Poland--where else to go
 

In May or June 2018, I plan to visit Poland--mainly Krakow, Warsaw, and Gdansk and environs. I have visited all three cities and have seen much that they have to offer.

My primary interests are WWII and the Cold War. In the Gdansk area, I want to see Malbork castle, Westerplatte, the Katyn forest museum, and the WWII museum.

In Warsaw, I want to visit the Museum of the History of Polish Jews again and see the Polish Army museum, the Powazki Military Cemetery, especially to visit the grave of Marian Rejewski, who was so important to British codebreaking in WWII.

In Krakow, I want to take the Communist tour and the WWII tour. I'd like to visit Nova Huta, to see the Gestapo Hq, and Schindler's factory. I'd also like to visit the Remuh cemetery and also see the Remuh synagogue or some other synagogues. I've visited Warsaw twice recently, so I've seen quite a lot there.

If you can think of other WWII or Cold War sites that I haven't mentioned, please tell me. I'll probably spend four or five weeks on this trip. Since I'm getting so old and decrepit, I will probably visit one main sight per day.

You probably know these places better than I do, but I think you hit the main sites in Krakow. I presume you know about the Jewish Museum/Old SYnagogue? It's the oldest in Poland.
http://www.krakow-info.com/synagogs.htm

There is also a Polish Army museum in Krakow, I don't know how it compared to the one in Warsaw, but you can look at that and decide. It's near the train station. It specializes more in the underground resistance movement rather than the actual military machines. I think the one in Warsaw is long history, so you have armor, muskets, etc, and only one part of it is WWII.
http://www.muzeum-ak.pl/english/

see https://www.inyourpocket.com/krakow/...-museum_20104v

Now that they have the Warsaw Uprising Museum, not sure how the army museum has changed, or if it has, as that used to be a focus in it. And it also sounds like both cities have museums about the underground, the Army in Krakow and then the Uprising in Warsaw. So may be a lot of similar stuff.

Have you been to Wroclaw already? A city where the traces of World War II are still well visible if you know what to look for, a city with a German past and Polish present. And a city rich in culture and architecture, with a lot more than just World War II - history is more than those few nasty years.

In Gdansk- Poczta Polska
https://www.inyourpocket.com/gdansk/...e-Seige_73912f

In Gdynia- (mute your speakers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn8G4OyJnlc

For cold war in Gdynia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Polish_protests

I could fill a whole page about the Tri-City area.


Malbork
https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery...WAR%20CEMETERY

Lodz:
http://www.jewishlodzcemetery.org/EN/Home/Default.aspx


Warsaw:(Translate does a good job)
http://poznajpolske.onet.pl/mazowiec...wskiego/0fhzrk

It is hard to separate WW2 from the Cold War places because frequently they just serve a different master at a different time.

There were some abandoned Soviet military bases in Poland, but they are being demolished at a fast pace.
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pstr%C4%85%C5%BCe

Check out the Free City of Danzig Historical Zone in Gdansk. It's a small museum, but interesting.

Although I didn’t visit Warsaw's Pawiak Prison Museum, I found the memorial tree in front of it incredibly moving. And while not an actual WWII site, I found the Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw incredibly moving, in part for the effect that WWII had on it and for it's powerful message of the Jewish heritage of that city.

As above plus the Large forest in the East (go see Buffalo/Bison) and possibly Posnan. You might also like to pop into some of the Baltic states such as Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania

Gdansk shipyards.

Gdansk Post Office (it's where the war "started").

The Arka Pana in Krakow.

Have you been to Wroclaw already? A city where the traces of World War II are still well visible if you know what to look for, a city with a German past and Polish present. Furthermore you also should visit Gdansk: http://visitgdansk.com/en/weekends-in-gdansk , which also has museums of Second World War.

Thanks for the answers, folks. I'll take a closer look at them.

I hope I don't get burnt out with all this war stuff. I wasn't planning on visiting Wroclaw, but I think I'll look into it. As I was figuring out a day by day schedule for a month, it looked to me as though I have plenty of time.

<i> I'd like to visit Nova Huta, to see the Gestapo Hq, and Schindler's factory.</i>

Nova Huta is worth a visit as a post W.W.II new town, and does not include the Schindler factory.

>I hope I don't get burnt out with all this war stuff.
Nobody keeps you from seeing different things and focusing on different topics in between. Poland is rich in history and culture as well as nature. Nothing but destruction and death, dictature and racist ideology and mass murder for a whole month would certainly burn me out - and it would not do the country justice.

If you are going to be in Gdansk, I think the good idea is to visit Stutthof Camp. It is situated approx 40 km from Gdansk. The Stutthof camp was one of the main instruments used for extermination. The good option would be also the Lech Walesa Tour (If you would like to learn more about Polish history, especially about the social reforms and revolution in Poland).
If you are in Warsaw, you can visit Treblinka - German labor and extermination camps. It would be very interesting tour.

Dream Tour Poland http://dreamtourpoland.com/

Peg,
Although not relevant for your upcoming Polish trip, I wonder if you have visited the El-De-Haus Nazi Documentation and Prisoner Interrogation Museum in Koeln?
Or the Kaethe Kolwitz Pacifism Centre in Koeln?
Neither well-known and both very moving.

Mokka:I haven't visited either of the places you mention in Koeln, but I did visit the Kaethe Kolwitz exhibit in Berlin.