The Hodonín u Kunštátu Memorial could be under the Romani Culture Museum

photo: National Pedagogical Museum

Prague - The Memorial to the Romani Holocaust in Hodonín near Kunštát could be transferred to the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno. This intention was approved today by the Government Council for Romani Minority Affairs, reported ČTK's Jiří Souček from the government press department. The memorial, which is expected to open to the public in the summer, is currently managed by the National Pedagogical Museum and Library of J. A. Comenius in Prague.

Minister for Human Rights and Legislation Jan Chvojka (ČSSD) promised that he would prepare a proposal for the transfer of this memorial and its inclusion under the Museum of Romani Culture by the end of May. He will collaborate with Minister of Culture Daniel Herman (KDU-ČSL) and Minister of Education Kateřina Valachová (ČSSD).

The memorial in Blanensko commemorates the local collection camp for Moravian Roma during World War II, an internment center for the expulsion of Germans, and a forced labor camp from the 1950s. Construction work was completed last summer. A permanent exhibition is now being prepared.

The camp in Hodonín near Kunštát could become a model facility for educating teachers, pupils, and students about the history of the 20th century, the Ministry of Education stated. It reflected Czechoslovak history. Minister Valachová stated in January that this site could be among selected places linked to Czech history, for which schools could obtain grants from a new program established for these purposes.