The government will discuss on Wednesday how to help Terezín

Terezín (Litoměřicko) - The government will discuss a material from the Ministry for Regional Development about the possibilities for individual ministries to support the intentions of the restoration and development of the city of Terezín at its meeting on Wednesday. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture is preparing anti-flood measures, while the Ministry of Culture is planning new uses for former military facilities. This was reported today by Alice Kovandová, spokesperson for the Ministry for Regional Development.
    The government tasked Deputy Prime Minister Jiří Čunek (KDU-ČSL) with establishing a commission to map possibilities for helping Terezín at its May meeting in Teplice.
    Suggestions from individual ministries primarily concern the preparation and implementation of necessary urban infrastructure. Former military buildings could be used mainly for cultural, educational, and museum activities. "In preparing these activities, consideration is given to utilizing both national and international resources, especially EU structural funds," Kovandová stated. For example, a depository for the Memorial of National Literature is to be created in the old hospital and riding hall. According to the county's plan, an institution focused on the study of the Holocaust is to be established in one of the barracks buildings, while the Ministry of Defense has promised to place a shooting museum in another building.
    In May, the government already supported a proposal for the restoration of the Terezín memorial from state budget funds without the city's co-funding. If a biomedical center were to be established in Terezín, the estimated amount for the reconstruction of buildings would exceed two billion crowns. "Without this center, the amount is around one billion crowns," Čunek stated earlier. A total of 550 million crowns have already been invested in anti-flood measures in Terezín, and an additional 220 million crowns is planned for investment.
    In the future, Terezín is also to host a European study and meeting center that will address collaboration in combating violence, xenophobia, racism, and right-wing extremism. Its establishment will be facilitated by the Leo Baeck Terezín Foundation, whose founding contract was signed last week in Terezín in the presence of representatives from Brandenburg by city and other organization representatives involved in the foundation's establishment. The center is to be located in the so-called Wieser House, with the city estimating the costs of its reconstruction at 70 million crowns.
    The city of Terezín will also receive six million crowns from the state for project documentation for six actions that are to assist in the restoration of the damaged city. Once the city hall has completed the projects, it will apply for grants for their implementation. According to Mayor Růžena Čechová, these actions are expected to cost around 115 million crowns.
    Terezín was founded in 1780 by Emperor Joseph II as a massive fortress system. Its core is the Main Fortress with the city in the center and the forward Little Fortress. Terezín played a tragic role during World War II. In 1940, a prison of the Prague Gestapo was established in the Little Fortress. The city itself was transformed by the Nazis in 1941 into a Jewish transit ghetto, from which most prisoners were deported to extermination camps and ghettos in the East.