Plashov Concentration Camp
Nothing remains of the concentration camp at Plashov. The land is now a memorial to the people lost, as a giant monument stands on the highest hill.

The Plashov camp was originally designed to be a work camp for the nearby cities. However, like many other Nazi camps, shortages of food existed, and many prisoners starved to death or were killed by the guards.

One of the amazing things about visiting Plashov was that many children use this land the way we would use parks and recreational facilities. Many kids were riding bikes on these hills and playing inside the gates of the memorial. The vast majority of the people in modern Poland are not Jewish, and they seem to not focus much on the incidents of The Holocaust, as evident by the fact that they allow their children to use these sacred places as playgrounds.

Connections to Schindler
Much of the history of this camp is related to the story of Oscar Schindler. This camp was located near the town where Schindler operated his factory. Schindler befriended many of the guards in the camp, and used these relationships (and most of his own money) to "buy" many of the Jews away from the camp. Schindler was able to save over 1000 Jews from Plashov. Almost certainly, these people would have perished if not for his actions. Enlarge Picture