Lidice Memorial Honors Child Victims of Nazi Massacre in WWII
đź“° Original title: The Memorial to the Child Victims of War in Lidice, Czech Republic
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Lidice Memorial Honors Child Victims of Nazi Massacre in WWII
The Memorial to the Child Victims of War is a powerful bronze sculpture located at the Lidice Memorial in Lidice, Czech Republic. It commemorates the 82 children from the village of Lidice who were murdered by Nazi forces during World War II, while also serving as a universal tribute to all child victims of armed conflict. The tragedy occurred in June 1942, when Nazi forces destroyed Lidice in retaliation for the assassination of SS General Reinhard Heydrich. The village was burned, adult men were executed, and women were sent to concentration camps. Among the children, 82 were selected as “unsuitable for Germanization” and transported to the Chełmno extermination camp, where they were killed in mobile gas vans. The victims included 42 girls and 40 boys ranging in age from 1 to 16 years old. Only nine children from the village survived after being placed with German families. The memorial was created by Czech sculptor Marie Uchytilová, who began working on the project in 1969. Deeply affected by the tragedy, she dedicated over two decades of her life to the work, using surviving photographs to give each child statue a distinct and personal identity. Despite limited financial support, she funded early bronze casts herself. Uchytilová completed the plaster models in 1989 but passed away before the project was finished. Her husband, Jiřà Václav Hampl, continued her work, and the first 30 statues were unveiled in 1995. The full installation, consisting of 82 life-sized bronze figures, was completed in 2000. Today, the statues stand on a hillside overlooking the former village site, expressing sorrow, innocence, and confusion. The memorial is located next to the Garden of Peace and Friendship, creating a reflective space dedicated to remembrance and reconciliation.







