Global InformationLidice massacre information
| Lidice massacre | |
|---|---|
 Lidice in 1942 after its destruction by the Nazis | |
| Location | Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia |
| Date | 10 June 1942 |
| Target | Czechs |
Attack type | Genocidal massacre[1] |
| Weapons | Firearms |
| Deaths | 340 including 82 children exterminated later after transfer to Chełmno |
| Perpetrators |  Nazi Germany |
| Motive | Reprisal attack following the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich |
The Lidice massacre (Czech: Vyhlazení Lidic) was the complete destruction of the village of Lidice in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, which is now a part of the Czech Republic, in June 1942 on orders from Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and acting Reichsprotektor Kurt Daluege, successor to Reinhard Heydrich. It has gained historical attention as one of the most documented instances of German war crimes during the Second World War, particularly given the deliberate killing of children.
In reprisal for the assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich in the late spring of 1942,[2] all 173 men from the village who were over 15 years of age were executed on 10 June 1942.[3] A further 11 men from the village who were not present at the time were later arrested and executed soon afterwards, along with several others who were already under arrest.[3] Out of a total 503 inhabitants, 307 women and children were sent to a makeshift detention center in a Kladno school. Of these, 184 women and 88 children were deported to concentration camps; 7 children who were considered racially suitable and thus eligible for Germanisation were handed over to SS families, and the rest were sent to the Chełmno extermination camp, where they were gassed to death.[3][4]
The Associated Press, quoting German radio transmissions which it received in New York, said: "All male grownups of the town were shot, while the women were placed in a concentration camp, and the children were entrusted to appropriate educational institutions."[5] Approximately 340 people from Lidice were murdered in the German reprisal (192 men, 60 women and 88 children). After the war ended, only 143 women and 17 children returned.[3][6][7][8][9]
Nazi propaganda openly and proudly announced the events at Lidice in direct contrast to the disinformation and secrecy involved with other crimes against civilian populations, with intense outrage occurring among Allied nations and particularly Anglosphere countries. The history has been depicted in multiple forms of media since the end of the conflict. Examples include the internationally known drama film Operation Daybreak and the composer Bohuslav Martinů composed orchestral work Memorial to Lidice.
In socio-political and legal terms, the event is known as a notable example of a "genocidal massacre", which describes an act of mass killing against a specific community of victims done in step of a larger and more violent campaign enacting hatred against broader groups. This is a part of the larger topic of genocide studies.[1]
- ^ a b Genocide as a Concept in Law and Scholarship: A Widening Rift? Archived 2023-09-06 at the Wayback Machine. Kjell Magnusson.
- ^ Gerwarth 2011, p. 280.
- ^ a b c d Jan Kaplan and Krystyna Nosarzewska, Prague: The Turbulent Century p. 241
- ^ Fraňková, Ruth (23 March 2021). "In memoriam: Marie Šupíková, one of the last survivors of the Lidice massacre". Radio Prague. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ The New York Times, Nazis Blot Out Czech Village; Kill All Men, Disperse Others, 11 June 1942
- ^ Wechsberg, Joseph (1 May 1948). "The Children of Lidice". The New Yorker. p. 34. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Solly, Meilan (12 September 2018). "The Lost Children of the Lidice Massacre". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Tait, Robert (14 March 2020). "Czech village razed by Hitler at heart of row on truth and history". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ "Lidice, 79 Years Later". Prague Morning. 9 June 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.