The foundation announces a competition for the transformation of the former Schindler's factory into a museum

Brněnec – The Löw-Beer family and Oskar Schindler's Foundation Archa are announcing a student competition for the overall design of the transformation of the former Schindler factory site in Brněnec into a Holocaust survivors museum. The vision of the non-anonymous competition Schindler's Archa is to create a dignified memorial for survivors and preserve the legacy of Oskar Schindler's camp by documenting and continuing the history of the Löw-Beer family and textile production in the region, the foundation stated on its website. The proposal should also include a commercial center, including large workshops for craft production and residential development.

The foundation aims to build sports facilities, educational spaces, seminars, and workshops focused, for example, on textile production, modeled after the German School of Fine Arts Bauhaus on the adjacent lands over time. Modern residential buildings should be built behind them. The devastated factory and its surroundings would thus gain a completely new look, bringing a different atmosphere to the village of about 1,300 inhabitants. According to the project manager of Schindler's Archa, Milan Šudoma, the costs for the museum for survivors will amount to nearly 20 million crowns. The foundation intends to launch a crowdfunding campaign to finance the renovation of the original buildings. Further construction will take place in several phases spread over ten years or more. "For example, it will be necessary to find a suitable investor for residential development. The costs for the entire project will definitely be in the hundreds of millions of crowns," Šudoma told ČTK.

"The sustainability of the project is supported by a combination of a museum for survivors, a large craft hub where it will be possible to create, including textile workshops, and a prototype of modern, sustainable housing that will meet the needs of the local community, namely housing for seniors and young families," the foundation stated in a press release.

The Survivors Museum Schindler's Archa is expected to open in 2025 and will consist of several buildings. The foundation plans to build a so-called glass pavilion on the premises, which will serve particularly educational activities. Some other buildings will undergo renovation. From the original structure where workers slept, Schindler's Archa will emerge, in which Steven Spielberg's film Schindler's List and other documents or interviews with direct participants will be screened. Another space will be dedicated to the Löw-Beer family, who owned the factory before the war and regained it some time ago. The exhibition will also address Jewish history in Czechoslovakia. The site also includes the so-called German building, where German soldiers were stationed, and a structure where Schindler had his office. Part of the premises could be converted into a park.

The factory in Brněnec was established as a paper mill, then served as a wool spinning mill, from which the then-owner Izák Löw-Beer gradually built a significant textile factory. During the war, it was converted into a munitions factory, and Brněnec became a sub-camp of the Groß-Rosen concentration camp. German entrepreneur Oskar Schindler moved about 1,200 workers from his enamel factory in Poland to the factory, thereby saving their lives. However, many perceive Schindler as a controversial figure, not merely a hero and savior of Jews. He was also a member of the Nazi party and the German military intelligence.

After the Nazi invasion of Poland, Schindler acquired a former Jewish enamel factory in Krakow, and since it was cheaper, he hired Jews from the Krakow ghetto. However, the ghetto was liquidated, and its inhabitants were either murdered or deported to the concentration camp in Plaszow. When it was decided that all prisoners would be transferred to Auschwitz, Schindler, using bribes and connections, managed to not only relocate his employees but also their families to his next enterprise, the munitions factory in Brněnec, Moravia. Thus, he saved about 1,200 Polish Jews before his death. After the war, he unsuccessfully attempted to run a business and became a recipient of many honors. He died in 1974 in Germany and was buried in Israel.

The textile factory in Brněnec was operated by the company Vitka after 1989. When it went bankrupt in 2004, it was purchased by Bustrex and renamed Vitka Textiles. In 2011, it went into bankruptcy, production was halted, and since then the premises have been abandoned. The foundation purchased it in 2018, and some buildings are protected as historical monuments.