MP brings Lidice debate to Parliament

Big thanks to Rob Flello, Labour MP for Stoke on Trent South, for bringing the story of Lidice to UK Parliament on Monday.


Read Rob's full speech now

Launch of Lidice Project marks Holocaust Memorial Day

The Lidice Project, a joint initiative between Art Venue CIC, Staffordshire University & Stoke on Trent City Council, was launched as part of Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27 2012.

Alan and Cheryl Gerrard joined university Vice Chancellor Michael Gunn and Lord Mayor Terry Follows to launch the partnership as part of the days commemorative events, which also included readings by local school children and a talk by Hifsa Iqbal MBE on the Holocaust and modern genocide.

Video articles, photos and more information can be found by following the below links:

http://staffslive.co.uk/2012/01/27/lidice-project-launched-in-stoke-on-trent-on-holocaust-memorial-day/

http://staffslive.co.uk/2012/01/27/video-holocaust-memorial-day-at-staffordshire-university/

http://staffslive.co.uk/2012/01/27/stoke-on-trent-youngsters-become-reporters-for-the-day/

Lord Mayor Terry Follows, Alan & Cheryl Gerrard & Prof Michael Gunn celebrate the launch of The Lidice Project

Lidice Shall Live - 69th Anniversary

Tomorrow it's 69 years since Sir Barnett Stross launched the campaign to rebuild Lidice, supported by the working communities of Stoke-on-Trent. Defiant determination and selflessness during the most austere of times ultimately paid off as the village wiped off the face of the earth by the Nazis was rebuilt due to the actions and fundraising efforts of ordinary Stoke-on-Trent people. September 6th 1942 is a date, and Sir Barnett Stross an MP, all Stoke-on-Trent people can feel justifiably proud about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZsV6Y1oGfM

Lidice Shall Live - Stoke-on-Trent September 6th 1942

www.youtube.com

The launch of the "Lidice Shall Live" campaign as reported by Movietone at the time. The launch took place barely three months after the atrocity in Lidice. ...

LIDICE GATHERING TONIGHT!!

The Lidice commemorative gathering is taking place tonight in Fenton.....
Listen to my BBC radio debut to find out more! (00:46 mins)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00h3spk

Jx

Lidice Lives in Stoke-on-Trent!

Lidice Commemorative Gathering –

Friday 10 June 2011, 6:15pm-7:30pm

Fenton Square, Christchurch Street, Fenton

A gathering to commemorate the destruction of the Czech village of Lidice by the Nazis during the second world war is due to take place in Fenton this Friday.

The people of Stoke-on-Trent will commemorate the tragedy of Lidice for the first time in 69 years this June, with a gathering in Fenton Square.

Not only will this be a chance to remember an often forgotten but important part of war time history, it will also be an opportunity for the people of Stoke-on-Trent to be proud of their heritage and to be a part of a city famous for its compassion.

After learning of the horrors of Lidice - where all men were murdered, the women sent to concentration camps and their homes razed to the ground – local Doctor and Politician Sir Bernard Strauss set up the Lidice shall Live campaign.  This saw nearly £1m being raised by the people of Stoke-on-Trent, particularly the regions miners, to rebuild the city and give them the support they desperately needed and deserved.

Stoke-on-Trent has had a special place in the people of Lidice’s hearts ever since, however very little is known of this history within our city.  This inspired Cheryl and Alan Gerrard, husband and wife team and owners of The Art Bay in Fenton, to set up new ties with the village by getting local schools involved in the annual International Children's Art Competition set up by the Lidice Gallery.

Friday 10 June is the anniversary of the events in Lidice, and Cheryl and Alan will be travelling over to the village to join in their commemorative events, while helping to build links on behalf of the city.  They will be fronting a quiz for the children while they are there, with questions set by stoke school children and prizes donated by one of their supporters, Staffordshire University.

At the same time, the first ever commemorative gathering will take place in Fenton, with poetry readings by local school children and poet Alan Barrett, performances by The Songbirds and the Methodist Choir, and an address by the Lord Mayor before wreaths are laid on the cenotaph in memory of the lives lost in Lidice.

Rob Ladgar will also be hosting a special day on 6Towns Radio – 6 Towns + 1.  This will include live streaming of the event on the website for people unable to attend, which will also be watched by Alan and Cheryl and the school children of Lidice.

It is hoped that this is the first step in raising awareness throughout the region, while inspiring civic pride amongst its inhabitants.

Notes to editors:

Reporters and photographers are welcome to attend the event – a full programme of the evenings activities can be found below.  Interviews can also be arranged pre or post event if required.

For more information or to set up an interview, contact Staffordshire University Communications Manager Judy O’Brien on 01782 29345 or j.l.o’brien@staffs.ac.uk

Order of events:

6:15pm: Arrival

6:30pm: Welcome by Glen Parkes

6:35pm: The Methodist Choir

6:40pm: Poetry (1) – Introduction by Alan Barrett

6:45pm: Songbirds (1&2)

6:50pm: Poetry (2)

7:00pm: Abbey Hill School Choir (1&2)

7:05pm: Poetry (3)

7:10pm: Lord Mayor’s address

7:15pm: Laying of wreaths with blessing by David Cameron

7:20pm: Poem by Alan Barrett

7:25pm: Songbirds perform ‘Mirror’

7:30pm: End

Children of Lidice take on Stoke City!

Watch this super video made by Petr Sejkora and staff and pupils of Bustehrad School, just outside Lidice. Over there, Stoke is famous for its people, its warmth and compassion...... it doesn't stop these kids giving Stoke the run around though!!

Enjoy and then please share - this is cultural development in its truest form!
Bustehrad vs Stoke City


Jx

Brief introduction to Lidice

Background of Lidice:

Lidice is a village in the Czech Republic just north-west of Prague. It is built on the site of a previous village of the same name which, as part of the Nazi created Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was completely destroyed by German forces in reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in the late spring of 1942.

On June 10, 1942, all 192 men over 16 years of age from the village were murdered on the spot by the Germans in a much publicised atrocity. The rest of the population were sent to Nazi concentration camps where many women and nearly all the children were killed. The buildings were then bulldozed so that no trace of the village's former existence would be found.

The atrocity committed against this mining community outraged the British public, particularly in the mining communities of North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. Shelton GP and city councillor Dr Barnett Stross, coined the slogan "Lidice Shall Live" in direct response to Hitler's orders that "Lidice Would Die Forever!" This gave the lead to the campaign to rebuild the village after the war, which gathered huge support in North Staffordshire by thousands of mining families.

The Lidice Shall Live Movement was formally launched three months later, at a mass meeting in the Victoria Hall, Hanley, with the Czech president-in-exile, Dr Edouard Benes, as the chief speaker.

The people of Lidice will always remember the role played by Sir Barnett Stross and the miners of North Staffordshire.

Lidice project meeting

yesterday afternoon I attended the first meeting for the Lidice community group.

What/where is Lidice?
What is the connection to Stoke?
Why are we marking June 10th?

Find out more by visiting the Art Bay website (the company owned by the Lidice Project founders)