Until October 1939, Jews were often rounded up in the streets by German soldiers and taken to do whatever forced labor was needed, such as backfilling anti-aircraft trenches, carrying furniture, sweeping the streets and cleaning apartments. Later, Jewish forced labor was regulated and requisitioned through the Nazi-established Judenrat, or Jewish Council.
All Jewish businesses were marked with the Star of David and then taken over by the German state trust agency; Jewish professionals were only allowed to work with Jewish clients; Jewish bank deposits were blocked; many of the richest Jews had their apartments requisitioned for use by the German administration.
On December 1, 1939, Jews over twelve years of age were ordered to wear armbands with the Star of David. On December 11, 1939, Jewish children were expelled from public primary schools (secondary schools had already been closed for all children) and Jewish private schools were closed; Jews could use only the back sections of city trams, and from January 1940 were forbidden to use trams altogether. The majority of Kraków’s 68,000 Jews were expelled from Kraków to neighboring areas before the formation of the ghetto.