Exactly 80 years ago, on August 11, 1945, during a Sabbath service, a mob stormed the Kupa Synagogue in Kraków’s Kazimierz district, assaulting worshippers, destroying and later setting the building on fire. Violence quickly spread to nearby streets, where Jewish passersby, homes, and shops were attacked and looted.
The immediate trigger was a false antisemitic rumor claiming that Jews were kidnapping and murdering Polish children — the same myth that would be used as a pretext for the Kielce Pogrom a year later. Both events share structural similarities and a deep connection to the centuries-old “ritual murder” libel.
The exact number of victims is unknown. Archival records confirm the death of Róża Berger, an Auschwitz survivor, but photographs from the victims’ funeral show five coffins.
The Kraków Pogrom remains one of the most tragic episodes of postwar violence against Jews in Poland.
Photo: Kraków, Kupa Synagogue in Kazimierz, Jonatana Warschauera Street (also knowns as Miodowa Street), 1936. Collection of the National Digital Archives.
