I was always interested in WWII, always. Iv been to 6 or 7 death camps in Poland and Europe. Two in Poland that dont have many remains left, but serve as open air museums still are Treblinkan near the Poland and Ukraine border, and Płazow, on the outskirts of Krakow.
Płazow only has a cross with barbed wire on it as the memorial, but you can sit in a cafe nearby and also see where Oscar Schindler's factory was located. (See the movie Schindler's List if you haven't already)
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| Cafe near Schindler's factory, Krakow |
Located in the remote forests of eastern Poland, Treblinka was one of the most notorious Nazi death camps during World War II.
Treblinka was established in 1941, initially as a labor camp. However, in 1942, under the framework of Operation Reinhard—the Nazi plan to exterminate Jews in occupied Poland—the site was expanded and converted into an extermination camp. Treblinka quickly became one of the deadliest facilities in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Between July 1942 and October 1943, it is estimated that around 870,000 people, mostly Jews deported from the Warsaw Ghetto and other parts of occupied Poland, were murdered there. Victims arrived by train, were told they were being resettled, and were quickly led to gas chambers disguised as showers. The killing process was ruthlessly efficient, designed to leave little trace of life or humanity.
In August 1943, a prisoner uprising broke out with inmates setting fire to buildings and attempting to escape. Though most were captured and executed, around 200 managed to survive, a rare act of resistance amid overwhelming brutality. After the revolt, the Nazis dismantled the camp, plowing over the land and planting trees to conceal the evidence.
Location
Treblinka is located about 80 kilometers northeast of Warsaw, near the small village of Treblinka in the Masovian region of Poland. Its secluded position in dense woodland was deliberately chosen by the Nazis to hide the atrocities.
The Treblinka Museum and Memorial stands on the site, divided into two parts: Treblinka I, the former labor camp, and Treblinka II, the extermination camp. Very little of the original camp remains - a central monument, erected in 1964, represents a shattered stone tower, surrounded by 17,000 stones of varying sizes, each representing destroyed Jewish communities. At the museum, visitors can learn about the camp’s history, see personal items left behind, and study photographs and documents that shed light on the victims’ stories.
How to Get There
From Warsaw, Treblinka can be reached in several ways. By train, travelers can take a route toward Małkinia station, which lies about 12 kilometers from the memorial. From Małkinia, taxis or local transport can take you to the site. Alternatively, guided tours often provide direct transport from Warsaw. By car, the journey takes around 1.5 to 2 hours, following the route through Wyszków and Ostrów Mazowiecka.
Just a short distance from Kraków’s historic city center lies the site of Płaszów, a former Nazi concentration camp that serves as a stark reminder of the Holocaust. Today, the area is a vast open field with few remnants of its terrible past, but its story is forever tied to the destruction of Kraków’s Jewish community and the remarkable actions of Oskar Schindler, whose story became world-famous through the film Schindler’s List.
History of Płaszów
The camp was established in 1942 on the grounds of two Jewish cemeteries in the district of Płaszów, south of Kraków. Initially it functioned as a forced labor camp, where Jews from the nearby Kraków Ghetto and surrounding towns were deported. Following the liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto in March 1943, thousands of men, women, and children were sent directly to Płaszów.
Conditions in the camp were brutal. Prisoners were subjected to starvation, forced labor in quarries and workshops, and arbitrary executions. The camp’s notorious commandant, Amon Göth, became infamous for his sadism; survivors recounted how he would shoot prisoners at random from the balcony of his villa overlooking the camp.
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| Płazow Death Camp Memorial |
By 1944, Płaszów had been converted into a formal concentration camp under the authority of the SS. Tens of thousands passed through its gates, with many sent on to extermination camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau. Death within Płaszów itself was constant, whether through execution, disease, or overwork.
Oskar Schindler and the Legacy of Rescue
Amidst this cruelty, the story of Oskar Schindler shines as an extraordinary act of humanity. Schindler was a German industrialist who ran an enamelware factory in Kraków, later expanding to an armaments factory. Using his connections and bribes, he employed Jewish workers from Płaszów, shielding them from deportation and certain death.
When the Nazis began shutting down Płaszów in 1944, Schindler arranged for his workforce—over 1,000 men, women, and children—to be transferred to his new factory in Brünnlitz, in what is now the Czech Republic. There, they survived the war. His “Schindlerjuden” became symbols of resilience, and his actions were later immortalized in Thomas Keneally’s novel Schindler’s Ark and Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film Schindler’s List. Many scenes of the film were shot in Kraków and around the remains of Płaszów, cementing the camp’s place in global memory.
The site of the former camp lies about 5 kilometers south of Kraków’s Old Town, accessible by tram, bus, or taxi. Unlike Auschwitz or Majdanek, Płaszów has no preserved barracks or gas chambers. After the war, most of the camp structures were dismantled, and the area returned to open land. Today, the site is a quiet, grassy expanse punctuated by memorials.
Among these are a giant stone monument dedicated to the victims, erected in the 1960s, and smaller plaques that mark mass grave sites. Visitors often describe the place as eerily empty, its silence carrying a weight equal to preserved camps. Standing here, one can imagine the vast roll-calls, the suffering of prisoners, and the horrors carried out under Göth’s command.
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