Krakow's Jewish Ghetto

One thing that becomes abundantly clear when you are on a WWII trip through eastern Europe is that the Germans were ruthless when they occupied a city. They really had no interest in anything but themselves and their agenda. When we got to our fourth occupied city, there is no way to avoid that conclusion. They sussed out the easiest part of the city to wall in, kicked out it's current inhabitants, and placed Jews there. What's the problem? The Kraków Ghetto was formally established on 3 March 1941 in the Podgórze district, not in the Jewish district of Kazimierz. Displaced Polish families from Podgórze took up residences in the former Jewish dwellings outside the newly established Ghetto. Meanwhile, 15,000 Jews were crammed into an area previously inhabited by 3,000 people who used to live in a district consisting of 30 streets, 320 residential buildings, and 3,167 rooms. As a result, one apartment was allocated to every four Jewish families, and many less fortunate lived on the street. The Ghetto was surrounded by walls that kept it separated from the rest of the city. Former occupants of the Podgórze neighborhood had to find another place to live. Probably without any of their valuables.