Jewish Krakow

The article highlights the significance and role of the Jewish administration (including members of the Judenrat), Jewish police officers (and later functionaries in the German Płaszów camp), and Gestapo informers within the power structures inside the Kraków Ghetto and beyond its borders. They were a significant element of the “Jewish” social environment and constituted a “new elite” with appropriate connections within Polish and Jewish circles, as well as opportunities to establish contact with prominent and influential German officials. Internal dynamics and adaptation to the new realities of the Holocaust meant that their activities were usually assessed from the perspective of people collaborating with the occupiers. This resulted not only from their attitudes but also from the specific nature of the activities of the Judenrat and the Jewish police.

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