Lidice

Lidice is a small village located in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, approximately 20 kilometers northeast of Prague. Historically, it was part of the Kingdom of Bohemia and later the Czech lands within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The village is best known for its tragic history during World War II.

On June 10, 1942, during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, Lidice was destroyed by German forces as part of a punitive action against the Czech resistance. The village was selected as retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a high-ranking Nazi official and deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, by Czech parachutists on May 27, 1942. Heydrich died from his injuries on June 4, and the Nazis sought to eliminate any suspected collaborators or resistance members in the area.

On the morning of June 10, approximately 170 men from the village were rounded up and executed, either by shooting or transportation to concentration camps. The women and children were transported to the Maly Trostenec concentration camp, where most were murdered in gas chambers. Only a few children were spared and adopted by German families. The entire village was then systematically destroyed, with buildings demolished and the land plowed over. The population of Lidice was approximately 541 people before the attack.

After the war, Lidice was rebuilt as a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and Nazi occupation. The new village was designed to reflect the original layout and architecture, serving as a reminder of the atrocities committed during the war. Today, Lidice is a place of remembrance, with a museum, memorials, and annual commemorations honoring the victims. The village is also a symbol of Czech resistance and resilience during the Nazi occupation.