The Jewish Criminal Underground in Occupied Cracow – Case Studies

The article discusses selected crimes committed by Jews during World War II, such as burglary, theft, fencing, usury, and, less frequently, black marketeering and fraud. Most of the criminals knew each other before the war, and their criminal activities were a continuation of these contacts. It also presents statistics on the crimes most often committed by Jews (individually or as part of organized gangs). The article also analyzes the activities of Jewish and Polish-Jewish gangs, as well as cooperation between different groups in the Polish-Jewish criminal underworld. These groups intermingled, as evidenced by the Yiddishisms that appeared in the criminal jargon still used today. Cooperation between organized crime groups began many years before the outbreak of World War II and was sometimes formed on an ad hoc basis to serve common interests. The article attempts to determine whether Jewish criminals continued their activities and whether anything changed with the outbreak of war.