The upcoming exhibition will remind of the history of the prison in Uherské Hradiště

Uherské Hradiště – The upcoming innovative exhibition named Behind the Wall will commemorate the history of the prison in Uherské Hradiště. Through a mobile phone application, people will be transported into a world of augmented reality, which will offer, for example, a guide in the form of a 3D hologram, as well as the possibility of a virtual entry into a cell or an interactive interrogation. The exhibition is expected to start operating in the middle of next year, representatives of the non-profit organization Historia Futurae and the Memoria association, which are collaborating on its creation, told journalists today.

According to historian Václav Adamec from Historia Futurae, the exhibition will primarily be virtual. "The purpose of the work will be to communicate the history of the prison and the fates of those persecuted here by communist ideology as an example of innovative remembrance of the suppressed memory of society," Adamec stated. The application will be free of charge, according to him.

The creators of the exhibition intend to work with authentic documents about the fates of prisoners, their relatives, as well as guards and the system they represented. "We would like to support the development of a society that will have a freer access to cultural heritage thanks to digital technologies," said Anna Stránská, chairwoman of the Memoria association.

According to Jan Blažek, chairman of the board of Historia Futurae, the exhibition will incorporate technologies simulating the physical world. After downloading the application to their mobile, interested parties will go through six locations in the vicinity of the prison. The total budget for the project amounts to 738,000 korunas. One third has been covered by donations from patrons, and the non-profit organizations aim to secure additional funds from public sources and a crowdfunding campaign, which, according to Blažek, will start in the coming weeks. More information is available on the website www.expozicezazdi.cz.

The prison will also be the subject of an upcoming documentary film directed by Jan Gogola Jr. and Matěj Hrudička. "The film is currently titled The Prison of History. We will be shooting it observationally. We want the gist of the film to be in the tours (of the prison)," Gogola said today.

The owner of the prison is the Office for Representation of the State in Property Affairs (ÚZSVM), which is preparing its reconstruction for 436 million korunas. It is expected to start in 2025, and the renovated complex with the Museum of Totalitarianism is to be opened in 2028, said Adéla Janů from ÚZSVM today. The district court, state prosecutor's office, and probation and mediation service are also to be based in the building. The Memoria association strives for the prison to become a National Memorial to the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes.

The prison was especially known for the brutal methods of the investigators of the communist Secret Police against political prisoners in the 1950s. During World War II, it was used by the Gestapo as a gathering place for political prisoners before their transport to concentration camps. After the war, popular courts were held here and public executions took place in the prison courtyard; during the communist era, individuals deemed inconvenient to the regime were incarcerated here. The prison was closed in 1960, and a larger part of the complex has been deteriorating since then.