Krakow III (Schindler factory)

I definitely recommend The Schindler factory museum after visiting the city of Krakow. It is located a little outside the centre of the city but we got there without any problems as it's to easy to find. We took the tram to make the most of the time, there are different lines that drop you off near the museum: line 13 with stop 'Limanowskiego' or line 3 with stop 'Bohaterów Getta'. The tram costs 3. 80 PLN you can get on it as many times as you want or do all of the changes possible in 40 minutes. From whichever stop you get off at you will always be guided by signs that point you in the right direction, and although you might think that you have missed it, keep going because the street seems to not be anywhere. You have to pass a type of tunnel and even through some places where there is neither a pavement nor a road, only land and grass.

The exhibition is permanently called 'Kraków under Nazi Occupation (1939-1945)'. In this museum, it tells you about the history of the German invasion in Poland from the start to the end (1939-1945). First, they tell you a little about the history of Poland, how it was, what they did... and slowly you become submerged in the history with decorations and sounds that make you a part of the story, so that you feel as much as possible, although obviously, it is impossible to imagine it completely. An anecdote in the museum highlighted the radical change of soils according to the historic moment in which you find yourself in, some moments there was stone others times there were tiles with the Nazi symbol. The museum was made up of three floors.

It also tells you about the history of the Schindler factory (the history that gives the museum its name). Another interesting fact that we know is that in 1993 Steven Spielberg travelled to Krakow to start filming the film 'Schindlers list', a story about a German that arrived in Poland and helped hundreds of Polish Jews making them work in his factory in exchange of food and accommodation, saving many lives. This film won 7 Oscars and the story became the most famous in the world thanks to the film.

Entrance cost us 16PLN, which is 4 euros by saying that we were students. In reality, they don't actually ask anyone for a student card so you can risk it and save some zlotys. The museum is definitely recommendable, as you go on you will find yourself confused with the coldness of the Germans. They also show you photos where the soldiers pose next to people who have been hung (I will tell you that this photo is very harrowing since it had a huge impact on me). Asides from this, you see the awful conditions that people lived in in the ghettos and lots of other things.

One of the inconveniences that I can think of is that the history is only explained in Polish and English and people that don't understand it in the slightest can miss details that are significant to understand the set. In all senses, I think that if you organise the visit in advance you can look for a guide that can go with you and explain all the history, but the museum indicates the date as you need to be a group. I don't know if there are companies joint to the museum that organise these types of visits.

If you need any more information you can look at their website:

http://www.mhk.pl

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