Leading Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza has revealed that plans are now well underway for the resuscitation of the fabled Schindler factory.
Waldemar Dabrowski, Poland's Minister of Culture, has already allotted 4 million zloty to the Cracow City Committee that is supervising the project.
Cracow's Mayor Jacek Majchrowski is one of the most committed supporters of the renewal of the building and it appears that his bid for a Museum of Contemporary Art will be realized.
However, a museum of a more historical nature will also be a key part of the large complex of buildings that make up the former linoleum factory of German businessman Oskar Schindler. Majchrowski is optimistic that this branch of the museum may even be inaugurated by Autumn this year.
The factory made famous by Stephen Spielberg's film Schindler's List is currently in a rather morose state. A small printing atelier operates in some of the buildings, whilst other parts lie vacant. The complex is not open to the public.
Cracow's Mayor sees the regeneration of the factory as a crucial step in the rejuvenation of the entire area. Schindler's factory stands just on the fringe of the former Jewish ghetto, a holding area that was created by the Nazis in the Spring of 1941. This tragic setting, which constitutes the heart of the southern Podgorze district, is itself rundown and rarely visited by outsiders. Nevertheless, changes are just beginning to occur.
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