BRNĚNEC – From May 10 to 11, on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the former textile factory run by Oskar Schindler was revealed to the public as the newly-furnished Museum of Survivors. Located in Brněnec, a town in the heart of the Czech Republic, the German industrialist employed 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust, ultimately saving them from Nazi persecution. The inauguration was attended by Czech government officials, foreign diplomats and the wider public, including WJC’s Representative to the UN in Geneva Dr. Leon Saltiel.
Schindler acquired the confiscated factory of the Löw-Beers, a Jewish family who were forced to escape following the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. Decades later, Daniel Löw-Beer, a well-known epidemiologist working at the World Health Organization in Geneva, inherited the property. Partnering with the local community, Löw-Beer established the Museum of Survivors through the Arks Foundation, an initiative dedicated to preserving Schindler’s historic memory.
For his efforts, Oskar Schindler and his wife, Emilie, were recognized in 1993 as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem. The film Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg, is considered one of the most powerful and critically acclaimed portrayals of the Holocaust, highlighting the profound impact of individual courage and moral conviction in the face of unimaginable atrocity.
The museum is housed in a renovated section of an old spinning mill. The visitor can walk through the unrestored area through a glass door that separates the two sections, as if dividing the present from the past. It includes a space for exhibitions, lectures, film screenings and concerts, as well as a café. It tells the story of the region in relation to the important Jewish contributions made there, the Low-Beer family, the Bauhaus movement, the birth of genetics, innovation in textiles, and the story of Oskar and Emilie Schindler.
During the opening, a panel was held with Thomas Keneally, author of the novel Schindler’s Ark, and his daughter; Erika Rosenberg, the biographer of Emilie Schindler; actress Oliwia Dabrowska, who played the girl in red in the film Schindler’s List; and the daughter of Joseph and Rebecca Bau, whose secret wedding took place in the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp and is also portrayed in the film.
Another moving instance was when Jana Novakova played the Schindler Music Theme with her violin. Outside, one can wander around the still unrestored buildings and see the SS Barracks, Schindler’s Office, and other sites shown in the film.
