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National Post

Museum opens at former factory in Czech Republic where Schindler saved 1,200 Jews

BRNENEC, Czech Republic — A dilapidated industrial site in the Czech Republic where German businessman Oskar Schindler saved 1,200 Jews during the World War II is coming back to life. Article content Article content The site, a former textile factory in the town of Brněnec, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of Prague, was stolen by the Nazis from its Jewish owners in 1938 and turned into a concentration camp. This weekend it welcomed the first visitors to the Museum of Survivors dedicated to the Holocaust and the history of Jews in this part of Europe. Article content Article content The opening was timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. It was also in May 1945 that Schindler received a golden ring from grateful Jewish survivors, made with gold taken from their teeth. The ring was inscribed with the Hebrew words from Talmud, saying 'Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.' Article content Article content Daniel Löw-Beer was a driving force behind the project. His predecessors lived in this part of Czech Republic for hundreds of years, acquiring the plant in Brnenec in 1854 and turning it into one of Europe's most important wool factories. Article content 'We had to flee for our lives, lost a bit of our history, so putting a little bit of history back to a place and hopefully bringing out as well the history of Oskar Schindler and the village is what we're doing today,' Löw-Beer told The Associated Press. Article content Today, his family members are scattered around the world. 'I'm pleased to put a little bit, of course emotionally, of my family back in the place because they were survivors. My grandfather lived here, my father lived here, and then the world was shattered one day in 1938,' he said. Article content Article content Article content Glass wall separates past and present Article content The museum, housed in part of a renovated spinning mill, displays the history of Schindler, his wife Emilie, the Löw-Beer family and others linked to the area, together with the testimonies of Holocaust survivors. It includes a space for exhibitions, lectures, film screenings and concerts, as well as a cafe. Article content A transparent glass wall between this part and the bigger, still ruined area behind it separates the present and history. Article content 'It's a universal place of survivors,' Löw-Beer said. 'We want those stories to be told and people to make their own opinions.' Article content In 2019 Löw-Beer set up the Arks Foundation to buy the warehouse and turn it into a museum, investing money and renewing a partnership with the local community to revive the neglected site. Article content The regional government contributed funds, while a grant from the European Union brought children from five European countries to Brněnec to come up with ideas that helped shape the museum design. Article content The official opening on the weekend completed the first step but a lot remains to be done. The remaining buildings are still waiting to be fully restored. They include Schindler's office where the town hall plans to create an information center, the barracks of the SS troops, which will provide more exhibition spaces, and the entire building of Schindler's Ark where the Jewish prisoners lived and worked.