Sonderaktion Krakau was the codename for a German operation against professors and academics from the University of Kraków and other Kraków universities at the beginning of World War II. For several academies alternatively called "Krakow Academy" see Education in Kraków The Jagiellonian University (Uniwersytet Kraków, in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow (ˈkrækaʊ M-W: krăk'ou krāk'ō is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

It was carried out as part of the action plan to exterminate the Polish intellectual elite, especially in those centres, such as Kraków, which were slated by the Nazis to become culturally German. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland

Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Tadeusz Lehr-Spławiński

On November 6, 1939, Obersturmbannführer SS Bruno Müller commanded Prof. For several academies alternatively called "Krakow Academy" see Education in Kraków The Jagiellonian University (Uniwersytet Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Tadeusz Lehr-Spławiński, then the University's rector, to require all professors to attend a lecture on German plans for Polish education. The rector agreed and sent an invitation throughout the university. When 144 Jagiellonian University professors and assistants arrived at 12:00 at room 66 of the Collegium Novum building, no lecture was conducted. For several academies alternatively called "Krakow Academy" see Education in Kraków The Jagiellonian University (Uniwersytet Collegium Novum ( Latin for New College is the Neo-Gothic main building of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, built They were instead imprisoned under the pretense that the university was working without German consent. 21 Professors from the Mining Academy (attending a meeting in a different room), 5 visiting professors, and 13 university employees and students who were in the building were also arrested. AGH University of Science and Technology ( Polish Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza im All 183 were later sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp and Dachau. Sachsenhausen (zaksənˈhaʊzən was a Concentration camp in Germany, operating between 1936 and 1945 Dachau was a Nazi German Concentration camp, and the first one opened in Germany located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions Factory near the

Following loud international protest, 101 of those surviving professors who were older than 40 were released on 8 February 1940. Additional academics were released later. Although university professors were not sent directly to gas chambers, many were elderly and did not survive even a short stay under the grim living conditions in the camps where dysentery was common and warm clothes in winter were rare. A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing consisting of a sealed chamber into which a Poisonous or Asphyxiant gas is introduced Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is an infection of the digestive system that results in severe Diarrhea containing mucus and blood 15 died in the camps and another 5 died within days of release. Among the notable professors who died in Sachsenhausen were Ignacy Chrzanowski, Stanisław Estreicher, Kazimierz Kostanecki, Antoni Meyer, and Michał Siedlecki. Stanisław Estreicher (26 November 1869-28 December 1939 was a Polish Historian of Law and bibliographer.

In 1942, many of those who survived Sonderaktion Krakau formed an underground university in defiance of Nazi edicts. This article covers the topic of underground education in Poland (Tajne szkolnictwo or pl tajne komplety) during World War II Among the 800 students of the underground university was Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II. Pope

Today, there is a plaque commemorating the events of Sonderaktion Krakau in front of Collegium Novum in Krakow. Collegium Novum ( Latin for New College is the Neo-Gothic main building of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, built Every 6 November, black flags are hung outside all Jagiellonian University buildings and the Rector of the University personally lays wreathes on the graves of those who suffered.

See also

• Aktion Krakau
• German AB Action operation in Poland
• Invasion of Poland (1939)
• Massacre of Lwów professors
• Operation Tannenberg
• Treatment of Polish citizens by occupiers

References

• Banach, A. AB-Aktion or Außerordentliche Befriedungsaktion ( German for Special Pacificational Action or Operation) was a German campaign during The Invasion of Poland (1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small German-allied The murder of the Lviv professors was an organized execution of approximately 45 Polish professors from various tertiary educational establishments in Lviv ('Lwów' in Polish The codename Unternehmen Tannenberg (Operation Tannenberg was used for two discrete German operations At the end of August 1939 the Gleiwitz incident -like This article deals with the occupation of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union during the Second World War (1939–1945 K. , Dybiec, J. & Stopka, K. The History of the Jagiellonian University. Krakow: Jagiellonian University Press, 2000.
• Burek, Edward (ed. ) “Sonderaktion Krakau” in Encyklopedia Krakowa. Krakow: PWM, 2000.
• Gawęda, Stanisław. Uniwersytet Jagielloński w okresie II wojny światowej 1939-1945. Krakow: WLK, 1986.