Lidice Czechoslovakia

By Frank Gluth

ADOLPHUS DEDICATION: A substantial crowd and good weather oversaw a very meaningful and solemn ceremony on Saturday, 10 October. The newly named Adolphus Kraemer Park was made official. Several descendants of Adolphus were in attendance. And I have no doubt in my mind that Adolphus was also there. More information to follow in future Oldtimer articles.

CZECH VILLAGE DESTROYED BY NAZIS: During World War II, Eastern Europe was ruled by an iron Nazi fist, one which had no limitations. An entire village named Lidice was completely devastated and destroyed as an exhibition of their cruelty.

In September, 1941, Czechoslovakia and Austria had been under German occupation longer than any other European country. Hitler had stated that Czechoslovakia "ceased to exist." The country was divided into provinces, Bohemia and Moravia, each ruled by a "sham" government created by the Nazis.

The Czechs, as in all German occupied countries, began anti-German resistance. Hitler, in attempt to control this rebellious acts, imposed much more stringent treatment for the Czechs. SS Obergruppenfurher Reinhard Heydrich, a brutal and merciless man, was appointed as Reich protector of Bohemia and Moravia. Heydrich would eventually become the power behind the plans for the final solution (mass extermination of the Jews). He promptly began a reign of terror in the occupied Check territory that knew no boundaries. An initial act was the execution of 340 suspected members of the Czech resistance. This heartless killing merited a new title by the Czechs; he became the "Butcher of Prague."

The Czech population was highly skilled and was needed to toil at armament and manufacturing plants vital to the German war effort. Heydrich realizing the necessity of keeping this valuable workforce induction, established a policy which became known as "the whip and sugar" policy. With a stringent threat behind it, Czech workers were given additional rations. The rations would be greatly reduced with any drop in production or if the feared resistance should continue. The hungry populace eagerly grasped at this and it was very successful. Its effectiveness was so powerful that British and the Czech government in exile resolved that the Butcher should be eliminated. The perpetrators knew full well that would result in heavy reprisals.

May of 1942, assassins hurled a hand grenade into Heydrich's Mercedes. He was badly wounded and died a few days later in a hospital. An enraged Hitler issued a mandate to kill 10,000 Czechs as punishment. One thousand Czech civilians were executed within a week's time.

Thus began a massive manhunt for the two original assassins. The Nazis found them with friends hiding in a Prague church. The intensive manhunt also disclosed that Czech resistance workers integral in the plot were being hidden in the small village of Lidice.

In June, 1942, a huge convoy of trucks loaded with German troops invaded the peaceful little city. Every edifice was searched and all residents were crowded into the town square. As the men returned home as day's end form their cola mining jobs, they were incarcerated in barns.

The following day, nearly two hundred men and boys over the age of 16 were lined up in front o firing squads and killed. To expedite the process, the remainder was burned alive in a barn. Most of the women nd children were sent to concentration camps where many died. Of the population of 492 people, 170 women and children survived.

As an final act, the entire town was razed and all rubble transported away. Grain was planted. All traces of the slaughtered city were removed. This futile attempt to obliterate all memories of Lidice was denied. The story of what had transpired to Lidice extended to the rest of the world. Several small villages around the globe renamed their towns Lidice in memory of this atrocity. It became common to christen newborn girls with the village name.

After the war, the Czech government began pals to rebuild the village. When finished, many of the original survivors returned to resume life there. Approximately 150 homes now occupy the site.

HOME IS WHERE . . . . Home is where we love; home that our feet may leave but not our hearts. The chain may lengthen but it never parts. With the crowd attending the Apple Festival, it would appear that many Oak Harborites did "return home.," even if only for a short time. So 'tis time to reiterate one of George Bredehoft favorite quotations.

Early in the morning

The lad could be found

Churning the butte

r to sell in the town

**BURMA SHAVE**

(by Harold Lewis)