The German Nazi labour camp and concentration camp KL Plaszow in Krakow is facing major changes. The detailed and construction projects for the investment task “Museum – Memorial KL Plaszow” are ready. The projects concern the Grey House, the grounds of the former KL Plaszow and the Memorial. The investment task is funded by the Municipality of Krakow and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage
The site of the former German Nazi camp in Plaszow, entered in the register of monuments, covers an area of 37 ha. It contains two Jewish cemeteries and mass execution sites. The entire area has been declared a war cemetery. The vast post-camp area, which is accessible to all, is now partly wooded and overgrown with bushes and partly maintained as meadows
Visualisation of the project to mark the boundaries of the Jewish cemeteries and to authenticate the roll-call square. Construction and detailed design of the site of the former Plaszow Concentration Camp: GPP Grupa Projektowa sp. z o.o. Visualisation: MKB CONSTRUCTION sp. z o.o.
Before the war, the Grey House served as the administrative building of the Jewish Community cemetery in Kraków. During the operation of the Plaszow Concentration Camp, it housed the offices of the camp’s management board and the detention centre in the basement. After the war, flats were arranged in the building. Thanks to an agreement between the city of Krakow and the Jewish Religious Community in Krakow, the Grey House was incorporated into the grounds of the Plaszow Concentration Camp Museum. After the necessary renovation and adaptation to the museum’s needs, a permanent exhibition will be created on the ground floor and in the basement, while the first floor will house educational facilities, a public media room and a contemplation area. The scenario for the exhibition at the Grey House envisages that it will be a place where the voice will be given first and foremost to the witnesses. Through their statements about their experiences of being in the camp, visitors will become acquainted with the emotional, personal side of the history of the Płaszów camp
The Grey House after reconstruction. Visualisation, construction design and detailed design: Design Office Piotr Wolarek
The newly constructed Memorial building, located just outside the former camp area, will house the historical exhibition. The Memorial was designed as the main museum building. The architects took advantage of the natural terrain and designed a building blended into the slope, hidden underground, with only the front elevation visible. The building will be connected to the site by a tunnel passing under Swoszowicka Street. Work to secure the Grey House has already begun in 2022. This year, the construction of the Memorial and the development of the area around it are planned to begin. The Plaszow KL Museum is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025
The Museum was established to take care of the site of the former German Nazi concentration camp Plaszow, which operated between 1942 and 1945. It is estimated that some 35,000 prisoners passed through it: Jews, Poles and people of other nationalities. 5-6 thousand people were murdered in the camp
Source: plaszow.pl
Read also: Architecture | Metamorphosis | Museum | Monument | History | Krakow
