The “Great Escape” Tour of Southern Poland

Whether you are arriving by train or by plane, welcome to Krakow! Check into the hotel any time after 2.00pm.

Once you are settled, we invite you to a welcome dinner in the hotel restaurant at 6.30pm where you will have the opportunity to meet other guests and learn more about each other and the following 8 days together.

If you are arriving in Krakow early and are looking for an enjoyable activity, we can arrange a tour to the Wieliczka Salt Mine 15 minutes outside of Krakow. Let us know if you would like us to make arrangements for your visit and we will take it from there.

Polish Central Museum of Prisoners of War

During WWII, what is now the Polish Central Museum of Prisoners of War was known as Stalag VIII B Lamsdorf. Stalag VIII B was a POW camp for privates and non-commissioned officers and at one point was the largest POW camp in Europe. It is estimated that approximately 300,000 POW’s went through the camp during the war. The camp was initially for Polish POW’s and held up to 43,000 Polish soldiers and civilians up to October 1939. After this time, Lamsdorf began to take on POW’s from other nations, chiefly British, leading to the camp to be called “Britenlager”. After the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, 6,000 Polish AK members were sent to the camp, including the legendary Capt. Witold Pilecki.

On 17 March 1945, Lamsdorf was liberated by the Soviet Army. Join us today as we journey to Lamsdorf to observe and participate in the 79th anniversary ceremonies at the former POW camp Lamsdorf.

Krakow Old Town. On our tour we will visit:

• The beautiful Old Town Market Square of Krakow – the largest in Europe
• St Mary’s Basilica (14th century) – learn why the 2 spires are of different sizes
• On the hour listen to the trumpeter who plays from a church spire and learn why he
  mysteriously stops playing mid-tune
• Mighty Wawel Castle – home to Polish Kings and Queens for centuries before moving
  their seat of power to Warsaw

Krakow Jewish Ghetto Walking Tour – Schindler’s List

Join us on a walking tour of the old Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz where the Jews of Krakow thrived for hundreds of years. After lunch, we cross the mighty Vistula and embark on a tour of the Krakow Jewish Ghetto famously depicted in the award-winning Steven Spielberg film “Schindler’s List”. On the tour, we visit the major sites associated with the movie that reflect the experience of the Krakow Ghetto that was established in March 1941. Beginning with a tour of the area in which the Ghetto was located, you will see sites including the memorial to the Jews of the Krakow Ghetto “Ghetto Hero’s Square”, the site of the orphanage in the ghetto and surviving remnants of the original Ghetto Wall. We will then visit Schindler’s Enamel Factory and those who have seen the movie, will not mistake the façade of this famous building. Having saved 1,200 Jews, Schindler and his wife Emilie were awarded Righteous Among the Nations in 1993. We also visit the Pharmacy Under the Eagle, a pharmacy that was allowed to operate within the Ghetto walls under its non-Jewish proprietor Tadeusz Pankiewicz who, along with his 3 female staff Irena Drozdzikowska, Aurelia Danek, & Helena Krywaniuk, provided medicine, food, and hiding places for Jews in the pharmacy. Pankiewicz was awarded Righteous Among the Nations on 10 February 1983.

Museum of the Armia Krajowa in Krakow

Today we visit the official Polish museum dedicated to the mighty army of the Polish Underground State, the Armia Krajowa (AK: Home Army). At its peak, the AK had approximately 350,000 members spread throughout Poland, making it the largest, and most successful resistance movement of WWII. Learn about the heroism and activities of members of the AK, including the acquisition of a V2 rocket in Eastern Poland and its subsequent delivery to the Allies in England!

Gestapo HQ in Krakow

Today we visit the People of Krakow in Times of Terror 1939-1945-1956 Museum. The museum is dedicated to the victims of both Nazi Germany and Soviet oppression in the period from 1939 to 1956. The museum on Pomorska Street was the site of brutal interrogations of Poles during WWII by Gestapo agents. Just the name Pomorska would strike terror in even the most courageous Polish resistance fighter.

Auschwitz I – Auschwitz II Birkenau

Allow Poland At War Tours to take you on an exploration of the infamous German Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz. Auschwitz being the German name given to the site of the camp within the Polish city of Oswiecim. Join us on a special guided tour of both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II – Birkenau. We first explore Auschwitz I which was an abandoned Polish Army barracks prior to WWII. We then take the short journey to Auschwitz II – Birkenau and walk through the iconic gate which so many Jews and victims of different kinds travelled through never to return. See the ramp where Jews were off-loaded before walking the short distance to the gas chambers and crematoria to the rear of the camp, blown up by the Germans as they hastily fled in the face of the coming onslaught of the Soviet Army. In total, approximately 1,100,000 people died at Auschwitz. Join us as we honour their memory and state unequivocally – Never Again!

Gliwice Radio Tower

We visit the site of the “Gleiwitz Incident” which was a false flag operation carried out by the German SS on the night of 31 August 1939 to justify the German invasion of Poland planned to begin the next day 1 September 1939. At the tower, make the acquaintance of Mr Franciszek Honiok, believed to be the first casualty of WWII.

Walking tour of Wroclaw Old Town

Prior to WWII, Wroclaw was the former German city of Breslau, however the city became Polish after the movement of the Polish, Ukrainian and German borders westward based on the Yalta Conference of the “Big Three”. During our walking tour we will walk beside the beautiful Oder River whilst viewing sites relevant to WWII including the artillery shell in the wall of a church and the hotel where Hitler stayed and greeted the crowds from his balcony. In addition to these historical sites, we will meet a group of curious little Wroclaw residents, the little gnomes scattered throughout Old Town. How many can you count?

Książ Castle

Książ Castle was built in the Gothic, Baroque, Rococo style between 1288 and 1292, before being renovated between 1946 and 1953. The third largest castle in Poland with 400 rooms and spanning 11,000 square metres, it was voted as one of the 7 wonders of Poland in 2018. The castle was seized by the Nazi regime in 1944 and became part of the expansive Projekt Riese, a series of underground facilities built in inhuman conditions by slave labour towards the end of the war. It is believed that Książ Castle was intended to be an abode and headquarters for Hitler. After the war, the castle was taken over by Communist authorities and used as a recreation home and cultural centre. Visitors to the castle can walk the tunnel system built by the Nazis in 1944.

Projekt Riese at Osowka

We then travel to Osowka where we explore another part of the extensive Nazi megastructure Projekt Riese at the Underground City at Osowka – an extensive tunnel system carved into the Owl Mountains by slave labour. Historians continue to debate the purpose of the complex and whether there is Nazi gold buried there.

Stalag Luft III

We visit the Allied POW Camp (Stalag) of Stalag Luft III, the camp where the “Great Escape” was made from on the evening of 23 March into 24 March 1944. The camp was a German Airforce (Luft) run camp which held Allied Air Force personnel who were shot down or crashed over occupied Europe. We also visit the festivities at the camp including military equipment on show.

Attend Official Ceremony in Remembrance of the 80th Anniversary of the Escape

On this day we return to Stalag Luft III and take part in the official remembrance ceremony of the 80th anniversary of the escape. After our visit to Stalag Luft III we take a drive to Poznan where we visit the Commonwealth War Cemetery where the 50 airmen who were murdered by the German’s are laid to rest.

This evening, enjoy a farewell dinner before retiring for the last night in Poznan.

Check out of hotel, transport to the airport for your journey home.