Reinhard #Heydrich, one of the architects of the #holocaust, died #OnThisDay in 1942, from wounds inflicted by Czech SOE agents during an ambush some days earlier.
#OnThisDay in 1942, Warrant Officers Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš ambushed
Reinhard #Heydrich and attempted to assassinate him. He was wounded and would later die in hospital.
The reprisals were brutal and swift, and eventually led to the complete destruction of the villages of #Lidice and #Ležáky. #LestWeForget
The memorial to child victims of war at #Lidice - 82 sculptures of children, cast in bronze. I've seen it in person, and it's a very powerful piece. It's also in need of restoration.
For my #birthday later this month, I'm asking for #donations to the restoration fund.
My book, "A Ray of Light: Reinhard Heydrich, #Lidice and the North Staffordshire Miners" is currently #DriveThruFiction's deal of the day - discounted by 60%
Note that if you have a #DriveThruRPG or #WargameVault account, you can use those details to log in to DriveThruFiction.
It's #HolocaustRemembranceDay, a day to remember the victims. As well as millions of #Jews, all sorts of other "undesirables" were murdered. #Trans, gays, romany, disabled people, all murdered.
The village of #Lidice in what is now Czechia, was completely destroyed. The men were shot, the women and kids sent to death camps. They even dug up the graves, landscaped the area, and reissued maps with it removed. The nazis were determined that it should be forgotten.
We moved to #StokeOnTrent about 17 years ago. Ten years ago my son and I saw a video about #Lidice and its connection to the city at a local museum.
I promised to tell the story to at least two people, in return for a tag on the upcoming Unearthed sculpture. When I told @JetlagJen, she encouraged me to write a book about it.
I've talked about Lidice on #BBC Radio Stoke, #Radio4, podcasts, and YouTube. My book even inspired a song about Lidice.
As you enjoy a lovely spring day, think of the #Czech villagers of #Lidice who never saw another day
murdered by the Nazis 9-10 June 1942 in reprisal for the assassination of Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich by Czechoslovak paratroopers
173 adult males & several women were shot, & c. 200 women were deported to concentration camps (143 survived). A handful of the c. 100 children were given to Aryan families to be Germanized; the rest were gassed at Chełmno
"this most savage single act of repression":
Washington Post
accords the #Nazi massacre of #Czech villagers at #Lidice (9-10 June 1942) almost equal status with the great US victory at #Midway--a very good way to put these disparate #WWII events in perspective
#OTD in 1942, the village of #Lidice in The Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (now Czechia) was completely destroyed. The men were shot, the women and children sent to death camps.
Hitler wanted everything Lidice, even the memory of it, to die. Miners in #StokeOnTrent disagreed. Later that year, they started a campaign to raise funds, and Lidice was rebuilt after the war.
Shortly after 10:30 #OnThisDay in 1942, Warrant Officers Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš ambushed Reinhard Heydrich in an assassination attempt. He was wounded and would later die in hospital.
The reprisals were brutal and swift, and eventually led to the complete destruction of the village of #Lidice. #LestWeForget