lidice & stoke-on-trent for schools
TRANSCRIPT
The Bond BetweenLidice
& Stoke-on-Trent
© Alan Gerrard / The Barnett Stross Foundation
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Lidice
EUROPE AT THE HEIGHT OF NAZI GERMANY POWER 1942
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Stoke-on-Trent
Lidice 9th June 1942 – 503 inhabitants
Men employed as miners and steelworkers in the nearby city of Kladno
School photographJune 2nd 1942
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Reinhard Heydrich1904 - 1942
Considered to be Adolf Hitler’s successor
Installed as Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia & Moravia on 27 September 1941
Considered the Czechoslovakian people to be slaves for the German war effort.
Increased the working day from 8 hours to 12 hours
He famously proclaimed, “We will Germanize the Czech vermin”
5,000 Czechs executed in first 4 months
Czechoslovakians knew him as “The Hangman”
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Operation Anthropoid
27th May 1942
Heydrich’s burnt out Mercedes
Minutes from London meeting which gives
confirmation of the decision to execute plan
The British trained Czech partisan assassinators Jan
Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík
Left at the scene: Stengun Mk II and hand grenade
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Nazi Retribution
On hearing news of Heydrich’s death, an enraged Adolf Hitler ordered the Gestapo to“Wade in blood” throughBohemia.As a result many Czechs were summarily shot and hanged without trial and 13,000 arrests were made
Hitler wanted to “Make up for “his” death”
Following Heydrich’s assassination public executions
in Prague were commonplace
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Lidice – 10th June 1942The Men - 192 murdered
Early morning 173 men were executed at Mr. Horak’s farmhouseFirst shot in batches of 5Then batches of 10The 19 not in the village at the time were shot later in Prague
The remains of Horak’s farmhouse. Nearby lies the mass grave in which
the executed men were unceremoniously thrown.
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Lidice – 10th June 1942The 173 men murdered in Lidice
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Lidice – June 1942Women & Children
Kladno Grammar SchoolJune 10th – 12th
On the gymnasium floor strewn with a little straw the women and children spent their
last three days and two nights together.
The Gestapo made detailed descriptions of the children, identifying hair and eye colour
On the 12th the children were forcibly separated from the women
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The Children82 murdered – 9 “Germanized”
19 of the 82 Lidice children, murdered at Chelmno on July 2nd in specially adapted gas vans
Postcards written home to parents – July 1st. The children’s fate had already been decided.
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The ChildrenThe ditch near Chelmno where many thousand children were laid to rest
This propaganda image promoted the Nazis’ Lebensborn programme and
contains two “Germanized” Lidice children. Their experience was far more
traumatic than the picture suggests
Dress of Lidice girl found near site
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The Women60 murdered
Ravensbrück concentration camp
A photograph of the Lidice women on the day of their
liberation.143 survived.
They returned to find devastation and discovered
the deaths of their men folk.
Badge worn by Lidice women
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LidiceJune 1942
The Animals
The livestock were sent to German farm
All family pets were shot
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LidiceJune 11th 1942 – late 1943
The systematicobliteration of the village begins
A professional film crew is hired to record the events for promotional purposes
The Nazis steal the savings of the victims to pay for the destruction of the village15
LidiceJune 11th 1942 – late 1943
Re-routing the river
Hitler Youth violation of the cemetery included the removal of gold teeth from corpses 16
LidiceJune 11th 1942 – late 1943
Hitler Youth uprooting thetrees
Transporting the rubble out on a specially constructed narrow gauge railway
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The only living thing to remain in Lidice.
The Pear Tree
Now protected by the Czech government
At the time of the atrocity a small sapling
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LidiceJune 11th 1942 – late 1943
The cross was erected at the site of the mass grave by Soviet troops who liberated
Czechoslovakia in Spring 1945
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The Lidice Shall Live
Campaign
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Sir Barnett Stross
Born Christmas Day 1899 in Poland. Jewish faith
Family moved to Leeds 1902
GP Shelton from 1926
Councillor for Shelton from 1937 - 1945
MP for Hanley / Stoke Central 1945 – 1965
Died 14th May 1967
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Sir Barnett StrossFounder of the international “Lidice Shall Live” campaign
Successfully fought for improvements to working conditions for miners and pottery workers
Donated land for The Mitchell Memorial Theatre
Key figure in the establishment of Keele University
Designed the largest Memorial Rose Garden in the world. Completed 1955
Knighted Valentine’s Day 1964 for services to arts
Sir Barnett Stross was granted “Freedom of the village of Lidice” in 1957
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Lidice Shall LiveThe Victoria Hall
September 6th 1942
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North Staffordshire MinersEmpathy for fellow mining community.
Staffordshire miners donate one day’s pay per week to the campaign
Sneyd Pit Disaster January 1942
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Lidice Shall LiveFrom its base in Stoke-on-Trent the campaign spreads to an international level
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Lidice Shall LiveRebuilding the Village – 1947 >
Barnett Stross with delegates from The North Staffs Miners’ Federation in Lidice in 1947 inspecting the devastation left by the
Nazis. They help to plan a “new” Lidice26
Lidice Shall LiveHousing & Memorial Rose Garden
The main phase of the “model mining village” was completed in 1950
Barnett Stross presenting the plans for the “Friendship & Peace Park” to Lidice residents – opened in 1955
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The Rose Garden
The beautiful “Friendship & Peace Park” is the largest rose garden in the world.
Designed by Barnett Stross it contains hundreds of variants of roses from across the globe.
The“Lidice Rose”
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Lidice Today
The Stoke-on-Trent based
campaign donated the equivalent of
£1 million to ensure a new
Lidice would rise again.
Adolf Hitler had proclaimed that
Lidice would “Die Forever”
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Lidice TodayThe Memorial Museum
A visit to The Memorial Museum and gardens is a humbling experience for all.
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Lidice Today The Lidice Gallery houses “The Lidice
Collection”, a priceless collection of paintings
and sculptures commemorating the atrocity. Donated by
celebrated international artists following a call by
Barnett Stross in 1966
The Lidice Gallery
The Lidice Gallery is home to The International Children’s Exhibition of Fine Art.The largest fine art competition for children in the world.
Barnett Stross
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Lidice TodayAnnual Commemoration
Each year the people of Lidice, the Czech Republic and the world commemorate the men, women and children murdered, and the complete obliteration of the old village.
Children’s choirs from around the world unite in friendship at The Festival of Lights:
musical performances celebrating the values of courage, determination and friendship
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Lidice & Stoke-on-Trent’s Bonds Today
The people of Lidice know much about Stoke-on-Trent and its heritage.
Many people support Stoke City FC. Many people love to listen to Robbie Williams
In Stoke-on-Trent once more adults and children are beginning to annually commemorate the atrocity and celebrate the village’s rebirth.
The people of Lidice have never forgotten the role Barnett Stross and Stoke-on-Trent people played in rebuilding their village
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Lidice & Stoke-on-Trent Celebrating Achievements
A great way for Stoke-on-Trent’s young people to celebrate the rebirth of Lidice and to cement the bonds between our two communities is by entering The UK Children’s Art Exhibition and The International Children’s Exhibition of Fine
Arts
All entrants receive a certificate of “Recognition and Achievement”
There are outstanding contribution awards at county, national and international levels. For primary, secondary and special school pupils
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Lidice & Stoke-on-Trent
The End
For more information on Lidice, school presentations, The UK Children’s Fine Art Exhibition and The ICEFA, or becoming involved in Lidice / Stoke-on-Trent related
projects, please contact The Barnett Stross Foundation
Lidice Memorial, Mrs. Muriel Stoddard, Bustehrad School, Mrs. Ivona Kasalicka, Mrs Veronika Kellerova
This presentation © Alan Gerrard / Barnett Stross Foundation is free to distribute in order to raise awareness of the inspirational links between Stoke-on-Trent and Lidice to their fullest extent.
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