2020

MEMORIAL OF SILENCE

The Government of the Czech Republic has discussed the establishment of a new public-benefit organisation the MEMORIAL OF SILENCE.

After eight years of monumental effort, Bubny railway station has received a new hope for transforming into a place of memory.

Thank you for your support, and keep your fingers crossed.

Pavel Štingl

The Light of Hope - 10.12.2020, 17:00

The light of hope was lit on the 10th of December 2020 in front of the sculpture of a boat which serves as a reminder of the tragedy of Patria.

The first Hanukkah candle was lit by the Prague rabbi David Peter accompanied by the prayer of the chief rabbi Karol Sidon on the Bubny railway station.

Among the speakers was also Israeli ambassador Daniel Meron. He noted that on this important day his country celebrates not only one of the festivals of Jewish tradition but also the arrival of first round of vaccination against coronavirus to the Holy Land. Vaccination which should also soon arrive to the Czech Republic.

Happy Hanukkah, peaceful Christmas and hopeful New Year to all!

The Memorial of Silence

Remembering the Patria - 80th aniversary - 25.11.2020, 15:00 Bubny station

The history of the Ship Patria is one of the big stories of the 20th century.

On the 25th of November it will be 80 years since the ship Patria has sunk after a powerful explosion in the port of Haifa. At the time of explosion there has been almost 2000 Jewish refugees from the occupied Europe on board of Patria. The explosion has been caused by some of the refugees themselves so that all passengers could – in accord with the British laws – enter the land. The explosion however led to the rapid sinking of the ship and almost 270 of the refugees on board has died in the Patria disaster.

Current Situation

Due to the restrictions caused by the epidemiological situation, the Memorial of Silence is temporarily closing its indoor exhibits. In September, the exhibits were opened in the attic of the railway station building, a space accessible to the public for the very first time. We are planning to reopen these exhibits as soon as it is possible.

Sixth Annual Drumming for Bubny

The Drumming for Bubny is an event that represents breaking the silence of passive observation. The date is symbolic - the sad anniversary of the first Jewish transport which left Bubny train station in 1941.

During the first Drumming event in 2015, almost one thousand drummers came together despite the heavy rain. Every year after that, the Drumming has been supported by hundreds of people. This year, due to the epidemiological situation, all the drummers were represented by just one man: Jaroslav Kořán. Immediately afterward, a concert by the Bennewitz Quartet was performed in the main hall of the train station and transmitted by Czech public TV ČT art.

The musical program was selected as a tribute to people whose departure meant a tragic end to Prague's Czech-Jewish-German intercultural balance of interwar Czechoslovakia.