About this place
The Memorial to Antonín Burdych and His Family stands at the edge of a forest in the northern part of Kostelecké Končiny, a settlement belonging to Červený Kostelec in the Náchod district of Czechia. It commemorates a family that paid the ultimate price for helping the Czechoslovak wartime resistance.
Who does the memorial honor?
The site is dedicated to five people: Antonín Burdych the elder, his wife Josefa Burdychová, their son Antonín Burdych the younger, his wife Milada, and František Jiroušek. Throughout much of the Nazi occupation, the Burdych family sheltered radio operator Jiří Potůček from the Silver A paratrooper group, along with his transmitter codenamed Libuše. Potůček was one of the key links keeping the domestic resistance in contact with the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London.
What led to the tragedy?
On 30 June 1942, the Gestapo tracked down the radio operator's hiding place. Antonín Burdych the younger was shot while trying to flee, at the very spot where the memorial now stands, and died from a gunshot wound to the lung. His father, Antonín Burdych the elder, was wounded during the manhunt in a nearby field. The rest of the family, including Milada Burdychová, were arrested on the spot. This raid took place at the height of the so-called Heydrichiáda, the wave of German reprisals following the assassination attempt on Deputy Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich.
What happened to the family afterward?
All four adult members of the Burdych family were executed on 9 July 1942 at Zámeček near Pardubice, one of the main execution sites used during the Heydrichiáda reprisals. Their bodies were cremated in Pardubice, and the ashes were scattered into the Elbe river from a bridge, leaving no grave behind. Two sons, Vladimír and Antonín, survived the war under the care of their aunt, Marie Térová.
How is the Burdych family remembered today?
Beyond the forest memorial near Kostelecké Končiny, the family's memory lives on in the town itself — a street in Červený Kostelec is named "Manželů Burdychových" (Street of the Burdych Spouses) in honor of their courage and sacrifice. The forest memorial marks the exact spot where Antonín Burdych the younger was killed and serves as a quiet place of remembrance away from the town center.
Where exactly is the memorial located?
The memorial stands in a small wooded area in the northern part of Kostelecké Končiny, part of Červený Kostelec in the Hradec Králové region, close to the Polish border. The surroundings are quiet and rarely visited, giving the site a distinctly contemplative character.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jiří Potůček, the man the Burdych family sheltered? He was a radio operator with the Czechoslovak Silver A paratrooper group, maintaining radio contact between the domestic resistance and the government-in-exile in London through a transmitter codenamed Libuše.
Why was the Burdych family executed specifically at Pardubice? Zámeček near Pardubice was, in 1942, one of the main execution sites used during the German reprisals following the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, known as the Heydrichiáda, which targeted entire families suspected of helping the resistance.
Did any member of the Burdych family survive the war? Yes, two sons, Vladimír and Antonín, were spared the fate of their parents and grandparents and were raised by their aunt, Marie Térová.
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