Reinhard Heydrich

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (March 7, 1904 – June 4, 1942) was an SS-Obergruppenführer, chief of the Reich Main Security Office, and Reich governor of Bohemia and Moravia. He was nicknamed The Butcher of Prague, The Blond Beast and Der Henker (German for the hangman).

Assassination

In September 1941 Heydrich was appointed Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, replacing Konstantin von Neurath whom Hitler considered insufficiently harsh. During his role as de facto dictator of Bohemia and Moravia, Heydrich often drove alone in a car with an open roof — a show of confidence in the occupation forces and the effectiveness of their repressive measures against the local population.

Related Topics:
1941 - Bohemia - Moravia - Konstantin von Neurath

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On May 27, 1942, a team of British-trained agents of the Czechoslovak government in exile carried out the assassination of Heydrich in Operation Anthropoid. The team comprised Adolf Opálka (the leader), Josef Val?ík, Jan Kubi? and Jozef Gab?ík. Heydrich's car, driven by SS-Oberscharführer Klein, had to slow down to take a sharp bend where the Czech team waited. As the car approached, Gab?ík took aim and pulled the trigger of his Sten, but the gun failed and did not fire. Klein, believing Gab?ík to be alone, stopped to shoot at him. Heydrich stood up and took out his pistol, trying to shoot Gab?ík. Kubi? then threw an anti-tank grenade at the car. This exploded and severely wounded Heydrich, forcing car seat material including horse hair into his spleen. Evidence suggests that if Heydrich had remained seated, he would have lived. The Czech agents were later tracked down by occupation forces to a nearby church in Prague and committed suicide to avoid capture.

Related Topics:
May 27 - 1942 - British - Czechoslovak - Government in exile - Assassination - Operation Anthropoid - Adolf Opálka - Josef Val?ík - Jan Kubi? - Jozef Gab?ík - Oberscharführer - Sten - Grenade - Prague

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Despite Himmler sending his best doctors, Heydrich died in agony in a Prague hospital at 4:30 a.m. on June 4 at the age of 38. Although the exact cause of death has not been definitively established, the autopsy states that Heydrich's death was most likely septicemia caused by bacteria and toxins from grenade splinters. A highly elaborate funeral was staged for him in Berlin, with Hitler attending (and placing on Heydrich's funeral pillow displaying his decorations the highest grade of the German Order and the Blood Order Medal). Hitler himself perhaps best encapsulated Heydrich's general attitude in his acknowledgment that Heydrich was partly to blame for his own death through arrogance and a blasé attitude:

Related Topics:
Agony - Hospital - June 4 - Septicemia - Berlin - German Order - Blood Order

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"Since it is opportunity which makes not only the thief but also the assassin, such heroic gestures as driving in an open, unarmoured vehicle or walking about the streets unguarded are just damned stupidity, which serves the Fatherland not one whit. That a man as irreplaceable as Heydrich should expose himself to unnecessary danger, I can only condemn as stupid and idiotic."

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Lina Heydrich later stated that she believed Heydrich had expected an early death, saying that she saw his frequent unnecessary risk-taking (such as his valiant adventures in his Luftwaffe Me 109) as an attempt to ensure that, should he die, his would be a dramatic death.

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It is said that, less than twelve months before his death, Heydrich entered the Treasure Chamber of Prague Castle in which the Crown Jewels of Bohemia are kept, took the Crown and placed it on his own head. Legend has it that whoever puts on this Crown without lawful right will die within a year.{{fact}}

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The Nazi retaliation was savage and a brutal warning against further armed resistance. On June 10 all males over the age of 16 in the village of Lidice, 22 km north-west of Prague, were murdered a day after the town was burned. It has been reported that over 15,000 Czechs were killed in reprisals.

Related Topics:
June 10 - Lidice - Prague

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Heydrich's eventual replacement was Ernst Kaltenbrunner as the chief of RSHA and Karl Hermann Frank as the new protector.

Related Topics:
Ernst Kaltenbrunner - RSHA - Karl Hermann Frank

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After Heydrich's death, the first three "trial" death camps were constructed and put into operation at Treblinka, Sobibór, and Belzec. The project was named Operation Reinhard in Heydrich's honor.

Related Topics:
Treblinka - Sobibór - Belzec - Operation Reinhard

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