Bell #9801 rang in Prague to commemorate the bells taken away by the Nazis
Update: 28/08/2022 18:21
Issued by: 28/08/2022, 18:14
Prague – From today, the memorial Bell #9801 stands on the pontoon at Prague’s Smetana embankment, commemorating the fate of the bells that were taken by the Nazis from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia to Germany during the Second World War. After today’s ceremonial unveiling, it was rung for the first time in the metropolis by bell ringers from the Sanctus Castulus association, which initiated its creation. It will ring at its current location near the so-called tentacle until the end of September at the latest, after which it will be moved to another location on the pontoon. In the future, tentatively starting in 2024, the bell is to be permanently rung in the bell tower on Rohanské Island.
The creation of the bell was initiated by Ondřej Boháč, a Prague bell ringer and chairman of the Sanctus Castulus association. He recalled today that thousands of bells were taken to the self-proclaimed Third Reich during the Second World War for the Nazi arms industry, each of which represented the story of a community. “For a very long time I have been thinking about how to try to recall this lost and forgotten piece of history,” he said.
He added that the entire memorial bell project took less than a year from the initial idea to today’s unveiling, for which he thanked everyone who had contributed. According to Boháč, the advantage of the pontoon is that it allows the work to be moved on the water, so that it can visit more places where the bells it commemorates came from before its final location on Rohanské Island.
The purpose of the functional memorial, which resounded in the center of the metropolis today after 5:00 p.m., is to recall the past in relation to the present, as stated by today’s other speakers. The bell was made by masters at the oldest Austrian bell factory Grassmayr in Innsbruck and arrived in Prague this week by ship. One of the authors of the bell, Petr Grassmayr, said at the unveiling today that the bell reminds us of the need to fight for peace, which is the most important thing we have. In that context, he also recalled the senselessness of the war in Ukraine. “Let us strive for peace,” he urged.
The bell measures 187 centimeters, weighs 9,801 kilograms, and its shell is decorated with fragments of bells melted down during the war for the benefit of the Nazi arms industry. The weight of the work directly refers to the number of bells that were taken from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia in the summer of 1942 to the war factories in Hamburg. The planned final location of the bell on Rohanský ostrov arose from the fact that it was in this location that bells from various corners of the Czech Republic were grouped together and then transported to Germany by ship.
According to the earlier statement of Prague’s Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček, the designers who will propose the future form of Rohanské and Libeň Islands will also count on the bell on Rohanský ostrov. As city councilor Jan Chabr (TOP 09) said today, the council will approve the future contract agreement, according to which the association will donate the bell to the city after the final placement.