The Spirit of Lidice – Commemorations in US Communities 1942 –

News of Lidice severely impacted the American Czechoslovak communities. Many locals could remember the village of Lidice from the days of their youth or as the home of some friend or relative. Residents decided they needed to take action to commemorate fellow citizens sacrificed “on the altar of freedom.”

US Lidice Mocks Hitler’s Cruel Command at Stern Park Gardens – July 1942

Merely two weeks following the disaster which befell the citizens of Lidice, the Chicago Sun magazine had an idea. It approached the Czechoslovak community living in a federal housing project on the outskirts of Joliet. Officials of the estate agreed to change its name to “Lidice” so that Adolf Hitler’s announced intent of erasing the community off the map would not come to pass.

Victory Theater NYC – Consequences of Complacency Warnings – 1942

A little over a month after the horror that befell the village, on July 20th, Hollywood actors appeared on the first episode of Victory Radio Theater. Wirelessly broadcast across all states, the bulk of the presentation was a stage adaptation of the hit 1940 movie “The Philadelphia Story”, but at the end of the show, the main cast of James Stewart, Cary Grant, and Katharine Hepburn made patriotic comments to promote the war effort.

Formation of the US Writers’ War Board – January 1942

The idea for a production line of professional writers who would create high-quality propaganda to ensure America’s war effort remained resilient during the years of conflict ahead was initially proposed by Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr., who agreed to an initiative to seek civilian writers to help promote the war effort of the United States to its citizens.

Lidice – A Name Forever Associated with Peace and Reconciliation 1942 –

If there is an instance of a catalyst for the trend of christening baby girls “Lidice” it would be José D’Elía (21 June 1916–29 January 2007). The high-profile Uruguayan labour leader, trade unionist, and politician worked as a shop employee at first before joining the trade union movement. By 1945, he was taking part in the establishment of the Worldwide Labour Union Federation.

Shock and Strong Reactions in the US to the Lidice Atrocity – 1942

If future generations ask us what we fought for in this war, we will tell them a story about Lidice… And here is our answer to the Nazis. You did not exterminate Lidice – you gave them an eternally lasting life. You have given them a name that will live forever in the hearts and minds of free people everywhere. You have made them a symbol of the struggle for freedom – the war call of millions who value freedom more than their lives.

Commemorating Lidice in Callao, Lima Peru – June 1943 –

Callao, a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean, just outside the capital Lima, paid tribute to the memory of Lidice by renaming one of its civic squares and unveiling a memorial in commemoration of the Czech village on the 20th of June 1943.