Memorial held to victims of Ležáky atrocity

The burning to the ground of the village of Ležáky in East Bohemia and the murder of its population was remembered on Sunday at the place where it once stood. The memorial was closed to the public but saw Finance Minister Alena Schillerová, Arts Minister Lubomír Zaorálek and other dignitaries lay wreaths at a monument to the victims.

The atrocity, which took place on 24 June 1942, came in retaliation for the killing of Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich and followed the similar destruction of Lidice near Prague. When the Gestapo discovered that the parachutists sent to assassinate Heydrich kept a radio transmitter in Ležáky they murdered 51 of its residents.