Commemorative ceremony for Ležáky

Hundreds of people attended a commemorative ceremony on Sunday on the site of Ležáky, one of the two Czech villages that the Nazis razed to the ground 68 years ago in retaliation for the assassination of Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich. The children were either transported to concentration camps or resettled with German families whilst all 52 adults were killed and Ležáky was razed to the ground on June 24th 1942, just two weeks after the destruction of Lidice. Speaking at the ceremony President Vaclav Klaus said it was important for future generations to learn the lessons of the past, to realize the full meaning of expressions such as statehood, freedom and sovereignty and be ever ready to defend them.