Krzeslawice – Fort 49

In the 1870s, the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy built a number of defence forts around Krakow. One fort was Krzeslawice – fort 49 northeast of Krakow. The fort was a theatre of war during the battle of Krakow in November 1914 and during the interwar period the Polish army was housed in the fort. In connection with the German attack on Poland in September 1939, both Krakow and the fort were captured after a few days. Immediately, the Nazis began to imprison and murder educated Poles in a program called Ausserordentliche Befriedungsaktion. The ultimate goal was to eliminate all potential threat to German occupation. Between 11 November 1939, and 15 October 1941, the Nazis used the fort to execute poles in accordance with the Ausserordentliche Befriedungsaktion. Those killed came from the nearby prisons, Montelupich and Saint Michael Monastery in Krakow. In some cases, those sentenced to death were put in one of the fort’s cells waiting for the death sentence to be carried out. A total of 440 people were murdered and buried in mass graves. The age of the victims ranged from 15 to 70 years.