In memory of Lidice Czechoslovakia whose citizens perished by Nazi Brutality June 10, 1942

Lest We Forget
Truth Shall Prevail

A Brief History

Under Adolph Hitler's order, the small Czechoslovakian village of Lidice was wiped out as punishment for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi controller of Bohemia and Moravia.

On the evening of June 9, 1942, the Nazis entered the village and separated the women and children from the men and boys over age 15. The 173 men and boys were put in farm buildings and the women and children were locked in a local school.

At 7 a.m., June 10th, the men and boys were shot by an execution squad in groups of ten. An additional 19 men, who were working during these executions, were rounded up and sent to Prague to be shot.

The women were either shot or transferred to Ravensbruk concentration camp. Those few children who were found suitable for "Germanization" were picked out and given to SS families while the others died in gas chambers.

Then the entire village and landscape was ploughed flat, including churches and graveyards. In doing so, the landscape was forever changed; wiping the village off of the map.

Sister City

How did Lidice become Crest Hill's sister city? Two days after this horrific brutality, Dominic Romano the developer of the Stern Park, was the first in the world to rename a town in honor of Lidice, Czechoslovakia. In 1942, the then exiled President of Czechoslovakia, attended the dedication of the original monument.

The Rose Garden

In Lidice, Czechoslovakia, a "Park of Peace and Friendship" was opened and thousands of rose bushes planted. As part of Crest Hill's memorial, they are attempting to develop a rose garden where 82 rose bushes would be planted in honor of each child who perished in 1942.

Lidice Remembered

For more information on Lidice and it's connection with Crest Hill, IL you may want to check-out books by Toni Brendel. Click here for more information.