Slovakia plans to hold a competition for a Holocaust memorial monument to be erected in Bratislava and would like to open a Jewish museum here.
But there are various problems, an official of the Slovak Ministry of Culture explained. No date has been set for the competition, but it will be announced “soon,” the official said.
The monument would be erected on Zidovska (Jewish) Street, in the former Jewish quarter.
So would the museum. But a dispute has arisen over ownership of the building where it would be housed, and there is also a personnel problem, the official said.
While the Slovak National Museum has the budget and the authorization to hire a person to direct the Jewish museum, it has been hard to find the right person.
According to the ministry official, there is a woman well qualified for the job. But the Orthodox community objected because its tradition prohibits women from handling certain religious items that might be part of the museum’s collection.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.