Schindler's Factory - Histories of the Place

The exhibition tells the story of how the former administrative building of Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik (DEF), run by Oskar Schindler during the German occupation, became one of Krakow’s most visited museums.

Museum of Krakow on the exhibition (translated from the Polish original):

But this is not the only story tied to this place. The exhibition shows different threads, the fates of specific people, and also tries to sketch the wider context of events connected to Schindler’s Factory. The story begins with the rise of industry in Zablocie at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, closely tied to the development of the railway in this area. It is also the post-war history of the Krakow Electronic Works “Telpod”, the birth of “Solidarity” and the “Telpod” crew’s strike during martial law.

What to expect

The exhibition covers the building’s history from before the war, through the occupation and Schindler’s factory, to post-war industrial production and the events tied to the democratic opposition - complementing the permanent exhibition “Krakow - Time of Occupation 1939-1945”. Per the museum’s own announcement, the threads include: the industrial development of Zablocie from the late 19th century, the postwar “Telpod” electronics plant, the activity of Solidarity at the site, and the efforts of survivors and witnesses to preserve the memory of this place - alongside the story of Schindler’s list itself and the workers he saved.

Tickets, opening hours, and current details are on the Museum of Krakow website .

Museum profile: Schindler’s Factory - Museum of Krakow .

Context

The building at ul. Lipowa 4 originally housed “Rekord,” a small enamelware factory founded in 1937 by Jewish entrepreneurs, which went bankrupt two years later. Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist, took over the plant that same year and ran it as the Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik, eventually employing more than a thousand workers, most of them Jews subjected to forced labour whom Schindler protected from deportation to concentration camps - the basis for the list dramatised in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film “Schindler’s List.” After the war the buildings housed the state-owned electronics plant “Telpod,” until the city of Krakow bought the site in 2005 and opened today’s museum branch in 2010, next to MOCAK, which occupies part of the same former factory complex.

Tickets and time

The temporary exhibition runs inside the Schindler’s Factory branch building, not as a separate venue - so it most likely shares the same ticket as the permanent exhibition “Krakow - Time of Occupation 1939-1945” (60 PLN standard, 45 PLN reduced, free on Mondays). The Museum of Krakow has not published a separate price list or confirmed whether an add-on ticket applies to “Histories of the Place” - worth checking at booking if you plan to visit soon after opening. The branch-wide named-ticket system applies here too: bring an ID that matches the name on your ticket.

The exhibition adds to an already substantial route (45 rooms in the permanent exhibition), so realistically allow an extra 20-30 minutes if you want to see it properly rather than rush through. It is aimed mainly at visitors who already know the Schindler story from the film or the permanent exhibition and want to see what happened to the site itself before the war, after the war, and after 1989.

English on site: guided tours in English run Tuesday-Sunday at 10:00, 12:00, and 16:00 (branch-wide, not exhibition-specific).

Accompanying events

The opening reception is scheduled for 15 October 2026 at 18:00 at Schindler’s Enamel Factory, the day before the exhibition opens to the public (16 October 2026). The museum has not stated whether the opening is open to the general public or by invitation only - worth confirming directly before planning a visit around it.

See also

• Schindler’s Factory - Museum of Krakow - the branch profile, with the full permanent-exhibition description, hours, and visitor tips.
• MOCAK - Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow - neighbour in the same former factory complex.
• Pharmacy Under the Eagle - five minutes on foot, the story of the pharmacy that operated inside the Krakow ghetto, a good companion piece on occupation-era Zablocie.