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WROCŁAW
September - December 2012
Gross-Rosen
Former Nazi
concentration camp
Karl Denke
Lower Silesia’s own
serial killer & cannibal
N°25 - 5zł
(w tym 8% VAT)
wroclaw.inyourpocket.com
ISSN 1642-2899
CONTENTS
3
Contents
Arrival & Transport
10
The Basics
14
Culture & Events
17
Hotels
22
Restaurants
32
Hidden on a hill of granite 65 miles southwest of Wrocław
lie the partial remains of one of the largest, most complex
and completely compassionless mechanisms of mass
slaughter ever created. Gross-Rosen was but one
seemingly small cog in an almost inconceivable system of
12,000 concentration camps extending over 17 occupied
countries outside the Reich; however, Gross-Rosen’s own
administration over a vast network of almost 100 regional
sub-camps is indicative of the sheer scale of the horror
that Hitler created literally from village to village, across an
entire continent. Today the site serves as a museum, and
a memorial to all those perished. We visit it on
page 6.
Cafes
50
Nightlife
Bars & Pubs
52
Clubs
57
History
60
Sightseeing
Essential Wrocław
62
Old Town
67
Ostrów Tumski
68
Centennial Hall & Parks
70
Jewish Warsaw
72
Gnomes
73
Festung Breslau
74
Further Afield
Silesian Churches of Peace
76
The Great Escape
79
The story of Karl Denke, known today as ‘the Cannibal
of Ziębice’, was actually lost for decades until Lucyna
Biały, an archivist at the University Library in Wrocław,
rediscovered it in 1999 while reading German newspapers
from the 1920s. Coincidentally, the republishing of the
shocking story also solved the mystery of a strange series
of photographs that Tadeusz Dobosz - today professor of
Forensic Medicine at the Medical Academy of Wrocław –
had found dumped in the trash at the Medical Academy
in the 1980s and rescued out of curiosity. Originally
belonging to the German Institute of Forensic Medicine
in Breslau, the photos turned out to be police slides
taken during the investigation of Denke’s apartment in
1924, including images of human remains, killing tools,
suspenders made of human skin and the only known
photo of Karl Denke – taken after his death and pictured
above. For the complete details of this grisly story turn to
page 24.
Leisure
80
Shopping
82
Directory
89
Maps & Index
City Centre Map
91
City Map
92
Country Map
94
Tram Map
95
Street Register
96
Listings Index
97
Features Index
98
wroclaw.inyourpocket.com
September - December 2012
FOREWORD
4
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It’s my great honour to introduce you to
Wrocław In Your
Pocket
and proudly point out that this is our landmark
25
th
issue
(please hold your applause until the end). If you’re reading
this guide for the first time, welcome aboard; it’s a shame you
didn’t join us sooner. We can sincerely say you missed one hell
of a summer, but more than that it’s been an incredible pleasure
and a privilege to witness Wrocław’s development over the last
8-plus years that we’ve been producing this guide. After all, we
remember when it seemed you couldn’t buy a green vegetable
anywhere in this town and eating ethnic food meant pickled
cabbage in a tortilla; when staying in a hostel meant bringing
your own sheets to sleep on a metal cot in an anti-social Soviet-
era dormitory run by a humourless granny who locked the
doors promptly at 23:00 and didn’t entertain English-language
appeals for late-arrivals. My how times have changed. Now
we’ve got ultra-hip vegan eateries (p.49) and juice bars (p.50)
popping up around the city centre, and finding a cheap bed
that not only isn’t comfortable, but doesn’t seem to come with
the prospect of trading your pillow for a cute girl is increasingly
difficult. Wrocław has come a long way in a short amount of
time and the evidence is everywhere, from the hundreds of
tourists snapping photos of gnomes (p.73) to the unveiling of
the Wrocław Fountain and recent renovation of Centennial Hall
(p.70). Surely you’ve already seen how phenomenal the train
station looks since its facelift (best station in PL, hands down,
p.12) and do we even need to mention the success of that little
football tournament earlier this summer?
No sooner is Euro 2012 over than Wrocław is gearing up for
its next star turn as 2016 European Capital of Culture. It’s
also difficult not to see the recent opening of the imposing
Sky Tower – the city’s tallest skyscraper (p.87) – as a symbol
of Wrocław’s determination to make a name for itself as a
dynamic city on the rise. Wrocław is exactly that, and you’ve
arrived at an excellent time. As the city has developed so
have we, and like every issue before it, the trusty tome you
hold in your hands represents our best guidebook to date.
Within these pages you’ll find the most honest, up-to-date
information on all the best and worst drinking holes, dance
parties and dining establishments in this densely-packed
city, plus all of the memorable things to see and do between
indulgences. Business as usual as far as we’re concerned,
and we go about it gladly. Let us know what you think about
the venues you visit by dropping some comments on our
website –
wroclaw.inyourpocket.com
– and feel free to
extend your glad tidings or air your grievances at
editor_poland@inyourpocket.com. Have a great time in
Wrocław. (You may now commence clapping.)
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GROSS-ROSEN
GROSS-ROSEN
6
7
What to See
Gross-Rosen Museum
ul. Ofiar Gross-Rosen 26,
Rogoźnica, tel. (+48) 669 18 87 79, www.gross-rosen.
eu.
In addition to the film, the camp consists of three per-
manent museum exhibits, as well as some small temporar y
exhibits. Like most former concentration camps, after its
evacuation Gross Rosen was largely destroyed by the Nazis
and today not much remains of the former camp buildings
aside from their foundations and a few faithful reconstruc-
tions. For visiting tourists, the main sights of the camp can
basi call y b e di vi d e d i n to fou r se c ti ons, wh i c h we d etail b el ow.
Located about 65 miles southwest of Wrocław, the small,
inauspicious German village of Gross-Rosen (today known as
Rogoźnice) became the site of one of the largest and most brutal
concentration camps in the Third Reich. Opened as a small
satellite of Sachsenhausen in 1940, Gross-Rosen became an
independent camp less than a year later and quickly grew into
the largest in Lower Silesia with almost 100 sub-camps around
the region. Known for its harsh conditions and high mortality
rate, by the time the camp was liberated by the Soviet Army in
early 1945 an estimated 125,000 inmates had been processed
through its gates, 40,000 of whom never made it out alive.
Today the former site of the camp serves as a memorial for
th ose vi c ti ms, as well as a pu bli c m useu m wi th several exh i bi ts,
an enlightening film and plenty of space for reflection.
3D scale model of the camp - and even original art made
by survivors, the exhibit is highly informative and upfront
without seeking sympathy . Don’t miss the shocking
stained glass windows in the first room, and bear in mind
that the only bathrooms in the camp are in this building
(both upstairs and down); they will seem really far away if
you need them later.
A Brief History
Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp came into being
on August 2nd, 1940 when a transport of prisoners
was sent to the SS-owned quarry on a hill above the
small German village of the same name (today known
as Polish Rogoźnice) and essentially forced to begin
building the camp themselves. Soon more and more
prisoners were being sent and by May 1st, 1941
Gross-Rosen had grown enough to gain the status of
a self-reliant concentration camp. Conditions in the
camp in its first two years were especially harsh with
12-hour work days spent excavating granite from the
quarry, insufficient food rations and violent abuse from
the SS officers and staff who were actually awarded
military decorations from Nazi command for inhumane
treatment of the prisoners and executions. While the
famous Nazi motto written above the camp’s gate
and divulged to the inmates was ‘Arbeit Macht Free’
(Work Makes You Free), the administration actually
phrased it a different way, operating the camp un-
der the acknowledged motto of ‘Vernichtung Durch
Arbeit’ (Extermination Through Work). At the camp’s
start prisoners were forbidden from receiving mailed
parcels, however the administration later reckoned
that changing the policy would allow them to continue
serving the same starving food rations. All packages
were inspected and any valuables were stolen, but
food was allowed; thus, in the Nazis’ view, people in
occupied countries became partly responsible for
feeding the inmates. Due to the deplorable conditions,
Gross-Rosen was regarded by the Nazis themselves
as among the worst of all the concentration camps.
The Quarry:
Gross-Rosen owes its existence and its location to the gran-
ite quarry located directly next to the camp. ‘Quarry means
death’ was the ominous phrase spoken by the camp’s
prisoners, who knew they wouldn’t last long if they were
assigned to work there. In the first two years of the camp,
however, it was unavoidable. As the camp grew, inmates
would quarry stone 12 hours a day on starvation rations
while being terrorised by SS officers only to build prison
barracks in the evenings. The camp’s own doctor, who went
on to work in other camps later in the war, described the
living conditions he saw at Gross-Rosen as worse than at
other camp for the simple fact that all of the prisoners were
employed in the quarry. The mortality rate was extremely
high and the average lifespan of a quarry worker at Gross-
Rosen was not more than 5 weeks. Make a right from in
front of the Prisoners’ Camp Gate and walk up a small hill
to see and reflect on this rather picturesque pit where so
many men were worked to their deaths.
The Former SS Camp and Canteen:
You’ll notice that Gross-Rosen today basically has two
gates - the main entrance gate from the road and the historic
entrance gate into the camp, beyond which prisoners were
confined. Originally, this large area between the gates - includ-
ing the present-day parking area and information point - was
occupied by the SS camp and administrative buildings of
G ros s - Rose n. O n th e l e f t si d e o f th e ca mp’s mai n roa d stood
the barracks for the SS officers, beyond which was the official
parade grounds and even a swimming pool for the officers.
Today the most important site for visitors, however, is the
former SS Canteen on the right side of the road.
This building likely owes its survival to the fact that it was
the most intact when the Red Army turned the site over to
Polish authorities. During the life of the camp, this build-
ing was basically a recreation centre for off-duty SS men,
including a mess hall, kitchen, store rooms and casino.
S ta n di n g a d ja c e n t to i t i n a si milar b uil di n g woul d h ave b e e n
the camp commandant’s office and headquarters. Today it
houses the Gross-Rosen Museum’s main exhibition - “KL
Gross-Rosen 1941-1945” - and screening rooms for the
film. All of the displays are in Polish, however they have been
thoroughly reproduced in English in a rather hefty booklet
that you should request from the museum attendant upon
entering. Giving a detailed history of the camp’s creation,
development and the cruel realities of everyday life there,
the exhibition covers everything from escape attempts to
the fates of the perpetrators. Including extensive first-hand
accounts, artefacts, plenty of maps - including a large
The Prisoners’ Camp Entrance Gate:
Gross-Rosen’s most iconic
building is the completely
restored prisoners’ camp
entrance gate with its in-
famous, obligatory and
insincere mantra Arbeit
Macht Frei (‘Work Makes
You Free’) emblazoned
above the granite archway,
beyond which there was
actually almost no chance
of freedom. Topped with
a watchtower, flanked by
two wooden guardhouses,
and surrounded with what
was once an electric fence, here you’ll find the museum’s
other two primary exhibits. In the guardhouse on the left
side is the permanent exhibit ‘Lost Humanity’ which gives
a general but succinct and enlightening overview of Europe
in the years 1919-1945, focussing on Hitler’s rise to power,
the growth of German fascism, the origin and development
of the concentration camp system - described as ‘Hitler’s
extermination apparatus’ - and the plight of Poland trapped
between two totalitarian regimes bent on expansion. In the
guardhouse on the right side is the exhibit ‘AL Riese - Satellite
Camps of the Former Concentration Camp Gross-Rosen,’
which details the sub-camps of Gross-Rosen located in the
Owl Mountains southwest of Wrocław along the modern-day
border of Poland and Czech Republic. Established in 1943
as the tide of WWII began to turn against the Third Reich,
the work camps of AL Riese were created to build what many
believe was to be a massive underground headquarters
for Hitler. The project was eventually abandoned, but not
b e fore over 194, 232 sq uare m etres o f se cret pas sa geways
were dug into the mountains by prisoners, some 3,648 of
whom died during the work. While the exhibit does much to
explain why sub-camp Riese had such a high death rate, it
rather disappointingly doesn’t indulge in speculation about
Hitler’s plans for the project, which remains one of WWII’s
greatest mysteri es. Displays i n b oth guard h ouse exh i bi ts are
presented in English, Polish, French, German and Russian.
While names like Auschwitz and Dachau have been burned
into the collective consciousness, lesser known but no less
significant camps like Gross-Rosen serve to remind us of
just how extensive, efficient and horrifying Hitler’s concentra-
tion camp system was. Those who take on the challenge of
travelling to Gross-Rosen can expect to leave not only with
an understanding of the history of the site and the tragedy of
the Holocaust, but also with a reaffirmed respect for human
life and the human spirit; the same respect for life that the
Nazi regime’s failure to possess plunged the people of Europe
into the worst hell imaginable only two generations ago.
An increasing emphasis on using prison labour in
armaments production lead to the large expansion of
Gross-Rosen in 1944, when it became the administra-
tive hub of a vast network of at least 97 sub-camps
all across Lower Silesia and the surrounding region.
While several hundred Jews had been prisoners
of the camp between 1940 and 1943, most of its
population were Polish and Soviet POWs. However
as camps further east began to be evacuated, a
vast influx of Jews began to arrive in Gross-Rosen,
including prisoners from Auschwitz for whom a whole
new annex of the camp was built specifically in the
fall of 1944. [Readers familiar with the story of Oskar
Schindler may know that some of his Jewish workers
were sent to Gross-Rosen on their way to Brünnlitz,
which was itself a sub-camp of Gross-Rosen located
in Czech Republic.] Between October 1943 and Janu-
ary of 1945 as many as 60,000 Jews were deported
to Gross-Rosen, mostly from Poland and Hungary.
Gross-Rosen also had one of the highest populations
of female prisoners in the entire concentration camp
system at this time.
Visiting the Museum
A visit to Gross-Rosen begins by visiting the parking
attendant just inside the entrance gate, whose small
kiosk also serves as the camp’s information desk. If you
came by car you’ll have to pay 3zł for parking, which is
essentially the camp’s admission price if you aren’t going
on a guided tour or interested in seeing the film. Admis-
sion to the camp is officially free, but there’s really no
reason not to pay the nominal fee of 3/5zł to see the quite
excellent film; it’s offered in 30 or 60 minute versions
and can be viewed in the former SS Canteen building in
almost any language you want, whenever you’re ready.
At this window you can also pick up some valuable info,
maps and guidebooks to the camp in English.
Visiting the camp takes a minimum of 2 hours, but can take
up to 4 hours if you’re as thorough as we were. With travel
ti m e i t is basi call y a full day’s ou ti n g from Wro c ław. Be aware
that there is no food or drink available at the camp, with
the exception of a small Nescafe coffee vending machine
near the bathrooms on the ground floor of the former SS
Canteen. Though the machine does have a button labelled
‘tomato soup,’ we strongly recommend you pack a lunch
for your visit, rather than try your luck pressing that button.
One of the last camps to be evacuated, in early Febru-
ary 1945 the Germans forced some 40,000 prisoners,
half of whom were Jews, on brutal death marches to
the west which lasted days, and even weeks in some
cases. With no food or water, freezing conditions,
and an SS policy of shooting anyone who looked too
weak to continue, many of the former inmates did not
survive to freedom. Gross-Rosen was liberated by the
S ovi et Army on Fe b ruar y 13, 194 5. I t is esti mate d th at
125,000 prisoners went through the camp, 40,000
of whom perished.
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September - December 2012
GROSS-ROSEN
8
The Prisoners’ Camp:
Passing through the main gate visitors have the opportunity
to wander the grounds of the camp where informational
markers explain the buildings that once stood there and their
significance. Though mostly ruins and foundations, among
the objects that have been preserved are the basements of
the prisoners’ bathhouse, kitchen and one of the barracks,
the original camp bell, sections of the original camp fence,
the field crematorium, and the ‘death wall’ where mass ex-
ecutions were committed. Restoration work is ongoing and
som e barra cks h ave also b e en re c entl y re buil t to h ol d fu tu re
exhibits where some small temporary displays currently exist.
Getting There
I m m e diatel y to you r l e f t upon e n teri n g th e ca mp is th e roll call
square and camp gallows. It was here that prisoners were
forced to gather twice a day to be counted, a process which
often took hours in inclement weather. Show executions for
those that broke the rules were also commonplace. Escapes
attempts were frequent, but rarely successful and those that
were captured were executed and displayed on the square,
often dressed in clownish outfits with painted cheeks and
signboards hanging off their dead bodies proclaiming, ‘I’m
back with you again.’
The sites for Nazi concentration camps were often
dictated by existing infrastructure and the ease of
transporting prisoners there by rail (see: Auschwitz-
Birkenau). Gross-Rosen is a bit of an anomaly in
this regard, in that it is not easy to visit if you don’t
have a car. Located in
Rogożnica
, 65km west of
Wrocław on the road between Strzegom and Jawor,
if you do have access to a vehicle the journey takes
about an hour.
The most interesting and evocative objects are in the far right
corner of the camp, including a towering stone mausoleum
into which prisoners’ ashes from the pits surrounding the
nearby crematorium were placed in 1953. Close behind, a
large, rather symbolic dead tree stands above the execution
wall, arou n d wh i c h d oze ns o f p ersonal m on u m e n ts h ave b e e n
placed by the families of camp victims. On the other side of
the fence a wooden watchtower has been reconstructed on
what was actually an additional annex of the camp added in
the later stages of the war to house prisoners relocated after
the evacuation of Auschwitz. Unfortunately the territory of what
was known as the ‘Auschwitz Camp’ is currently off-limits to
tourists (which is a shame because the views from the tower
would be impressive).
Q
Open 08:00 - 18:00. From October
open 08:00 - 16:00. 30min film 3zł, 60min film 5zł. Foreign
la n gua ge gui d e d tou rs availa bl e i f arra n ge d i n a d va n c e: groups
of up to 15 people 70zł; groups up to 50 people 120zł.
By train:
There are a half dozen connections from
Wrocław to Rogoźnica throughout the day, but you’ll
notice that none of them are direct. Most make a
change in Legnica or Jaworzyna Śląska and the travel
time is anywhere between 1hr 20mins and 2hrs
45mins, with a total cost of 14-20zł depending on the
train. To check the exact times go to
rozklad-pkp.
pl
which has limited but effective English language
functionality.
Unfortunately getting to Rogoźnica train station is not
the end of the journey. Gross-Rosen Concentration
Camp is about another 3km from the train station
and with no buses the only way to get there is on
foot, or by flagging down a ride. The walk is not dif-
ficult, but it is slightly uphill the whole way and takes
about 30mins. Ironically, this is the same walk that
prisoners were forced to make, albeit under gunpoint
by SS m en wi th d ogs as th e G erman peasants o f th e
village spat and threw stones at them; those that fell
from exhaustion were often shot or beaten. Puts it
in perspective, no?
Getting to the camp on foot:
If you are standing
on the small, crumbling station platform facing the
tracks, head to your left, making another left when
you get to the road about 100m away. This road
takes you down a residential street into the village
of Rogoźnica leading to a church, around which
you’ll make another left and then a relatively quick
right onto ul. Ofiar Gross Rosen (Victims of Gross
Rosen Road). On this road you’ll pass the town’s
only two shops, which you might be wise to stop in
considering there will be no later opportunities to
purchase food or drink at the camp (bear in mind
that you’re in a village and these shops close early,
especially on weekends, if they are open at all). At
the fork in the road with the large cross, stay left
following the signs to ‘Muzeum Gross-Rosen.’ This
is basically the half-way point and the rest of the
way is a slight uphill grade straight to the gates of
the camp, which you can’t miss.
Wrocław
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