Kraków pogrom

Kraków pogrom
Kupa Synagogue in the Kazimierz district of Kraków, 2007
Location	Kraków, Poland
Date	August 11, 1945
Target	Jews
Deaths	1
Non-fatal injuries	5
Perpetrators	Civilians, security officers

The Kraków pogrom refers to the violent events that occurred on August 11, 1945, in the Soviet-occupied city of Kraków, Poland, which resulted in the shooting death of Róża Berger while standing behind closed doors by security forces, and the wounding of five others. According to the report prepared for Joseph Stalin by the NKVD in Kraków, it was Polish militiamen who sanctioned the violence.

Around 68,000–80,000 Jews lived in Kraków before the September 1939 German invasion of Poland. Because of the Holocaust and further migration following the arrival of the Soviet Red Army only 2,000 prewar inhabitants of the city were still present after January 1945. Many Jewish refugees returned to Kraków from the Soviet Union, including those who came from the neighbouring villages and towns.

By May 1945, the number of Jews in the city reached 6,637. The return of the Jewish population was not always welcomed, especially by the anti-Semitic elements in the populace. The safety of the Jewish community in Kraków was becoming a very serious problem according to the Soviet-installed starosta in the city, even though "no serious antisemitic events were recorded in the rural and small-town regions." In his report for 1–10 August, the Kraków city administrator (starosta grodzki) noted the "insufficient supply of food." In June 1945, the new communist voivode of Kraków described growing tensions in his report in the following way:

In regard to the attitudes of the Polish population towards the Jews, the remnants of Nazi influences acquired during the occupation still linger... Robberies combined with murdering Jews occur: the motives and the perpetrators are usually not found. Nevertheless, their anti-Semitic background is apparent...In the previous month there were no serious anti-Jewish events in the voivodeship, yet there is no evidence that society's attitude towards the Jews has changed ... An utterly insignificant event, or the most improbable rumour can trigger serious riots. The populace's attitude towards the Jews is a serious problem requiring a constant vigilance on the side of the authorities, and proper interaction with lower level offices.