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Forced Labor in the Kraków District
Much of the forced labor in the Kraków District occurred at Nazi-run concentration camps. Labor was generally coordinated by the Judenrat (Jewish Council). This included separating Jews by able-bodiedness for forced labor and handling any social issues that arose. It was not uncommon for laborers to be sent from labor camps to Nazi extermination camps, particularly to nearby Auschwitz-Birkenau or Bełżec. By 1942, about 37,000 Jews remained in the Kraków District; all of which were confined in either the remaining ghettos, or major labor camps such as Płaszów, Biesiadka, and Pustków, according to the Korherr Report.

The Kraków Ghetto was divided in early December of 1942 into Ghetto "A" and Ghetto "B", the former being for laborers, and the latter being for others. This step was a direct preparation for the eventual liquidation of the ghetto. Aktion Krakau, or Operation Reinhard, led by Amon Göth, carried out the final liquidation in mid-March of 1943. Forced labor varied in purpose, but was typically civil, industrial, or agricultural in nature. Many Jews were enslaved in factories or on construction projects, generally under horrible conditions and provided with meager rations.

Two German companies notably utilized Jewish forced labor, Organisation Todt (OT) and Kirchhof, both of which were known to provide inadequate food supplies and wages. Kirchhof had a reputation for mistreating Jewish laborers. The labor performed for both companies often included paving roads, building tunnels, quarrying stone, unloading freight, constructing roads, removing tombstones from Jewish cemeteries, and leveling said cemeteries to create paved public spaces. "'The greatest tragedy of the Polish state, was the impossibility of providing its own citizens with protection against the occupiers’ terror. Poland was helpless against the construction of a network of concentration camps within the territory occupied by the Germans. It was not capable of preventing the citizens of the Republic of Poland – Jews and Poles alike – from a slave-like ordeal in the German death factories and Soviet labor camps.'"

Płaszów Concentration Camp
The Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp, the second largest camp in the Kraków District, after Auschwitz, was originally constructed as an extension of the Kraków Ghetto, located about five kilometers southeast of the city center. Wilhelm Kunde, a commander of the SS guard detail, was the overall manager of the Aktion process to liquidate the Kraków Ghetto, and eventually become one of two commandants of the Płaszów camp. Approximately 10,000 Jews were sent to Płaszów immediately after the liquidation of the ghetto.

The Jewish management and police kept their significance and hierarchy within the camp, maintaining ghetto systems and power structures. Guards in Płaszów frequently beat the Jews. Along with laborers being transferred from the ghetto to the camp, many other logistical transfers took place, such as moving machines, raw materials, and equipment for workshops.

In both Płaszów and Mielec, the letters KL (German: Konzentrationslager—concentration camp) were tattooed on the hands of Jews.

Biesiadka Labor Camp
The Biesiadka labor camp was located about 150 kilometers east of Kraków, not far from Mielec. Not incredibly urban in nature, it has been noted that the majority of the laborers, many from Rzeszów and Jawornik, engaged in more agriculture-based labor, such as cutting down trees.

Jews and Poles were separated from each other in Biesiadka. Upon arrival, they cut beech trees for the German Fischer company and assisted the Müeller company, which was responsible for transporting the trees to Mielec via truck. . Similar to many other camps, laborers are Biesiadka received modest meals before and after their work and were treated as prisoners under the supervision of guards. The commander of the camp, Kolis, was known to shoot individual laborers with little warning.

Pustków Concentration Camp
In April and May of 1940, the Waffen-SS established a military training camp in Pustków utilizing Jewish labor. Jews and Poles were enslaved and exploited as forced laborers until 1944 in this camp and many smaller labor camps that were established in its proximity. The Judenrat was required to provide blankets and food for the inmates, and this helped many to survive. Jews in the Pustków camp originated from both small and large towns and villages in Poland, notably Dębica, Brzesko, Brozstek, Kolbuszowa, Ropczyce, and Wieliczka. Some of those sent to Pustków were then then transferred to Auschwitz. While not common, some forced laborers were able to return to Dębica from Pustków, enabled by bribes to the Judenrat.

The members of the Judenrat allegedly tried to spare as many Jews as possible from forced labor efforts. Small workshops and factories were established to employ several Jews, which consequently left them exempt from labor conscription. The amount of young, capable, Jewish men who were captured by Germans and sent to Pustków or neighboring Dulcza Mała continued to increase in 1940 despite these efforts.

During March of 1942, similar to the fate of other Jewish communities in the Kraków District, all Jews were completely expelled from Mielec. About 750 people were sent to Pustków, and about 500 were murdered in and around the town. In addition, another 3,000 were deported to the Lublin area. In some cases, like the town of Błażowa, several Jews had connections to "fake jobs" that exempt them from being sent to Pustków during the spring of 1942. Some of those sent to the camp, however, were murdered or died from harsh conditions along the way.