Purging Its Demons.(Holocaust survivors in Lidice, Czech Republic, remembers Nazi atrocities)(Brief Article)

A sloping expanse of grass and trees is all that remains of the old village of Lidice. In 1942, Nazi troops bulldozed its buildings, shot its men, gassed 82 children and sent its women to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. They were taking revenge after falsely claiming that two villagers helped assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, Hitler's ruthless ruler of occupied Bohemia and Moravia.

Half a mile away, a new Lidice arose. It's home to most of the survivors of the Nazi atrocities, their children and grandchildren. This week the close-knit community of 420 will mark the 60th anniversary of the massacre with a quiet ceremony. But it won't wallow in the past. "You can't live your whole life with hate," says Mayor Vaclav Zelenka, one of 17 children who were spared the death camps on account of their Aryan looks. He lost his father, two uncles and two cousins. "We must believe that most of those responsible were punished and carry on."

On the surface, Lidice's determination to move beyond its tragedy contrasts with conventional wisdom about the Holocaust, which is to never forget. Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal insists survivors must talk about the past. "They must do everything possible to ensure such a thing will never be repeated." he says. Lidice residents, by contrast, seem happier putting the Holocaust behind them and looking to the future. The town's Web site, designed by the son of a survivor, features the slogan: "A village like any other." In the center of town, construction workers have just torn down the hulking metal frame and concrete foundations of an unfinished memorial. Started in the 1980s by the communist regime, it was supposed to house the "Lidice Shall Live" art collection, donated by artists from around the world to commemorate the Nazi massacre. The town's new authorities have decided to use $3 million in government funding to turn a much larger building into a cultural center, restaurant and smaller art gallery. It will create jobs and a much-needed meeting place for the community, they say. "We cannot just be a mass grave; we need to live for the future," explains Marie Telupilova, director of the Lidice Memorial, which stands atop the adjacent, buried village and includes 82 bronze statues resembling each of the ...