The new director of the Lidice Memorial is military historian Stehlík

Prague/Lidice - The new director of the Lidice Memorial is, as of today, military historian Eduard Stehlík. Culture Minister Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) informed journalists of this today. Stehlík emerged from a selection process announced by the culture minister after former director Martina Lehmannová resigned in January. She was in conflict with some Lidice memorialists. Later, a part of the leading and expert staff also submitted their resignations.

"What awaits me as the new director is the work of a crisis manager. It is about establishing normal relations with the municipality as quickly as possible, because the Lidice Memorial is meant to commemorate the crime that was committed. It should remember those who lost their lives, as well as the survivors who went through incredible experiences," Stehlík said today. One of his first steps will be to visit all the survivors. Both Zaorálek and Stehlík stated today that the Lidice Memorial will also commemorate the Jewish woman Štěpánka Mikešová, who was taken away by the Gestapo based on an alleged denunciation by one of the Lidice women. A plaque honoring Mikešová was added to the Lidice Memorial today after noon.

Lidice's mayor, Veronika Kellerová, who is the granddaughter of a Lidice woman and currently speaks for the survivors in the media, told ČTK that the Lidice memorialists wished for Stehlík’s selection. "They are all very pleased," she stated. According to her, he is an authority for them and has empathy.

As another task, Stehlík mentioned determining the situation at the memorial after a large part of the staff submitted their resignation. "Currently, the selection process announced by the interim director is already underway; applications are due this Friday, which is the second thing I will need to address," he stated.

He completely ruled out that, as stated by some former employees, he was preparing a normalization interpretation of history in connection with the changes at the memorial. "I think that people who know me know that it would be quite strange for anyone to think that I would support a normalization interpretation of history at Lidice. It would be against my lifelong direction; I guarantee that the Lidice Memorial will not distort history in any way," he said.

Changes at the memorial were likely accelerated by a report about a case in which the mother of one of the surviving Lidice children allegedly denounced her Jewish tenant Štěpánka Mikešová to the police. The report was based on research by historian Vojtěch Kyncl from the Institute of Historical Studies of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Stehlík said today that the report was not only poorly timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Lidice tragedy, but also that there were arguments from other historians questioning the existence of the document proving the denunciation.

"I lean towards the view that the historical document was incorrectly critically assessed. The accusation against Mrs. Alžběta Doležalová of being an informer is nonsensical. The document, based on which this allegation was made, was created as a purpose-driven matter written three years after those events in a completely different political situation in December 1945, moreover by the policeman who arrested this woman Štěpánka Mikešová in Lidice on June 2, 1942. This person had a clear interest in December 1945 to divert attention from the fact that someone could tell him that his action against Mikešová brought the Gestapo to Lidice," Stehlík said today.

Fifty-four-year-old Stehlík specializes mainly in Czechoslovak military history, particularly the period from 1914 to 1956. He was the director of the Department for War Veterans at the Ministry of Defense, where he ended his position at the end of last year. He also worked as a historian at the Military Historical Institute in Prague and is the chairman of the Council of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.

Five applicants participated in the selection process; the commission recommended two, and the minister chose Stehlík. He applied for the position after being approached by Lidice survivors and the leadership of the municipality. He has collaborated with the memorial for many years, is an honorary citizen of Lidice, has written two books about the history of the municipality, and is the author of the exhibition at the memorial.

The Lidice Memorial commemorates the Nazi extermination of the village of Lidice on June 10, 1942.