The reconstruction of the exhibition at the memorial in Hrabyně has started and will last until May 2023

Hrabyně – For more than a year, the National Memorial of World War II in Hrabyně, Opava region, has been closed to the public. A large-scale reconstruction of the permanent exhibition "The Era of Despair and Hope" has begun inside. The work will last until May 2023 and will cost several tens of millions of crowns. David Váhala, spokesman for the Silesian Museum, which oversees the memorial, said this today.

The exhibition "The Era of Despair and Hope" has been on display at the memorial for the last ten years. "It is time for its update. Ten years is a limit," Váhala stated. According to him, for example, the multimedia technology used in the exhibition has become outdated.

The permanent exhibition chronologically recalls the history of World War II and showcases the life of the civilian population, wartime production, and culture. It also addresses the battles of Czechoslovak soldiers in the Middle East and the fates of pilots in Poland, France, and Britain. The exhibition is built on the stories of objects donated by direct participants in the battles. Among the accompanying films is a documentary by Evald Schorm, which is remembered by visitors of the original exhibition.

"We are currently preparing its complete reconstruction. The exhibits will be replaced, and new ones will be added. For example, period uniforms will be tailored. This way, all units deployed on the fronts will be represented in the exhibition," Váhala stated. The armorer will prepare weapons for the exhibition that the museum has in its storage. "The exhibition will also change visually. There will be fewer texts and more multimedia elements," said the spokesman.

The exhibition will also include a section dedicated to Heliodor Píka and his family. The museum is the custodian of the legacies not only of the general murdered by the communist regime but also of his son Milan. The Czech and Slovak general Milan Píka served in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II and was also persecuted by the communist regime after the war. He died two years ago in Bratislava.

The concrete memorial in Hrabyně, the largest of its kind in the Czech Republic, was opened in 1980 as the Memorial of the Ostrava Operation. It became part of the Museum of Revolutionary Struggles and Liberation in Ostrava. Since 1992, it has been part of the Silesian Museum. In 2005, it was closed to the public for reconstruction. Repairs began a year later and cost 192 million crowns. Currently, three floors are accessible to the public. Visitors have over ten information corners and three dozen plasma screens offering period documents, photographs, and film sequences.