Kraków pogrom

Background

Around 68,000–80,000 Jews lived in Kraków before the September 1939 German invasion of Poland. Because of the Holocaust and further migration following the arrival of the Soviet Red Army only 2,000 prewar inhabitants of the city were still present after January 1945. Many Jewish refugees returned to Kraków from the Soviet Union, including those who came from the neighbouring villages and towns.

By May 1945, the number of Jews in the city reached 6,637. The return of the Jewish population was not always welcomed, especially by the anti-Semitic elements in the populace. The safety of the Jewish community in Kraków was becoming a very serious problem according to the Soviet-installed starosta in the city, even though "no serious antisemitic events were recorded in the rural and small-town regions." In his report for 1–10 August, the Kraków city administrator (starosta grodzki) noted the "insufficient supply of food." In June 1945, the new communist voivode of Kraków described growing tensions in his report in the following way:

In regard to the attitudes of the Polish population towards the Jews, the remnants of Nazi influences acquired during the occupation still linger... Robberies combined with murdering Jews occur: the motives and the perpetrators are usually not found. Nevertheless, their anti-Semitic background is apparent...In the previous month there were no serious anti-Jewish events in the voivodeship, yet there is no evidence that society's attitude towards the Jews has changed ... An utterly insignificant event, or the most improbable rumour can trigger serious riots. The populace's attitude towards the Jews is a serious problem requiring a constant vigilance on the side of the authorities, and proper interaction with lower level offices.

Unrest

On June 27, 1945, a Jewish woman was brought to a local Milicja Obywatelska police station falsely accused of attempting to abduct a child. Despite the fact that the investigation revealed that the mother had left her child in the care of the suspect, rumours started to spread that a Jewish woman abducted a child in order to kill it. A mob shouting anti-Jewish slogans gathered at Kleparski square, but a Milicja detachment brought the situation under control. Blood libel rumours continued to spread. False claims that thirteen corpses of Christian children had been discovered were disseminated. By 11 August, the number of rumoured "victims" had grown to eighty. Groups of hooligans who gathered at Kleparski Square had been throwing stones at the Kupa Synagogue on a weekly basis. On 11 August an attempt to seize a thirteen-year-old boy who was throwing stones at the synagogue was made, but he managed to escape and rushed to the nearby marketplace screaming "Help me, the Jews have tried to kill me". Instantly the crowd broke in into the Kupa synagogue and started beating Jews, who had been praying at the Saturday morning Sabbath service; and the Torah scrolls were burned. The Jewish hostel was also attacked. Jewish men, women and children, were beaten up on the streets; their homes were broken into and robbed. Some Jews wounded during the pogrom were hospitalized and later were beaten in the hospitals again. One of the pogrom victims witnessed:

I was carried to the second precinct of the militia where they called for an ambulance. There were five more people over there, including badly wounded Polish woman. In the ambulance I heard the comments of the escorting soldier and the nurse who spoke about us as Jewish crust whom they have to save, and that they shouldn't be doing this because we murdered children, that all of us should be shot. We were taken to the hospital of St. Lazarus at Kopernika Street. I was first taken to the operating room. After the operation a soldier appeared who said that he will take everybody to jail after the operation. He beat up one of the wounded Jews waiting for an operation. He held us under cocked gun and did not allow us to take a drink of water. A moment later two railroadmen appeared and one said, "It's a scandal that a Pole does not have the civil courage to hit a defenceless person", and he hit a wounded Jew. One of the hospital inmates hit me with a crutch. Women, including nurses, stood behind the doors threatening us that they were only waiting for the operation to be over in order to rip us apart

During the pogrom some Poles, mistaken for Jews, were also attacked. The centre of these events was Miodowa, Starowislna, Przemyska, and Jozefa Streets in the Kazimierz quarter. The riots were most intense between 11am and 1pm, calming down around 2pm, only to regain strength in the late afternoon when the Kupa synagogue was set on fire. Polish policemen and soldiers actively participated in these events. Among twenty-five of those accused of inciting racial hatred, robberies, and violence against Jews, twelve were officers.

Casualties

There is one record of a death relating to Kraków events in the archives of the Forensic Medicine Department in Kraków. The victim was 56-year-old Auschwitz survivor Róża Berger, shot while standing behind closed doors.

Polish historian Anna Cichopek stated in her university master's degree thesis later published as a book that all historical sources confirmed this one death. However, she also noted that in an archival photo of a funeral there were five coffins visible, thus suggesting that there might have been five fatalities; she also claimed in her book that The New York Times in 1946 had noted a death of a man (Anszel Zucker), and Polska Agencja Prasowa noted a death of another unknown woman (in addition to Róża Berger) and five wounded.

Polish historian, Julian Kwiek, who has published existing Polish documents regarding the Kraków event stated that he is not familiar with the documents quoted by Cichopek from outside the scientific literature. He stated that one death is confirmed in all historical sources, therefore it is questionable whether this event truly falls under the definition of a pogrom, even though most other sources refer to the event as such.

Another historian, Dariusz Libionka from the Center for Holocaust Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, suggested that the photos showing the coffins were taken in the Spring (April 24, 1946) of the following year and came from the Kraków funeral of five Jews shot on April 21, 1946 by partisans of Józef Kuraś "Ogień" near Nowy Targ. In many cases – Libionka suggested – it would have been more appropriate if Anna Cichopek relied on existing studies rather than on archival material. He stated, that Polska Agencja Prasowa noted one dead person and five wounded. Libionka questioned the source of information regarding Anszel Zucker's death. According to him it should have been concluded that the Kraków pogrom resulted in one dead and five wounded victims.