Jewish Transport Memorial from Ostrava to Nisko

Seventy years ago, on October 18, 1939, around a thousand Jewish men were deported from Moravská Ostrava. Their transport to Nazi-occupied Poland was the first in an endless series that accompanied the murder of European Jews. To mark this sad anniversary, on October 18, 2009, a memorial was unveiled at the main train station in Ostrava as "a tribute to the victims of the first deportation transport of Jews in Europe from Ostrava to Nisko on the San." The unveiling was attended by the mayor of Ostrava, representatives of the Moravian-Silesian Region, various social organizations from Ostrava, as well as Chief Rabbi Sidon, representatives of Jewish communities and organizations, and Jews from Ostrava who now live in Israel. The memorial was created to remind, to leave a legacy, a place of remembrance where one can reflect on the brutal moments of the past with some distance. Its design does not compel anyone moving freely in the busy train station to engage in this reflection.

From an urban planning perspective, the memorial, with its simple concept, subtly highlights the connection between a specific place and the specific fate of people, and events from the past. The orientation of the memorial, which connects the place with the commemorative plaque and the memorial itself, aligns with the direction of the transport to Nisko.
The location for the memorial was chosen considering the ongoing planned changes to the forecourt space as part of the "Aesthetic Improvement of the Forecourt in Ostrava - Přívoz" project. After the implementation of this plan, the memorial will be surrounded by a more dignified open space, the traffic situation will be improved, and the placement of pedestrian crossings will change, and the memorial will no longer be in the main pedestrian thoroughfare, as it is today in the temporary solution.

The memorial consists of six segments, six spatially separated parts of a Star of David, and a commemorative plaque. Each of the six parts of the star is supported by its own metallic base, which is colorfully distinguished from the star itself. The elements that form the star shine in a golden hue. The supports are gray, metallic silver. The segments are wrought iron rods, and the commemorative plaque is an inclined metallic plate containing information about the memorial. The individual parts of the memorial are spatially arranged so that when viewed from the commemorative plaque, they visually unite into the golden symbol of the star. It is only from this single place that the star is visible. The symbol of the star is not immediately readable; it can only be found by those who are interested, who seek, and who approach the commemorative plaque with curiosity. Here they will find information and, looking forward, gaze upon the six symbolically represented souls of the transport, which can inspire reflection through their dignity. The distance from the commemorative plaque to the first segment of the composition is in golden ratio proportions, as is the increasing distance between the individual segments of the memorial. The commemorative plaque contains only basic information about the memorial site, with additional information for interested parties to be installed later in the museum that will be established in the forecourt space.

The design emphasized an aesthetically unpretentious yet powerful expression, simplicity, and symbolism of the individual parts of the memorial and its overall composition. The material and especially the surface treatments of the memorial's parts are meant to highlight the Star of David as an unmistakable symbol of Judaism.