The government will soon decide on the Prague-Bubny station, expects the director of the memorial Šulcová

Prague - The reconstruction of the Prague-Bubny railway station, through which more than 50,000 people, primarily Jews, passed from 1941 to 1945 to transports to Terezín and concentration and extermination camps, will be the topic of government discussions. In an interview with ČTK, Pavlína Šulcová, who was appointed by the Ministry of Culture last September as the director of its contributory organization, the Memorial of Silence, in place of its founder Pavel Štingl, said this. The contributory organization was then renamed the Center for Memory and Dialogue Bubny (CPDB).

After her appointment, Šulcová initiated negotiations with the Railway Administration as the owner of the building and is preparing renovations. She expects that the selection of a contractor should start soon; she prepared the materials for the government together with the Ministry of Culture led by Martin Baxa (ODS). The investment should amount to 300 million crowns from the budget of Baxa's ministry. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.

"The project is part of the government's program declaration, and it involves a significant investment. Such an investment, of course, comes with a certain degree of bureaucracy because it is important for it to be transparent," Šulcová said.

The original name of Štingl's project, the Memorial of Silence, has been changed to the Center for Memory and Dialogue Bubny (CPDB). "The name reflects my vision, which, however, does not deviate too much from the original. The purpose is to transform the station into a dignified place of memory. At the same time, I respect the decision of Pavel Štingl and the project's founders of the Memorial of Shoah or the Memorial of Silence to separate the projects," the director explained.

So far, Šulcová has not managed to establish cooperation with Štingl, who expressed last year that the state should come up with its own project and not take over someone else's. "I understand his motivations for wanting to interrupt continuity at this moment. However, I hope that at some point we will be able to find common ground," she stated.

The adaptation of Bubny station follows an architectural project prepared for the Memorial of Silence by the Hradec Králové-based studio ARN Studio, for which Prague 7 issued a building permit. "I am trying to unblock the deadlock and give the project new energy," Šulcová stated. The space will continue to be dominated by Aleš Veselý's sculpture "The Gate of Irrevocability," which represents a railway track with sleepers raised to the sky.

"It is good to take into account that there may be some delays. The construction is estimated in the project documentation to take two years. If everything goes well, it could be done in two to three years," the director added regarding the dignified memorial to Holocaust victims, which Prague has been missing for 80 years since the end of World War II. The only exceptions are the Pinkas Synagogue and a modest bronze plaque at the former Radiotrh in Veletržní Street.

After the adaptation of the authentic station, CPDB will offer opportunities for education, spaces for discussions about difficult topics from the past and present. "It should not just be a research institution but a place where the general public can come to seek answers to today's questions. We can help distinguish between information and misinformation, develop critical thinking," Šulcová added.

She also wants to explore the possibility of new presentations of topics related to the Holocaust. A precursor was the Monday projection of the names of Holocaust victims on the façade of the Mama Shelter hotel at the site of the Jewish gathering place near Bubny station. "Commemorative acts may seem empty to some; therefore, we are trying to look for new forms," the director stated. Another event this year is called "The Past in the Present" and is set to take place in March at the Přítomnost cinema in Žižkov.