The "Intensive visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum" programme offers a comprehensive memorial journey which includes an all-day visit to the largest Nazi concentration camp located in Oświęcim, around 60 kilometres from Kraków. The tragic story of the Jewish community concludes with a visit to Kraków, a city whose history has been intertwined with theirs since the 13th century. The visit to the quarter of Kazimierz, once a hub of Jewish life and culture, is contrasted with a tour of the Podgórze district, site of the former wartime ghetto, where the Jews of Kraków were relocated in 1941.
Itinerery: Oswiecim - Krakow
Duration: 5 days
Afternoon: Arrival in Kraków or Katowice. Transfer to Oświęcim, about 60 kilometres from Kraków, where the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is located. Check-in at the accommodation.
City-sightseeing of Oświęcim which offers an introduction to the history and atmosphere of this place.
Evening: Dinner.
All day: Introduction to the topography of the memorial site as well as the historical development of the camp. An in-depth guided study tour consisting of two parts: a visit to the blocks at Auschwitz I – Stammlager, which includes the "death block", the execution wall, a gas chamber and a crematorium – the only ones to have been preserved, and a tour of Auschwitz II – Birkenau, the site of the extermination of the Jews: the prisoners’ barracks, the ruins of the gas chambers and the memorial to the victims.
A study tour of 8 hours.
Dinner in the evening
Morning: Participation in a workshop focusing on central aspects of the history of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. Selected archival documents, including daily orders, personnel files of SS members, as well as moving eyewitness testimonies, offer an authentic insight into the past.
Afternoon: Guided visit to Budy-Bór subcamp, 10-minutes from the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site. Established in April 1942, it served as a penal camp for female prisoners who were tasked with various demanding physical duties. In the evening of 5 October 1942, the German prisoner functionaries and SS guards massacred around 90 female prisoners, mostly French Jewish women.
Evening: Transfer to Kraków. Check-in at the accommodation. Dinner
Morning: A guided tour of the former Jewish quarter of Kazimierz leads through a history full of contrasts. As one of the best-preserved Jewish quarters in Europe, it offers visitors a chance to admire examples of pre-war Jewish architecture and historic synagogues, such as the "Remuh" synagogue with its historic cemetery from the 17th century.
Afternoon: The visit continues to the former ghetto area in the Podgórze district, where the Eagle Pharmacy is located / viewed from the outside /, which served as the heart of the Kraków ghetto during the Nazi occupation. This district was used as a filming location for scenes in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning film "Schindler’s List".
Visit to Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory to see a moving exhibition "Kraków during the occupation 1939-1945".
Evening: Dinner.
Optional: Dinner at the Jewish restaurant "Klezmer - Hois" with Jewish Klezmer music.
Morning: Guided exploration of the Kraków's historic Old Town. Impressive sights such as the Market Square, St. Mary's Church, the university, winding alleys, as well as the majestic Wawel Royal Castle with Wawel Cathedral convey the unique atmosphere of this city.
Afternoon: Return journey.
Services included in the price:
Price on request. Please complete the non-binding enquiry form below to receive your personalised offer.
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