The foundation had a design prepared for the Schindler's Ark memorial

photo: Empty Houses

Brněnec - The Archa Foundation - families Löw-Beer and Oskar Schindler, which wants to build a memorial to Schindler's Ark in the former textile factory Vitka in Brněnec in the Svitavy region, has commissioned proposals for modifications to the area. During World War II, the factory was owned by Oskar Schindler, who saved about 1,200 Jewish workers through his production. The change in the municipal development plan, which will allow new uses, has also been completed. CTK was informed by the director of the foundation, František Olbert.

"This is what delayed us the most. In the meantime, the buildings were being measured, and project documentation and visualizations were prepared. Architects from the Czech Republic and abroad participated in these," said Olbert.

The former factory is in poor condition. Most of the buildings have been cleared so far, but they are inaccessible due to the structural integrity of the buildings. Some of them are protected as historical monuments. According to the foundation, full restoration of the area could begin by 2021 at the latest. The cost of ensuring the safety of the building structures is estimated at 70,000 euros (about 1.8 million CZK), of which 50,000 is for the preservation of the buildings and an additional 20,000 for clearing the buildings and preparing the first exhibition and screening of the film Schindler's List directed by Steven Spielberg. According to information on the foundation's website, 24,500 euros have been collected from donations so far.

The factory in Brněnec was established as a paper mill, and later served as a wool spinning mill, which the then owner Izák Löw-Beer gradually transformed into a significant textile factory. During the war, it was converted into a munitions factory, and Brněnec became a sub-camp of the Groß-Rosen concentration camp. German entrepreneur Oskar Schindler transferred about 1,200 workers from his enamel factory in Poland to the factory, thereby saving their lives. After 1989, the textile production in Brněnec was operated by the company Vitka. When it went into bankruptcy in 2004, it was bought by Bustrex and renamed Vitka Textiles. In 2011, it went bankrupt, production was halted, and the area has been abandoned ever since.

According to the plans, the original building where the workers slept will become Schindler's Ark, where the film and other documents or interviews with direct participants will be screened. Another space would be dedicated to the Löw-Beer family, which owned the factory before the war and recently repurchased a larger part of it, as well as to a museum of Jewish history in Czechoslovakia. Other buildings include the so-called Germans' building, where German soldiers were stationed, the Emilie and Oskar Schindler offices, a space for events, seminars, and other activities, a glassed-in lounge, and a restaurant building with facilities. Part of the area could be modified into a park.

Many view Svitavy native Oskar Schindler as a controversial figure, not just as a hero and savior of Jews. He was also a member of the Nazi Party and the German military intelligence.