Learn about life in Krakow during World War II and the important role this factory played in saving the lives of some of the city’s Jewish community.
The Oskar Schindler Factory is a powerful museum dedicated to telling the story of the Jewish families living in Krakow during the Holocaust. The interactive museum features radio broadcasts of Nazi propaganda that set the chilling scene as you enter the museum. Imagine the terror felt by the workers of Oskar Schindler’s Factory as the Nazis entered Krakow. Excerpts from letters and diaries, rare photographs and miniature scenes of daily life during the war help you to understand the horrors of the Holocaust.
The Oskar Schindler Factory became a household name during the 1990s after Stephen Spielberg’s film, Schindler’s List, rose to the top of the box office in several countries. While owned by Oskar Schindler, the factory provided employment and protection for more than 1,200 Jews, saving them from concentration camps. The former enameled goods factory was converted into a museum in 2010 and focuses on Jewish life in Krakow during the Nazi occupation.
Follow the self-guided tour that leads you through the museum. Signs direct you to each exhibit that are arranged chronologically and thematically. Look through the windows of a hair salon or see the tiny rooms that families once lived in. Reconstructed scenes, photographs and audio interviews tell the story of factory workers and what it was like to work here.
Stop by Schindler’s office to see the desk that once housed his infamous list of names. Keep your eyes peeled for items recognisable from the Hollywood film as you explore the factory. Watch a collection of historical footage and a documentary about the war in the museum’s cinema.
The Oskar Schindler Factory is in Zablocle, an industrial area of Krakow just 3 kilometres (2 miles) from the city’s Old Town. It can be reached by bus or tram and free parking is available outside the museum. The museum is closed on the first Monday of each month. An admission fee applies.
