A dilapidated industrial site in the Czech Republic where German businessman Oskar Schindler saved 1,200 Jews during the World War II is coming back to life. The site, a former textile factory in the town of Brnenec, about 100 miles east of Prague, was stolen by the Nazis from its Jewish owners in 1938 and turned into a concentration camp, per the AP. This weekend it welcomed the first visitors to the Museum of Survivors dedicated to the Holocaust and the history of Jews in this part of Europe. The opening was timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Daniel Löw-Beer was a driving force behind the project. His predecessors lived in this part of Czech Republic for hundreds of years, acquiring the plant in Brnenec in 1854 and turning it into one of Europe's most important wool factories. In 2019, Löw-Beer set up the Arks Foundation to buy the warehouse and turn it into a museum, investing money and renewing a partnership with the local community to revive the neglected site. The regional government contributed funds, while a grant from the European Union brought children from five European countries to Brnenec to come up with ideas that helped shape the museum design.
Housed in part of a renovated spinning mill, the museum now displays the history of Schindler, his wife Emilie, the Löw-Beer family and others linked to the area, together with the testimonies of Holocaust survivors. It includes a space for exhibitions, lectures, film screenings, and concerts, as well as a café. A transparent glass wall separates this part and the bigger, still ruined area behind it. The town hall plans to eventually convert Schindler's office into an information center. Currently, the museum is not open on a daily basis and focuses on education activities for schools. (More Oskar Schindler stories.)
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