Hundreds of people commemorate 68th anniversary of Lidice massacre

Hundreds of people gathered at a mass grave in the Central Bohemian village of Lidice on Saturday to commemorate the victims of a massacre that took place in 1942. In a speech, the head of the Senate, Přemysl Sobotka, warned that neo-Nazism was a growing threat to Czech society. He added that it was time to learn from the past. The commemoration ceremony continued in front of the village’s museum with a performance by Czech singer Lucie Bílá. Some six-hundred children from child choirs across the country gave concerts as well.

Following the assassination of the German governor of Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhard Heydrich, Nazis razed the village to the ground on June 10, 1942, and executed 340 of Lidice’s 503 inhabitants.

Author: Sarah Borufka