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Kraków District (German: Distrikt Krakau, Polish: Dystrykt krakowski) was one of the original four administrative districts set up after the Nazi occupation of Poland during the years of 1939-1945. This district, along with the other three districts, formed the General Government. Kraków District was established on October 12, 1939 by Adolf Hitler, with the capital in occupied Kraków – the historic residence of Polish royalty. The Nazi Gauleiter Hans Frank became the Governor-General of the entire territory of General Government (German: Generalgouvernement). He made his residence in Kraków at the heavily guarded Wawel castle. Frank was the former legal counsel to the Nazi Party.

Administration
The Kraków District was divided up into 12 Kreise (counties). Each of these Kreise was ran by a district chief (German: Kreishauptmann). The 12 Kreise that made up the district included Debica, Jaroslau, Jaslo, Krakauland, Krosno, Miechow, Neumarkt, Neu- Sandez, Przemysl, Reichshof, Sanok, and Tarnow. The fifth district, Galicia, was incorporated into the General Government after the beginning of Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa.

The main administrative leader was the district governor. The first governor was SS Major General Otto Wächter, who would be succeeded in the following order: Richard Wendler, Dr. Ludwig Losacker, and finally Dr. Kurt von Burgsdorff. The first German SS and Police Leader (SSPF) was Hans Walter Zech, succeeded by SS Oberführer Julian Scherner, and finally by SS Sturmbannführer Will Haase. The SSPF oversaw various police agencies, such as the Security Police (German: Sicherheitspolizei) and the Order Police (Ordnungspolizei). The Order Police consisted of the Schutzpolizei (Schupo), which handled policing activities in larger cities, and Gendarmerie, which handled policing activities in smaller towns and rural areas. Lastly, the Jewish Police (Jüdischer Ordnungsdienst) oversaw the inner activities of the various ghettos set up throughout the district. Polish (Blue) Police and the Order Police were responsible for external patrolling of the ghettos. The Commander of Security Police and SD for District Kraków was SS-Lieutenant Colonel Max Grosskopf. The Jewish Police gained a reputation of being extremely brutal when it came to carrying out orders from the Germans.

Once the military gave control over to the German civil administration, various antisemitic laws were passed to strip Jews of their rights and began forced labor for those that were able. Jewish councils (Judenräte) were created by the civil administration to enforce Jewish-related policies that were signed into law. The members of these councils were responsible for the implementation of any orders given to them. The Jewish councils were responsible for organization of forced labor, the collection of taxes and contributions, registration, the enforcement of sanitary regulations, and the organization of welfare and medical services. The Jewish councils were accused to treating refugees horribly and corruption. Members of the councils often tried to bribe German officials into delaying an order. This did not work over the long term as Jewish funds began to dry up fairly quickly. The Jewish Social Self-Help (JSS) eventually took over control of welfare from the Jewish councils. Branches were set up in major Jewish populations throughout the district. The services they provided include setting up soup kitchens, distributed food and clothing that was given to them, and provided care for the elderly and children. Their efforts were not enough to fix all the issues facing the Jewish ghettos.

A little over two months after the invasion of Poland, the new Gestapo chief of Kraków SS-Obersturmbannführer Bruno Müller had launched his Sonderaktion Krakau, shutting down all universities and high schools, and arresting leading academics; eventually killing President of Kraków Dr. Stanisław Klimecki.

Ghettoization
The occupation of Kraków by Nazi Germany began in September 6,1939. Many Jews and civilians alike tried to flee when the German army came, but many were forced to return to the city.The Kraków ghetto was established on March 3, 1941, followed by a wave of further ghettoization in other towns throughout the district. German statistics estimated that there about 200,000 Jews within the district. This was likely a low estimate as it failed to take in to account the Jews that came from Germany after Poland was incorporated into the Reich. Kraków became the headquarters of Security Police(SIPO) and the SD intelligence agency for Operation Reinhard which marked the most deadly phase of the Final Solution. The majority of deportations of Jews came within a three-and-a-half month period from June 1 to mid-September 1942. All ghettos were liquidated by February 1944, with Jews either being sent to labor camps or to Bełżec extermination camp. Of the 60,000 Jews that were in Kraków before the war began, around 2,000 survived.

There was organized resistance within the Kraków ghetto. They participated in activities both inside and outside the ghetto. Many pre-war youth groups remained in contact and began to train with weapons, implemented assistance programs, and other various underground activities. The resistance conducted raids in which they killed Gestapo informants, stole uniforms that were produced in factories in the ghetto, and other activities. Outside the ghetto, they assassinated German officers and attacked checkpoints.