s operation. - Where will the Memorial be constructed?
The Memorial will stand on a plot of land located on Kamieńskiego/Swoszowicka Streets, adjacent to the historical area of KL Plaszow.
- Will the site be concreted over as part of the Memorial construction?
No, the former area of KL Plaszow will remain open, unfenced and green. Modifications to natural features during the Memorial construction (planned outside the former camp area) will be limited to the minimum necessary. The Memorial and car park are designed to control growing pedestrian and coach traffic around the post-camp area.
- Will the post-camp area be fenced?
No, it will not be fenced, and no admission tickets will be required. Direct modifications to the post-camp area will be limited to a minimum. Only maintenance tasks and necessary interventions are planned.
- Is it true that the Museum − Memorial site operation will generate heavy tourist traffic in the area?
The Memorial and functional amenities intended for visitors will be used to manage and control the chaotic tourist traffic that presently poses a nuisance to people who live around the former camp KL Plaszow. Coaches will be directed to a dedicated car park and prevented from obstructing traffic in and around Jerozolimska Street. Tourist traffic management is necessary, considering that the number of visitors to the former German Nazi camp KL Plaszow is growing year by year. This increase in traffic was inhibited by the restrictions imposed to contain the pandemic, but now it is intensifying again.
- Is the area of former German Nazi concentration camp KL Plaszow classified as a park?
The former camp area, occupying 0.37 sq. km, is not a park; neither by a legal nor by a common-sense definition. The area is entered in the list of protected heritage monuments. It is also registered as a war cemetery. The site contains two Jewish cemeteries and three mass graves and execution places. We refer to the area bounded by Jerozolimska, Lecha, Pańska and Swoszowicka Streets using only the name that reflects its past: ‘the area of former KL Plaszow camp’.
Map of investment
