Leskovice massacre
{{Short description|Massacre in Czechoslovakia}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Leskovice massacre
| location = Leskovice, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
| date = 5 May 1945 ({{time ago|1945|5|5}})
| partof = the German occupation of Czechoslovakia
| fatalities = 25
| perpetrators = Waffen-SS led by Walter Hauck
}}
The Leskovice massacre was the mass murder of twenty-five Czech civilians in May 1945 by Waffen-SS troops on the orders of Nazi officer Walter Hauck inside the village of Leskovice during the World War II.
Incident
On 5 May 1945, Czech partisans in Pelhřimov took refuge in a local forest after they fought a battle with the Germans. Once the Germans had left, they tried to sneak back into town, only for the Schutzstaffel at the lead of Walter Hauck to return at 4:00 AM.{{Cite web|date=2005-11-03|title=Czech police investigate "forgotten" atrocities by Nazis from final days of WW II|url=https://english.radio.cz/czech-police-investigate-forgotten-atrocities-nazis-final-days-ww-ii-8626133|access-date=2021-12-26|website=Radio Prague International|archive-date=2021-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226182034/https://english.radio.cz/czech-police-investigate-forgotten-atrocities-nazis-final-days-ww-ii-8626133|url-status=live}}
The Nazis surrounded the village, then set fire to the houses as they proceeded to go on a killing spree. German troops decapitated and tortured numerous civilians during the massacre.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ksm.cz/historie/leskovicka-tragedie.html|title=Leskovické tragédie|language=cs|date=9 May 2007|archive-date=11 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511123308/http://www.ksm.cz/historie/leskovicka-tragedie.html}}
According to the testimony of survivor Stanislav Pech:
"They began murdering civilians at the bottom of the village. One family - a husband, his wife and two daughters -- were tied up with wire while their home was set alight. They burned to death. Another person killed was 13-year-old Pepik Vaverka. Usually those who paid the highest price were those who said 'We didn't do anything'."By the end of the killings, 25 inhabitants of Leskovice were murdered,{{cite web|url=https://archiv.radio.cz/de/rubrik/nachrichten/nachrichten-2005-11-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102191912/http://www.radio.cz/de/rubrik/nachrichten/nachrichten-2005-11-03|title= Nachrichten|language=de|work=Radio Prague|date=3 November 2005|archive-date=2 January 2014}} and 31 houses burned to the ground. General consensus places the massacre's fault at the hands of Walter Hauck.{{Cite web|date=2005-11-07|title=La police tchèque sur la piste de trois anciens criminels nazis|url=https://francais.radio.cz/la-police-tcheque-sur-la-piste-de-trois-anciens-criminels-nazis-8626008|access-date=2021-12-26|website=Radio Prague International|language=fr|archive-date=2021-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226181959/https://francais.radio.cz/la-police-tcheque-sur-la-piste-de-trois-anciens-criminels-nazis-8626008|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2005-11-03|title=Češi našli další tři nacistické zločince|url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/cesi-nasli-dalsi-tri-nacisticke-zlocince.A051103_084805_krimi_mr|access-date=2021-12-26|website=iDNES.cz|language=cs|archive-date=2021-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226183457/https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/cesi-nasli-dalsi-tri-nacisticke-zlocince.A051103_084805_krimi_mr|url-status=live}}
Aftermath
In 2005, an investigation of the massacre was launched by Czech authorities.{{Cite web|date=2006-03-13|title=Breakthrough in the investigation of WWII massacre in Velke Mezirici|url=https://english.radio.cz/breakthrough-investigation-wwii-massacre-velke-mezirici-8621866|access-date=2021-12-26|website=Radio Prague International|archive-date=2021-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226181938/https://english.radio.cz/breakthrough-investigation-wwii-massacre-velke-mezirici-8621866|url-status=live}}
See also
- Ascq massacre, also committed by Hauck
References
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{{coord|49|25|49|N|15|4|49|E|display=title}}
Category:1945 in Czechoslovakia
Category:1945 murders in Europe
Category:Massacres committed by Nazi Germany
Category:Massacres in the Czech Republic
Category:Murder in Czechoslovakia
Category:Nazi war crimes in Czechoslovakia
Category:War crimes of the Waffen-SS
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