After long renovations, the Memorial Zámeček with a new exhibition will open in Pardubice

Pardubice – After long modifications, the Zámeček Memorial will reopen to the public on Tuesday with a new exhibition. The national cultural monument stands on the site of a former training shooting range, where Germans shot 194 people from June 3 to July 9, 1942, after the assassination of the acting Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich, including residents from the village of Ležáky. Pardubice has decided to give the memorial a new look and to present the burdensome wartime atmosphere and the heroism of the Czechoslovak resistance to visitors using modern means. The city perceived the former appearance of the memorial as a debt both to the witnesses of the occupation and to current generations, said Deputy Mayor Jakub Rychtecký (ČSSD) to ČTK..

"The area was previously closed; when someone came, they could view it upon request. There was no exhibition that would provide more detailed information about the events. Because the area was closed, only two memorial acts took place here each year. We decided that this is too few, that it is a pity," Rychtecký stated. According to him, many people in Pardubice were not even aware that such a significant memorial existed in the city.

The memorial is embedded in the terrain and has a grassy surface. Right at the beginning, visitors can watch a short film capturing the transformation from the first republic atmosphere to Nazi terror with unknown historical images from Pardubice. In the following rooms, there are documents showcasing the administrative precision of the Nazi apparatus or items preserved from the execution site, such as the rifles used during the executions, original wooden coffins, parts of the gallows, or an urn with the ashes of some victims. The exhibition also includes other audio and visual recordings, such as the narrated diary of Jaroslav Charypar, who transported the dead from the execution site, period recordings from Czechoslovak Radio, or short films featuring testimonies from survivors and witnesses.

Experts have obtained significant documents from archives in Russia, Germany, the USA, Ukraine, Israel, and Great Britain. Unique are the previously unpublished personal notes of Heinrich Himmler, records from meetings with Adolf Hitler, or Joseph Goebbels' personal diary from June 1942, which visitors will have access to through installed tablets. For the very first time, the public will be able to glimpse the diary of a Jewish girl who escaped from the protectorate or see personal notes from Alfred Bartoš's diary, which was found by the Gestapo.

The difficult period of the protectorate is also evoked by the building materials used. The walls are made of bare exposed concrete, and the exhibition room has a rough compacted earthen floor. Everything is enhanced by very sparse interior lighting.

The area has also been brought closer to its appearance in 1942. The barrage greenery has disappeared, the original rampart, in front of which executions were carried out in 1942, has been uncovered. A total of 58 trees and bushes have been planted, gravel paths have been created, new furniture has been added, and public lighting has been installed.

Repairs began last May. The official opening is scheduled for the end of October. The main access to the Zámeček Memorial will be from Průmyslová Street, where the city has built a parking lot. The memorial, including the exhibitions, cost 43.8 million Czech crowns, with 21 million crowns covered by EU subsidies and funds from the state budget. The memorial is operated by a newly established contributory organization of the city, and its annual operational costs will be around five million crowns. The Pardubice City Hall plans to apply for a grant of 100,000 crowns from the Pardubice Region for these purposes and seeks additional funds from the newly occupied Ministry of Culture.