Krakow is around an hours drive from Auschwitz. It bore witness to the Holocaust after coming under occupation and being turned into the capital of the Government General (GG - part of the occupied Polish territory) ruled by the Nazi governor.

A few years of war were enough to make the whole world of Krakow Jews suffer total and irreversible destruction. According to Dr A Bibersein, out of 225,000 Jews living in Krakow before World War II, a mere 15,000 survived the Holocaust with the help of many Poles who kept them hidden under threat of death.

Unexpected help was also offered to a considerable number of Krakow Jews by Oskar Schindler, a German businessman. He helped to rescue approximately 700 Jews.

The story of their survival became the subject matter of a film made by Steven Spielberg. Schindler's List received a number of Academy Awards.