Under the former monument to Stalin, an exhibition on the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century will be established

Prague - The company Post Bellum is striving for the establishment of a museum of totalitarianism in Prague, which documents Czech history before 1989. It aims to highlight intense stories from the 20th century with an exhibition in the space under the former Stalin monument in Letná. It will begin next year in October and will cost around ten million crowns. This was stated today by Post Bellum director Mikuláš Kroupa.

According to Kroupa, the exhibition will present the past century through ten pivotal moments. These will include, for example, the drama of the legionnaires in Siberia, the post-war expulsion of Germans, or the 1950s. Materials from the archives of Czech Television, Czech Radio, and the testimonies of witnesses gathered in the Memory of Nations project will serve to illustrate these moments. "Our idea is to equip the exhibition with the latest technologies. We want to use video mapping, video projections, and I must say as a radio broadcaster, that it is important for me to equip the space with audio," Kroupa said.

The exhibition is to be organized in such a way that it evokes in the visitor a feeling of being directly in the 20th century. "The poignant November events of 1989 would allow the visitor to exit back from this confined space," Kroupa noted. The preparation is also being undertaken by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. Its director Zdeněk Hazdra stated that the 20th century was not easy for life. "I think it is our mission (...) to capture and bring closer to future generations those historical experiences of the people who were here before us and left a certain legacy," he said.

The project is supported by Prague's mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO), who also selected the location where the exhibition could take place. "This space is so connected to our history that I could not have imagined a better one," she said. She added that the currently unused spaces will likely require certain modifications. This will only be clear after a construction-technical assessment.

The exhibition is set to open next year during the 100th anniversary of the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia. It will remain under the former Stalin monument until the summer of 2019. Kroupa estimates the costs of the exhibition at ten million crowns, of which 3.5 million have already been collected by Post Bellum, and they are now seeking contributions from the public. Details were published on the website nastalina.cz.

Jana Holcová from Post Bellum stated that the exhibition should initiate a discussion on the future museum of totalitarianism. No decision has yet been made regarding its establishment and location, with one option being the space under the former monument.