An American donor has left an unexpectedly large sum to the Lidice Memorial in Central Bohemia. In his will, Donald R. Yadesky bequeathed the memorial $165,000, approximately CZK 4 million. The sculpture, created by renowned sculptor Marie Uchytilová, commemorates the 82 children of Lidice who were murdered by the Nazis in Chelmno during the summer of 1942.
According to the memorial, Donald R. Yadesky passed away in early January 2022 at the age of 85. “We don’t know his exact connection to Lidice, but we discovered that he made this gesture in memory of his beloved parents, out of respect for the victims — the men, women, and children of Lidice — and out of a deep interest in history. He was a long-time supporter and member of the Friends of History in his hometown of Lawrence Park Township, Pennsylvania,” Tereza Stehlíková from the Lidice Memorial told the news portal novinky.cz.
The Lidice Memorial will allocate the CZK 4 million donation precisely according to the American’s last wishes. CZK 85,000 will be used to restore the foundations of the Stanislav Horák farm, located near the gravesite of the murdered men of Lidice. A further $80,000 will be directed toward the restoration of the memorial itself.
This generous donation will significantly bolster the ongoing fundraising campaign for the costly restoration of the memorial. So far, around CZK 1.5 million has been collected from small donors.
The estimated cost of restoring the memorial to the victims of infanticide is around CZK 13 million. Lidice will need to find additional sources of funding or opt for a less expensive repair. The fundraising campaign will run until 31 December this year.
Lidice and the settlement of Ležáky were destroyed by the Nazis in 1942 in retaliation for the assassination of Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhard Heydrich. Known as the “Butcher of Prague,” Heydrich was assassinated by Czechoslovak resistance fighters. The attack led to drastic Nazi retaliations, including the destruction of Lidice and Ležáky and the murder of their inhabitants.
