Lidice survivor Václav Zelenka dies at 83

Václav Zelenka, one of the last survivors of the Lidice massacre, died on Saturday at the age of 83, the Lidice Memorial informed on its website.

Mr Zelenka’s father was killed on the day of the Lidice massacre, on June 9, 1942, and his mother deported to Ravensbrück. He was placed in a German family and renamed Rolf Wagner. In 1947, he returned to Czechoslovakia where he was reunited with his mother.

From 1999 to 2006 he served as a mayor of the reconstructed village of Lidice. During his time in the office, he has succeeded in completing the Lidice Memorial.