Lidice
Lidice (German: Liditz) is a village in the Kladno District of the Czech Republic, 22 kilometres (14 mi) northwest of Prague. It is built near the site of the previous village of the same name, which was completely destroyed (see Lidice massacre) in June 1942 on orders from Adolf Hitler and Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler in reprisal for the assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich.[1]
History
Pre-World War II
The village is first mentioned in writing in 1318. After the industrialisation of the area, many of Lidice people worked in mines and factories in the neighbouring cities of Kladno and Slaný.
Nazi reprisal, massacre, and razing of village
Lidice was chosen as a target for reprisals in the wake of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, because its residents were suspected of harbouring local resistance partisans and were falsely associated with aiding team members of Operation Anthropoid.[2][3] Altogether, about 340 people from Lidice died because of the German reprisal (192 men, 60 women and 88 children). The village of Lidice was set on fire and the remains of the buildings destroyed with explosives.
Post-war Lidice
After the war ended, only 153 women and 17 children returned.[4] They were rehoused in a new village of Lidice that was built overlooking the original site, built using money raised by the Lidice Shall Live campaign based in north Staffordshire in the United Kingdom.[5] The first part of the new village was completed in 1949.
Memorial museum
Situated 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the museum, in the new village, is an art gallery which displays permanent and temporary exhibitions. The annual children's art competition attracts entries from around the world.[6]
International relations
Lidice is twinned with:
References
- ^ Gerwarth, Robert (2011). Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-300-11575-8.
- ^ Williamson, Gordon (1995). Loyalty is my Honor. Motorbooks International. p. 87. ISBN 0-7603-0012-7.
- ^ Wechsberg, Joseph (24 June 1948). "The Love Letter That destroyed Lidice". The Milwaukee Journal. p. 20. Retrieved 25 May 2016 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Jan Kaplan and Krystyna Nosarzewska, Prague: The Turbulent Century, Koenemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Koeln, (1997) p. 241 ISBN 3-89508-528-6
- ^ Phillips, Russell (2016). A Ray of Light: Reinhard Heydrich, Lidice, and the North Staffordshire Miners. Shilka Publishing. p. 69. ISBN 9780995513303.
- ^ International Children’s Exhibition of Fine Arts Lidice
- ^ Griffin, Mary (2 August 2011). "Coventry's twin towns". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ "Coventry - Twin towns and cities". Coventry City Council. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
