The Infamous Entrance to Auschwitz Death Camp

The Real Kraków Concentration Camp of Płaszów

I’ve spent a huge chunk of my adult life visiting memorial sites from both world wars and I reckon you need more than just a few lifetimes to take it all in, so I view all new information with enthusiasm.  I guess most people my age have seen the acclaimed movie Schindler’s List, but I do wonder if many like me watched in horror without absorbing some of the finer, less obvious details noted in the subtitles.

Imagine if you will, the revelation for me when realising mass murdering Nazi sociopath Commandant Amon Göth, excellently portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List, wasn’t actually in the infamous Auschwitz death camp (pictured above).

Instead I discovered he’s hunting humans from the balcony of his villa, taking potshots at the Jews he deemed deserving of immediate execution, at the lesser know ‘Płaszów Concentration Camp’ on the outskirts of Kraków and not far from Schindler’s factory (pictures below).

For those shaking heads in dismay at my lack of attention, I do apologise.  I was so engrossed in the amazing cinematography, the horrendous, conflicting polarisation of humanity, I paid little attention to subtitles – it’s a confession I can make about most movies I’ve watched with subs.  As an excuse, my knowledge on the Holocaust was very limited, and to be honest, still is.
It was actually on a visit to Auschwitz, when reading through information there, I first encountered the word Płaszów and discovered its association with the Holocaust.  So while in Kraków (where I was staying), I decided to investigate.  To my amazement, although Płaszów Concentration Camp was destroyed by retreating Nazis, there’s still substantial evidence of what happened there.  I also discovered it is a location used by Spielberg for much of the filming of Schindler’s List.

The Old Grey House which was situated in the centre of the operational Płaszów Camp, now stands at the current access point.  It had been sadistically used as a prison within the camp to hold prisoners who had failed to perform well, or for some who disobeyed orders.

Today it stands empty and dark, like a soulless reminder of the evils that happened within its walls, especially in the cellars where Jews were tortured, often beaten to death.  It had tiny windowless cells with only room to stand.  It’s currently at the planning stage of a mission to convert it into a museum for the Plaszow Memorial Museum.  Directly opposite is a development of apartments, which is also the location of the executed architect Diana Reiter, featured in Schindler’s List.

The Old Jewish Cemetery, Płaszów.  It was desecrated by Nazis, who forced Jews to remove the gravestones for the construction of a road to the concentration camp. The road features in the movie: Schindler’s List. Unlike the headstones robbed from this cemetery, the headstone road in the movie was actually recreated as part of a set. The movie set, or fake road is still viewable today, located at the opposite side of the camp quarry, where much of the filming took place and many remnants can still be seen.
I am told the actual headstone road was buried under the tarmac road, that runs past (behind) the Old Grey House today (I have not validated this).

For me this pile of rocks symbolise the hate and power Amon Göth held for and over Jews.  According to survivors, he used to regularly remind them of his power over their lives or deaths by announcing he was their God.  There are many accounts of his acts of evil brutality which included revenge murders against groups of prisoners for acts of disobedience or escapes.  He would often line up a work party, then according to his whim – have random people murdered in a variety of numerical orders.  He also owned Great Dane dogs which he trained to kill prisoners on command.  His narcissistic evil included being completely unpredictable.  Prisoners report being terrified of not knowing what kind of mood he was in, most would try to hide if they saw him approaching, eye contact was particularly dangerous.  If someone from a particular work party escaped, he would make an example by having several people murdered from the same work party, as a deterrent.  Göth had the mortuary destroyed using explosives during a party he was hosting for members of the SS, it was a display of power to entertain his guests.

In the movie Schindler’s List, there’s a scene featuring this bridge showing Jews carrying their remaining belongings. Almost everything they owned was left behind, having been abruptly forced from their homes in Krakow, Kazimierz (the Jewish quarter), then relocated in the ghetto – just across the Vistula River, in Podgórze. People who once lived quite comfortably suddenly found themselves lucky to be sharing a room with several families, otherwise they could be sleeping in the ghetto streets.

Spielberg deliberately shot the bridge scene in the opposite direction, because some of the modern buildings in the backdrop were not in keeping of the period.  So what you see in the movie are shots of people heading towards Kazimierz, instead of towards the ghetto in Podgorze.

There were two main bridges crossing the Vistula from Kazimierz to Podgórze, Krakus Bridge was destroyed in the latter days of WWII.  Both were used during the movement of Jews into the ghetto. I have heard anecdotal reports that the Krakus Bridge, was the most used of the two bridges for this forced relocation.

There are only two sections of the ghetto wall still in existence.  Most images on the internet feature the easiest to find section, located alongside the main road from Kraków centre which passes Ghetto Square, stay on that road about half a mile to the wall.  However, I decided to feature this section of wall because it runs to a cliff, if you look carefully you can see a metal ladder embedded into the cliff face.  I can visualise people using these metal steps to sneak in and out of the ghetto for supplies.  If you can’t see the ladder you can expand the image using a right click – view image, or on a Mac: Control Click – view image.  This will open up a full size image.  You should hopefully be able to see the ladder more easily then.

In Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter of Kraków, there are several locations used by Spielberg, during filming.

One of the most recognisable is what has become euphemistically known as Schindler’s Passage.  A small passage connecting the streets Beera Meiselsa to Józefa. Visitors may recognise it from the movie because it was the location of many significant scenes, not least is the young boy Adam, who risks his own life helping to hide Mrs Drezner and her daughter Danka, beneath the stairs.

Today it’s a nice place where you can visit small shops selling art, hire a bike or sit enjoying street food with soft drinks, tea, coffee or even a beer.

The fate for prisoners who became no longer useful to the Płaszów workforce, would mostly be murdered or sent to Auschwitz. Those who survived the journey to Birkenau, often arrived by train in cattle trucks to a ramp in the centre of the camp, to the right side there was a red brick road – mostly broken bricks today.

Prisoners underwent immediate fit for work selection which was based on their appearance and age. The majority of prisoners from Płaszów arrived in a poor state, most were sent immediately for murder in the gas chambers. Indeed the chances of any Jew surviving that first day was 20 out of 100.

Those who passed selection were usually worked to death or murdered. The lucky may find themselves walking along the red brick road to their barracks, very few survived what was about to become of them.

Overall survival at Auschwitz was near to impossible. From the general population, women with young kids were hastily murdered along with their children.  Anyone with a disability, the elderly, the infirm or lone children were all sent to their immediate deaths.

The day one survival chances could vary depending on workforce needs within the camp, some who may have usually been dispatched to the gas chambers could survive selection – provided there were sufficient slave labour requirements at the time of their arrival.

The Nazis were very systematic in approach to who live or who died.

This is the actual villa where Amon Göth lived at Plaszow Death Camp.  It was recently purchased by a local property developer and renovated.  It seems this is the right thing to do.

Never let the bad people have the final say.

Article and Photos by: David Glover Roberts
Published: 10 March 2025