The news of the destruction of Lidice shocked people of all the continents throughout the world and the name of Lidice has remained globally known until today. The purpose of this study is to interpret a very important period in the history of the Czech Lands from the point of view of the contemporary Protectorate media, but also from the viewpoint of the British and American press. The study is interdisciplinary as it relates not only to the field of historical sciences but at the same time it is linked to media studies. The analysis was carried out with the help of content analysis, comparative historical analysis and discourse analysis. At the core of our interest here is the way the reflection of the destruction of Lidice was presented by the media, what aspects were of particular interest, in what way the local population was depicted and what characteristic features were attributed to Lidice inhabitants.
Communist Czechoslovakia was looking for opportunities for ideological action in western countries at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. It should have the widest possible range, at the same time it had to be however so inconspicuous so that it did not prompt a negative reaction of local authorities. Purpose-built updating of selected anniversaries of historical events was an interesting tool of Czechoslovak propaganda. In the case of France, particularly events related to Germany were remembered. Actually, the aim of that propaganda was – first of all – to point out the alleged danger arising from the cooperation of western countries with the Federal Republic of Germany, which resulted for example in the Élysée Treaty in 1963.