Commemorative ceremony to mark Lidice massacre

A commemorative ceremony has been held to mark the 67th anniversary of the Lidice massacre by the Nazis. The country’s political leaders, among them President Václav Klaus and Senate chairman Přemysl Sobotka, cultural figures and war veterans attended a wreath laying ceremony and concert held in memory of those killed in the brutal massacre. The old Lidice, a village north-west of Prague was one of two villages which were completely destroyed by German forces in reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich the highest ranking Nazi official in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. On June 10th of 1942, all 192 men over 15 years of age were rounded up and shot, the women were sent to concentration camps and the children to be re-educated. The other village, Ležáky was razed to the ground in a similar manner a fortnight later.