Imagine that one day you are taken from the comforts of your home in your small quiet village when suddenly soldiers arrive and without explanation shoot you if you are a male, take your children from you if you are a mother, and if you are a woman or a child place you in a concentration camp. This is what happened to the people who lived in Lidice, a town that was utterly destroyed by German Nazi’s during World War II. Lidice is located about 45 minutes away from Prague and today where the town once stood, there is a grand memorial dedicated to those whose homes and lives were taken away.
In 1941, after Czechoslovakia came under German rule, Reinhard Heydrich, one of the most dangerous Nazi party members, was appointed as the protectorate of Moravia and Bohemia. He came to Prague to strengthen the Nazi party and fight Czech resistence. On May 27, 1942, Heydrich was assassinated by Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, two Czech soldiers who had been specially trained in Britain. After Heydrich’s death on June 2, Hitler sought retaliation of the assassins. Intelligience linked the assassins to Lidice, and Heinrich Himmler, a leading member of the Nazi party, ordered for the town to be eradicated. Everything was burned to the ground and even the graveyard of the town was destroyed. 192 men were assassinated and the rest of the population was sent to concentration camps, where most of the women and children were killed. In all, 340 people from Lidice died.
Inside the museum of Lidice
After the end of the war, the women who had survived were housed in the new town of Lidice. There is now a museum at the memorial with artifacts and pictures that survived the destruction of the town. Long paths wind down green fields and lead to a sculpture, which honors the children who died at the concentration camp. There is also a crown of thorns on a cross, which honors the men who were murdered and next to the memorial there is a rose garden where there must have been a million roses that leads to the new town of Lidice. It’s different reading about history in a textbook and actually being at the spot where it happened. The history becomes more real and the numbers of murders turn into actual lives. Despite the horrific event that happened here, Lidice was beautiful. The green pastures and massive trees were complemented by blue sunny skies. It was bitter sweet to feel this natural beauty in a place were innocent people were murdered. I valued this experience learning about Lidice and in that way honoring those who died.
Memorial to the massacred men of Lidice
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