The Minister of Culture will inform the government about the Monument of Silence

Prague - The Minister of Culture Martin Baxa (ODS) will inform the government on Wednesday about the establishment of a new contributory organization of the Ministry of Culture, which last year became the institution Memorial of Silence. The main goal of this memory institution will be education and the fight against xenophobia, antisemitism, and other current extremist expressions in society. The Memorial of Silence has become the 30th contributory organization of the Ministry of Culture.

The previous government decided to establish a new contributory organization to take over the activities of the eponymous non-profit organization at the end of 2020. In the government resolution, the Minister of Culture was tasked with presenting information to the government about the establishment of the Memorial of Silence by December 31, 2021. The organization was established on May 27, 2021, and from that date, Pavel Štingl was appointed by the Minister of Culture to manage the organization.

The non-profit organization Memorial of Silence had for several years in the building of the former Prague station Bubny alerted to Jewish transports. The idea of transforming the unused station into the Memorial of Silence came from the documentary filmmaker and director of the non-profit organization Memorial Shoah Prague Pavel Štingl.

Symbolically, the first step in the reconstruction of the railway station was in 2015 the unveiling of a monument by Aleš Veselý, which replaces the usual significance of a cornerstone. It takes the form of a track leading to the sky. After many years of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with the state or the city of Prague, the organization ultimately became a state institution.

The Memorial of Silence will highlight the fates of Jewish residents of Prague during World War II. Its main activity focuses not only on documenting transports from the station in Bubny to concentration and extermination camps and other fates of Czech Jews, but also on irreversible cultural changes in Prague.

In the coming years, the departure building of the Prague - Bubny station is to be reconstructed, which will serve as a Holocaust memorial. The property and surrounding land are state-owned through the Railway Administration. Much of the property is unnecessary for the future operation of rail transport, and the project can thus arise without limiting any future urban development in Prague.

According to earlier information, the Ministry of Culture has provided about 5.6 million crowns for the preparation of the memorial construction, and other parts of the project are estimated to cost around ten million. It has also allocated 50 million for the creation of a permanent exhibition at the memorial. The office estimated the expenses for the repair and completion of the building at up to 200 million crowns.