Memorial to Jewish and Romani Holocaust victims to be erected in Brno

A new memorial will commemorate the sacrifice of 12 000 Jews and hundreds of Roma from Brno who perished in the concentration camps of WWII. The city intends to erect the memorial to the victims of the Holocaust at Náměstí 28. října (28 October Square). According to Deputy Mayor Daniel Rychnovský (Christian Democrats), the city is now putting together on the commission for the design competition. Rychnovský told journalists the city hopes to receive designs for the memorial by the end of September.

An expert group including representatives of Jewish and Romani communities is designing the commission. The memorial will stand in the park on the square, which was recently modified. “There is room for a sculpture there,” Rychnovský said. The date of the installation, the size of the memorial and its cost will depend on the results of the competition. The results should be known by year-end.

There is currently no monument to the victims of the Holocaust in Brno, even though the events inscribed themselves into the history of the city and the life of its inhabitants. After the war, 12 000 Jews never returned to Brno from the concentration camps, and only a few hundred Jews remained there. “Whenever we take pride in the Tugendhat villa, which is a UNESCO-protected monument, we must always remember it was built by Jewish owners,” Deputy Mayor Rychnovský has said.

Various memorials commemorating 20th century history and personalities have been erected in Brno in recent years. This week a statue of Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš will be unveiled at the Law Faculty. Last year on the eve of 17 November, the Bohunice quarter unveiled a memorial to the victims of communist despotism. The memorial commemorates the suffering of residents who lost their homes when the state took over the land to build a housing estate there. Three years ago a bronze pyramid was erected in Roosevelt street in honor of the victims of both World Wars and communist totalitarianism.