From Schindler's factory to Holocaust memorial: Museum of Survivors officially opens in Brněnec
A Museum of Survivors has opened near Brno, in the former factory of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during World War II. Its official opening, held on May 10th, was planned to coincide with the celebrations marking eighty years since the end of WWII.
While the celebrated 1993 film Schindler’s List is set primarily in Poland, Oskar Schindler was himself a native of Svitavy, the town in Moravia known as Zwittau in German. It was to a newly constructed labour camp in Brněnec, south of his hometown, that Schindler moved over a thousand Jews from the Płaszów concentration camp. In doing so, he saved them from Auschwitz and likely death.
After the war and the liberation of the labour camp by the Red Army, the site continued to be used as a factory, but in the 2000s, the buildings of Schindler’s munitions factory in Brněnec were abandoned and have since fallen into a serious state of neglect.
Their fortunes begin to change in 2016, when some were declared a national monument, and then in 2018, when the Arks Foundation, run by the Löw-Beer and Schindler families, purchased the site. The foundation launched the Schindler's Ark project: the transformation of the buildings in Brněnec into a suitable memorial and museum about the Jews of the former camp and about Oskar Schindler himself.
Designed with input from students and young architects, the completed Museum of Survivors opened officially on May 10th. This coincided with the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Hundreds of guests attended the special event, including descendants of Jews saved by their relocation to the factory.
Also in attendance was Margaret Keneally, representing her father Thomas Keneally, the author of the book on which Schindler’s List was based. Ms. Keneally brought documents that her father wished to present to the museum:
“I brought three documents. I brought some original transcripts of the interviews my father did with some of the prisoners here, talking about what it was like here and their survival. I brought some original transcripts of the trial of Amon Göth who was commandant in Płaszów in Poland. I brought some of the original manuscript that he typed out by hand.
“He wanted to bring these three things because he wanted to emphasise first of all with the interviews the story of the survivors; secondly the fact that justice was done with the trial of Amon Göth; and thirdly the fact that we need to keep telling the stories. So, the part of the story he told will be here, and this place is an important part of continuing to tell that story.”
The new museum is contained in the hall of the old spinning mill. Only about a quarter of it has been repaired, and behind glass panels visitors can see what it looked like in its original state. One of the museum’s permanent exhibitions recounts the full story of the site, before, during and after the war. Another exhibition presents objects from the era of the Holocaust and audio-visual information panels with testimonies from survivors.
Due to the high costs of repairs and the protected status of some of the buildings, the site is not yet ready for regular visits. For the time being, only groups with reservations will be able to attend.
