Pavel at site of Ležáky: Society should watch for signs that preceded past conflicts

Czech President Petr Pavel says that society should pay attention to the warning signs that have led to conflicts in the past and not underestimate threats. He made these comments on the site of the former village of Ležáky in Eastern Bohemia during a memorial event marking the anniversary of the village’s destruction by the Nazis 84 years ago.

The head of state told the Czech News Agency that after a long period of peace and relative prosperity people tended to believe this was how things should be. However, he said, history shows that people must work to maintain peace every day and that this may not always succeed without effort.

The Nazis burned down the village of Ležáky on June 24, 1942, in retaliation for the assassination of Governor Reinhard Heydrich. This occurred two weeks after the massacre in Lidice, Central Bohemia. The Gestapo discovered that paratroopers from Ležáky, trained in England, had been using the “Libuše” radio to maintain contact between the domestic and foreign resistance movements.