THE ASSASSINATION OF REINHARD HEYDRICH: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND OPERATION ANTHROPOID PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

Callum MacDonald | 256 pages | 24 Apr 2007 | Birlinn General | 9781843410362 | English | Edinburgh, United Kingdom Operation Anthropoid - Wikipedia

Instead, the bomb exploded above the car's running board, just forward of the right rear fender. It punctured the body and blew open the right door, but seemingly did nothing else Assassination book. Watch a recreation of the Reinhard Heydrich assassination attempt. The May 27, assassination attempt left Reinhard Heydrich with critical but seemingly survivable injuries. The projectile, a piece of sheet metal, shattered the 11th rib, punctured the stomach lining, and finally lodged in the spleen. The wound contains a number of horsehair and hair, probably material originating from the upholstery. The dangers: festering of the pleura due to pleurisy. During the operation the spleen was removed. All seven paratroopers involved in carrying out the May 27, assassination eventually sought refuge in the Orthodox Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius also known as the Karel Boromejsky Church on Resslova Street in Prague. The true story reveals that they hid in the church until the morning of June 18, , when SS forces had the building surrounded and began searching its grounds. He broke after they showed him his mother's head floating in a fish tank. A false lead had led the Nazis to believe that two Czech pilots from Lidice had been involved in the assassination of Heydrich. Even after learning the truth, the fate of Lidice had been decided. All men between ages 15 and 84 were executed total. The village houses were burned to the ground, along with the Lidice shop buildings and St. Martin's church. Ever heard of Kristallnacht? Well, Kristallnacht, or Night of the Broken Glass — so called because of the pervasive shards of glass left over from the shattered windows of Jewish shops, homes and synagogues — was organised and carried out by Reinhard Heydrich. Heydrich is considered to be one of the main architects of the Holocaust. Hitler even granted him full charge of the Final Solution in various regions throughout Europe. Heydrich was directly responsible for the creation of the Einsatzgruppen death squads which many consider a precursor to the Holocaust, and the intelligence organisation Sicherheitsdienst Security Service; SD , which neutralised members of the Nazi resistance. Heydrich is also credited with establishing Terezin as a concentration camp, having initially approved the site to be converted into a Jewish ghetto. When he was transferred to Prague, where the Nazi resistance was quite strong, Heydrich made it his main mission to hunt down and murder every member of the resistance. Bohemia and Moravia: These were once the collective names of a region in Europe, although they were two separate kingdoms. Bohemia, the larger of the two, was first established in and reign of the kingdom passed through various European monarchs, including the Habsburgs and the Austrian Empire. Prague has always been the capital. Moravia was first mentioned in and consolidated 10 years later. The capital of Moravia was predominantly Brno, but for a time sat in Olomouc. These regions were dissolved in when Czechoslovakia was created. However, from , Czechoslovakia was considered by the ruling Nazi party to not actually exist, and they instead referred to it as Bohemia and Moravia. The regions themselves still exist, and are often even acknowledged as their own land — Moravia in particular, who have maintained a rivalry with Czechs from Bohemia. Czechoslovakia: Formed in and consisted of several regions, including Bohemia and Moravia. It dissolved in and formed two independent states: Czech Republic and Slovakia. Thus the Heydrich Terror in Prague began. As acting Protector, he transferred to Prague to strengthen policy. Under Neurath, Heydrich believed the Czechoslovakian resistance movement had thrived, and he was here to fix it. He was assassinated on 19 June at the Prague Kobylisy Shooting Range, and became the only government leader executed under Nazi rule. In the short eight months that Heydrich oversaw Nazi operations in Prague, over 4, Czechoslovakians were arrested and executed. Overall, he was directly or indirectly responsible through organisations like the SD and Einsatzgruppen for nearly 2 million deaths. It is not known — though considered unlikely — if he ever killed anyone himself. Almost immediately, the citizens of Prague had had it with Reinhard Heydrich. This became known as Operation Anthropoid. Because he was a man of precision and routine, it was easy for Operation Anthropoid to know his schedule. Fortunately for the resistance members, the occupants of the car were more vulnerable to assault than those in other military vehicles, as Heydrich was renowned for being driven with the top open to show any would-be attackers that he was unafraid of potential harm. It detonated immediately, sending shrapnel through the car and into Heydrich. Heydrich, likely fueled by pure adrenaline and hate, staggered out of the car. Heydrich gave chase, but soon collapsed from shock. Despite the grenade, both men believed the attempt was unsuccessful and that their plan had failed. As the SS searched in vain for the perpetrators, they arrested and interrogated upwards of 13, people and executed an additional 5, Most of those arrested were initially sent to Terezin Concentraion Camp and Ghetto before being transferred to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria. However, there has never been any proof these tips exist, and most believe they were acting purely out of malice and retribution, and merely using the mass executions as a scare tactic. Although there was national outrage over what happened at Lidice , and even with all this blood spilled, no one came forward. So the Nazis issued a deadline of 18 June They threatened the Czechoslovakian people that if the men responsible were not captured by this date, far more blood would fill the streets. The next day, the SS barricaded the church and laid siege. Despite wanting to bring them in alive, all seven men died in the church. One of the most famous of these was the Moravecs — all of whom, except the father who had no idea, were involved in the resistance movement. Additionally, most of the family members of those in Operation Anthropoid were executed, as were all the church clergy who helped them hide. He went on to marry a German woman and continued as a Nazi collaborator for the remainder of the war. When the war ended, he was hunted down, arrested and tried for treason, for which he was found guilty. Most historians believe he betrayed his friends because, unlike the other conspirators, he was the only one to return home after the assassination, and the only one to witness the reprisals. So he gave himself and the other members of Operation Anthropoid up to prevent this. He locked himself in his room and stayed up all night reading and burning the files. Shortly afterwards, he began forging documents and helping Jews to escape. It is unclear exactly how many he helped. He used this position — and his connection to Reinhard — to acquire extra paper which was typically in shortage during the war and carry on without any suspicion. Sadly, in officials came in to investigate the missing paper supplies and Heinz panicked, believing he was discovered. He shot himself to protect his family. As a backup, Kubis would use the two specially modified antitank grenades to finish the job if Gabcik failed. Even at this late stage the local resistance was trying desperately to talk the agents into aborting the attack. As tempers became frayed, the assassins made it clear that nothing would prevent them from completing their mission. The order had been given. The time for discussion was over. The fateful morning of May 27 dawned bright and clear. Five months had passed since Gabcik and Kubis had arrived in the Protectorate, and as the four men arrived at the ambush site all were aware that this would probably be their one and only opportunity. After a brief discussion, Valcik and Opalka moved up the road to their lookout point. Gabcik casually crossed the road with his sten gun draped under a raincoat and waited at a tram stop near the bend, while Kubis, with two grenades secreted in a briefcase, moved a few yards down the street and loitered in the shade of several large trees. The four men could now do little more than wait for their quarry, who was due around am. By 10 am, however, there was still no sign of the normally punctual Heydrich; Gabcik and Kubis began to worry. As the minutes ticked by the tension mounted. Had he changed his travel plans at the last moment? Accompanied by nagging uncertainty, the two men watched as the morning rush hour crowds began to disperse, leaving them standing conspicuously on an empty street. Finally at am, Valcik signaled that the open-topped Mercedes had come into view. As usual, Heydrich had no security escort other than his bodyguard and driver, SS Oberscharfuhrer sergeant Klein. Gabcik immediately moved to the sharpest angle of the street corner —he would be firing from point-blank range. With the moment of truth now upon them, both men caught sight of a packed tram lumbering up the hill from the Troja Bridge which seemed likely to arrive at the same time as Heydrich; civilian casualties were now a real but unfortunate possibility. As Klein changed down to second gear at the sharp corner, Gabcik stepped forward, raised the automatic weapon from beneath his raincoat, and squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened. It was jammed. The Czech assassin stood momentarily frozen in disbelief as the vehicle swung around the bend in front of him. Heydrich saw his assailant, but instead of ordering Klein to drive out of the ambush to safety, he called for his driver to stop. It would prove a fatal error in judgment. As the dark green Mercedes ground to a shuddering halt, Heydrich stood up amid the screams of onlookers and drew his pistol to fight it out. Neither of the Germans noticed Kubis toss one of his grenades, but it fell short and exploded alongside the right rear wheel, ripping through the bodywork of the Mercedes and showering Heydrich with debris. During the confusion, Valcik and Opalka had already managed to slip away unnoticed, but their two comrades at the scene were in mortal danger. Kubis, wounded by the blast from his bomb, lurched toward a railing with blood pouring from his face before quickly getting on his bicycle and dashing down the hill to safety. With Heydrich appearing unhurt, Klein briefly gave chase to the fleeing Kubis. Gabcik was still frozen to the spot holding his useless weapon as Heydrich came toward him. The would-be-assassin was forced to abandon his bike and take cover as bullets began whistling past him. He was trapped. Heydrich had moved only a short distance toward his assailant, when suddenly he doubled over and staggered to the sidewalk in obvious pain. Gabcik seized the opportunity to make a run for it through the stunned crowd spilling from the tram. Klein was quickly in pursuit, but the burly bodyguard struggled to keep pace with his nimble quarry. Kubis had also made his way to safety, where his wound was treated. Both men were bitterly disappointed that Heydrich was still alive. At the scene of the attack, Heydrich tried to walk but only succeeded in stumbling like a hopeless drunk before collapsing across the bonnet of his wrecked car then sliding to the pavement. Dozens of Czechs stood watching impassively as the most powerful man in Prague lay writhing on the ground in agony, but not a soul moved to help him. Finally, a young woman and an off duty police officer commandeered a truck and lifted the gravely wounded tyrant into the small cab. The shrapnel appeared to have inflicted only flesh wounds. Later x-rays, however, revealed that there was potentially serious internal damage: a broken rib, a ruptured diaphragm, and a metal splinters in his spleen. Reports that a German general, perhaps the Reichsprotector himself, had been wounded in an attack reached Gestapo headquarters at about am. Initially at least, it was not taken seriously, but when Gestapo agents arrived at the hospital to find Heydrich actually there, the situation changed dramatically. SS troops were immediately dispatched to secure the hospital and surrounding areas, while the top Nazi surgeon in Prague was summoned to perform emergency surgery. As Heydrich was wheeled into the operating theater, the Gestapo were methodically sealing off the ambush site, rounding up witnesses, and piecing together the sequence of events. Evidence recovered from the scene included a fused bomb and a sten gun that pointed toward British involvement with Czech agents the prime suspects. By the afternoon of May 27, news of the assassination attempt had traveled far and wide. People were initially stunned, but as the shock wore off, they were overwhelmed by paralyzing fear. However, it was not only the Czechs who were left badly shaken by the attack. They were surrounded by senior SS officers who appeared to have completely lost their heads as they frantically issued wild orders for drumhead court martials, mass executions, and wholesale arrests. It was painfully obvious to the two Berlin detectives that few among the local authorities had any idea what to do. When details of the attack reached Hitler at his headquarters in East Prussia, he vowed to slaughter more than 10, Czechs; Himmler demanded that prisoners already in custody be executed that very night. The savagery of the Nazi leadership was fueled by fear. The specter of assassination had reached the most powerful men in Nazi Germany for the first time. Karl Hermann Frank, a high-ranking Czech Nazi, actually resisted calls for wholesale reprisals, but not on humanitarian grounds. He was concerned they would not only disrupt vital armaments production but also play into the hands of the exiles and provide damaging propaganda. If the Czechs did not like Heydrich, he raged, he would send them someone a great deal worse. His choice was SS General Kurt Daluege, commander of the uniformed police and a man well credentialed in the art of terror. The 10 million crown reward for the arrest of the assassins came with a warning stating that anyone who aided the assassins or withheld information would be executed along with their entire families; more than death sentences were soon carried out to reinforce the threat. The largest manhunt in the history of the Third Reich resulted in at least 36, homes being raided and over 13, civilians being arrested. Under Daluege, the violent German rampage seemed to have no boundaries—but in actual fact, Frank ensured that a tight rein was kept on reprisals. Believing that an implied threat would be as effective as the act itself, he ensured the Czechs remained in a constant state of nervous tension by orchestrating a rumor campaign warning of the dire consequences soon to befall the nation if the assassins were not surrendered. He also saw to it that the executions, of which there were hundreds, were not as random as many thought. He wanted to promote the perception that those Czechs who were loyal to the Reich would have nothing to fear. The reality for the population, however, was that as the death lists grew ever longer no one seemed to be safe no matter how loyal they had been. The Czech exiles in London learned of the attack through Prague radio on May Even though Heydrich was still alive, Benes was buoyed by the news that he had been wounded, labeling it a clear rejection of Nazi rule and a warning that no one was beyond the reach of Allied justice. For the tens of thousands of Czechs enduring the horrific consequences, these inspiring words from the safety of far-off London carried little weight. Many who had been brutalized to the point of despair prayed that Heydrich would recover in the forlorn hope that it would bring an end to the murderous Nazi retribution. Neither morphine nor transfusions could control the blood poisoning or his excruciating pain. Finally, a week after the attack, on June 4, Heydrich died. Savage German retribution was, however, put on hold as the Third Reich paused to bury one of its most evil sons. In an attempt to placate the Nazis, Emil Hacha and other Czech government officials would escort the body to Germany. Immediately following the ceremony, Hacha and his ministers endured a ferocious tirade from Hitler. The German leader, who had worked himself into an uncontrollable rage, made it clear that if the Czechs did not hand over the assassins he would think nothing of deporting the entire population. No one doubted that he meant what he said. As a brutal warning against further armed resistance, he backed up his threats by ordering the total destruction of the small town of Lidice, 48 miles from Prague. The reprisal action at Lidice, which had been incorrectly connected with the assassins, was to become one of the most notorious Nazi atrocities of the war. At pm on June 9, , SS troops and security police cordoned off the sleepy mining village, then dragged the families from their homes. The women and children were separated and placed inside the local schoolhouse, the men and older boys in a barn. At dawn the next morning the males were led out in groups of 10 and all were shot. To speed up the killing a further 26 where burned alive in a nearby barn, while another 11 men returning to the village from night shift were also executed. The women of Lidice were deported to Ravensbruck concentration camp, and more than children were either handed over to SS families or sent to the concentration camp in Gneisenau. Only a handful would return after the war. Having overseen the massacre or deportation of the entire population, the SS set about systemically destroying every building and structure in the village. After removing 84, square yards of rubble, they leveled the ruins, ploughed them over, and planted grain. With its name removed from the maps of the Protectorate, Lidice had been erased from the face of the earth. Free Movie Night “Anthropoid” | Houston Museum District

For 3 weeks following the assassination, the parachutists were kept hidden in the crypt of The Church of Saint Cyril and Methodius , as Nazi forces lead a zealous manhunt to track them down. However, they were eventually betrayed. Gabcik and Kubis ended up taking their own lives, along with many of the brave people who had attempted to hide them, as the church was descended upon by around Nazi troops. The village of Lidice was rebuilt in A cross with a crown of thorns marks the mass grave of the Lidice men. A memorial consisting of 82 bronze statues of children stands on the site of the original village and commemorates the children of Lidice who lost their lives in Chelmno Concentration Camp. International reaction and sympathy in the aftermath of the Lidice massacre was massive. The museum tells the story of the parachutists, Operation Anthropoid, the assassination and the horrific events of its aftermath. Get your free Revolut card today, and save on the exchange fees and rates. In the battle scene in the church it seemed like at least 50 German soldiers were killed. Could you tell me the true German casualties. Occupied [DVD]. Only 10 left in stock. Peter Longerich. Customer reviews. How are ratings calculated? Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness. Top reviews Most recent Top reviews. Top reviews from United Kingdom. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Verified Purchase. I bought this as background reading for my military history buff husband on a recent trip to Prague, as it concerns a pivotal event in Czech history and several of the locations mentioned would feature in our itinerary. He gave me the bones of the story which had all the hallmarks of a thrilling film - 'the Butcher of Prague' - a savage Nazi anti-hero oppressing a nation, two young heroes whose seemingly impossible mission is to rid their country of him, Czech politicians in exile cynically? Well I was hooked. The difficulty is not creating a brilliant story from such compelling real events, but what you put in to give this story its essential context. Callum Macdonald has pulled off an astonishing feat. He has produced a scholarly book which is a real page turner never thought I'd see those words in review about a history book. His success is in part due to meticulous research and judicious selection of material, but also due to the fact that he tells the story extremely well, without hyperbole none is needed , pathos or purple prose. The facts speak eloquently for themselves. We're now back from that most beautiful of cities. We saw the places there which feature in this book some of them, like the Pecek Palace, former HQ of the Gestapo, are now anonymous government buildings. The Czechs don't seem particularly keen to advertise the Gestapo museum in its basement - the number we were given never answered, nor did the email address reply. This was a completely absorbing read, with appendices for those who wanted more facts and figures behind this astonishing story.. Easily the best overview of this subject you'll find. Well written and thorough account of the Czechs patriots returning to killing Heydrich. And convincing. Before reading this book, I was one of the people who thought that the assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich in Prague on 27th May leading to him dying of wounds on 4th June as a brave and symbolic act: Yet probably hard to justify in the sense that the German retribution against the Czech people was so high, and his loss did not prevent the Holocaust. However, the writer shows that Heydrich was certainly one of the most capable of of the Nazi organisers. When becoming the leading German commander in Bohemia and Moravia, he was a master of psychology. Rewarding the Czech workers in the armaments factories with pay increases and treats to increase production, wrecking the black market, and ruthlessly dealing with any opposition to Nazi rule. If moved to another country such as France, he might be just as successful against the Resistance. In the long term, Hedyrich despised the Czechs and was probably going to subject all those who could not be Germanised to mass deportation eastwards to forced settlement and even mass murder. The early Summer of was a tough time for the Allies, North Africa and Malta were threatened, losses in the North Atlantic shipping lanes were horrific, defeats in Asia Seemed to be one irreversible setback The author is also helpful in looking at the splits in the Czech opposition with Eduard Benes' government in exile in London fearing a successful pro-Soviet underground forming in Czechoslovakia. The massacre of civilians arising from the destruction of the village of Lidice on 10th June does not take up many pages of this book, but still helpful. The writer shows that the German's callous boasting of the atrocity helped to galvanise support for the War effort amongst the Allies particular in the USA. Overall an invaluable book. I've read a few things about this episode in history, seen the films Operation Daybreak is frankly at least as good and probably better than Anthropoid , and visisted Prague including the church where some of it played out. The story is deeply moving, and especially in the essential dilemma whether the assisination was worth the inevitable retaliation. Based on original archive material, interviews with surviving members of the Special Operations Executive, who trained the Czech assassins in the UK, and Czech military intelligence, Callum MacDonald's book is a well-researched and gripping account of one of the most audacious assassinations of the Second World War. Crea una cuenta gratis. Comprados juntos habitualmente. Mostrar detalles. Operation Anthropoid [DVD]. Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich. Hunting Evil. Ver todas las apps de lectura gratuitas de Kindle. Opiniones de clientes. Compra verificada. I bought this as background reading for my military history buff husband on a recent trip to Prague, as it concerns a pivotal event in Czech history and several of the locations mentioned would feature in our itinerary. He gave me the bones of the story which had all the hallmarks of a thrilling film - 'the Butcher of Prague' - a savage Nazi anti-hero oppressing a nation, two young heroes whose seemingly impossible mission is to rid their country of him, Czech politicians in exile cynically? Well I was hooked. The difficulty is not creating a brilliant story from such compelling real events, but what you put in to give this story its essential context. Callum Macdonald has pulled off an astonishing feat. He has produced a scholarly book which is a real page turner never thought I'd see those words in review about a history book. His success is in part due to meticulous research and judicious selection of material, but also due to the fact that he tells the story extremely well, without hyperbole none is needed , pathos or purple prose. The facts speak eloquently for themselves. We're now back from that most beautiful of cities. We saw the places there which feature in this book some of them, like the Pecek Palace, former HQ of the Gestapo, are now anonymous government buildings. Dornan, Murphy tackle WWII roles for thriller 'Anthropoid' | 路透

The mood was grim, but just when all seemed lost they were discovered by the local miller who had been awakened by the British aircraft. The joy of seeing a friendly face was tempered by the news that they were over 20 miles from Prague and hopelessly separated from their emergency contacts in Plzen. The miller offered to put them in touch with a resistance group in the capital, but the agents hesitated. For security reasons they had been instructed to avoid dealing with the locals, but given their gloomy prospects they had little choice. At the heart of this resistance network was Marie Moravec who, through her tireless work with the Red Cross and Tuberculosis League, had established vital connections within Prague for her clandestine work. In London, meanwhile, the Czech intelligence service was worried. Six weeks of silence had elapsed since their two agents had arrived in the Protectorate, and if they had been captured or killed, the Czechs would have to send others. The assassination was too important to cancel. In desperation, they finally broke their own rules and radioed the resistance in Prague and were relieved to discover that while Anthropoid had gotten off to a rocky start the agents were in safe hands—it was now a waiting game. Finally Gabcik was fit enough to move and he and Kubis began secretly making preparations. Their attention, therefore, turned to his frequent travel between his private residence at Panenske Brezany and Prague; but they realized that to complete the picture they would need inside information. Involving outsiders had been strictly forbidden but it was now clearly an unavoidable necessity. These sources proved invaluable, but as the two men were finalizing their plans an unexpected development suddenly threatened the entire operation. During the long months the assassins had spent in Prague they had refused to divulge the nature of their mission. By late April, however, their intense focus on Heydrich left resistance leaders in no doubt about their intentions. They were horrified. Having barely survived the last wave of SS terror, the resistance could barely comprehend the savagery of German retribution if Heydrich was assassinated; the nation would be plunged into a bloodbath. In an awkward meeting the two agents were confronted over the matter, and while sympathetic they made it clear that as soldiers they could neither question their orders nor change them—they had come to Prague to kill Reinhard Heydrich, and that was exactly what they planned to do. In a state of near panic, resistance leaders dispatched a message directly to London pleading for the mission to be cancelled. The issue was allegedly tabled at a high-level meeting in Britain, but despite some opposition the intelligence representatives won the day. The order to kill Heydrich was not revoked. Anthropoid would go ahead as planned. In early May, a strong rumor swept through Prague suggesting that Heydrich would soon be leaving the Protectorate to pursue new career opportunities in France. The men could not allow him to leave the capital in triumph, but they still had not settled on a firm plan. This unexpected turn of events galvanized the assassins into action, but time was now against them. They were forced to settle on the ambush site hastily, but their instincts were sound and their choice well founded. The busy route leading to the Vlatva River was isolated from police or military posts and would allow them to escape on bicycles before security forces could react. As the vehicle slowed to negotiate the hairpin corner, Gabcik would step forward from the pavement with his sten gun and fire at the vehicle. As a backup, Kubis would use the two specially modified antitank grenades to finish the job if Gabcik failed. Even at this late stage the local resistance was trying desperately to talk the agents into aborting the attack. As tempers became frayed, the assassins made it clear that nothing would prevent them from completing their mission. The order had been given. The time for discussion was over. The fateful morning of May 27 dawned bright and clear. Five months had passed since Gabcik and Kubis had arrived in the Protectorate, and as the four men arrived at the ambush site all were aware that this would probably be their one and only opportunity. After a brief discussion, Valcik and Opalka moved up the road to their lookout point. Gabcik casually crossed the road with his sten gun draped under a raincoat and waited at a tram stop near the bend, while Kubis, with two grenades secreted in a briefcase, moved a few yards down the street and loitered in the shade of several large trees. The four men could now do little more than wait for their quarry, who was due around am. By 10 am, however, there was still no sign of the normally punctual Heydrich; Gabcik and Kubis began to worry. As the minutes ticked by the tension mounted. Had he changed his travel plans at the last moment? Accompanied by nagging uncertainty, the two men watched as the morning rush hour crowds began to disperse, leaving them standing conspicuously on an empty street. Finally at am, Valcik signaled that the open-topped Mercedes had come into view. As usual, Heydrich had no security escort other than his bodyguard and driver, SS Oberscharfuhrer sergeant Klein. Gabcik immediately moved to the sharpest angle of the street corner —he would be firing from point-blank range. With the moment of truth now upon them, both men caught sight of a packed tram lumbering up the hill from the Troja Bridge which seemed likely to arrive at the same time as Heydrich; civilian casualties were now a real but unfortunate possibility. As Klein changed down to second gear at the sharp corner, Gabcik stepped forward, raised the automatic weapon from beneath his raincoat, and squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened. It was jammed. The Czech assassin stood momentarily frozen in disbelief as the vehicle swung around the bend in front of him. Heydrich saw his assailant, but instead of ordering Klein to drive out of the ambush to safety, he called for his driver to stop. It would prove a fatal error in judgment. As the dark green Mercedes ground to a shuddering halt, Heydrich stood up amid the screams of onlookers and drew his pistol to fight it out. Neither of the Germans noticed Kubis toss one of his grenades, but it fell short and exploded alongside the right rear wheel, ripping through the bodywork of the Mercedes and showering Heydrich with debris. During the confusion, Valcik and Opalka had already managed to slip away unnoticed, but their two comrades at the scene were in mortal danger. Kubis, wounded by the blast from his bomb, lurched toward a railing with blood pouring from his face before quickly getting on his bicycle and dashing down the hill to safety. With Heydrich appearing unhurt, Klein briefly gave chase to the fleeing Kubis. Gabcik was still frozen to the spot holding his useless weapon as Heydrich came toward him. The would-be- assassin was forced to abandon his bike and take cover as bullets began whistling past him. He was trapped. Heydrich had moved only a short distance toward his assailant, when suddenly he doubled over and staggered to the sidewalk in obvious pain. Gabcik seized the opportunity to make a run for it through the stunned crowd spilling from the tram. Klein was quickly in pursuit, but the burly bodyguard struggled to keep pace with his nimble quarry. Kubis had also made his way to safety, where his wound was treated. Both men were bitterly disappointed that Heydrich was still alive. At the scene of the attack, Heydrich tried to walk but only succeeded in stumbling like a hopeless drunk before collapsing across the bonnet of his wrecked car then sliding to the pavement. Dozens of Czechs stood watching impassively as the most powerful man in Prague lay writhing on the ground in agony, but not a soul moved to help him. Finally, a young woman and an off duty police officer commandeered a truck and lifted the gravely wounded tyrant into the small cab. The shrapnel appeared to have inflicted only flesh wounds. Later x-rays, however, revealed that there was potentially serious internal damage: a broken rib, a ruptured diaphragm, and a metal splinters in his spleen. Reports that a German general, perhaps the Reichsprotector himself, had been wounded in an attack reached Gestapo headquarters at about am. Initially at least, it was not taken seriously, but when Gestapo agents arrived at the hospital to find Heydrich actually there, the situation changed dramatically. SS troops were immediately dispatched to secure the hospital and surrounding areas, while the top Nazi surgeon in Prague was summoned to perform emergency surgery. As Heydrich was wheeled into the operating theater, the Gestapo were methodically sealing off the ambush site, rounding up witnesses, and piecing together the sequence of events. Evidence recovered from the scene included a fused bomb and a sten gun that pointed toward British involvement with Czech agents the prime suspects. By the afternoon of May 27, news of the assassination attempt had traveled far and wide. People were initially stunned, but as the shock wore off, they were overwhelmed by paralyzing fear. However, it was not only the Czechs who were left badly shaken by the attack. They were surrounded by senior SS officers who appeared to have completely lost their heads as they frantically issued wild orders for drumhead court martials, mass executions, and wholesale arrests. It was painfully obvious to the two Berlin detectives that few among the local authorities had any idea what to do. When details of the attack reached Hitler at his headquarters in East Prussia, he vowed to slaughter more than 10, Czechs; Himmler demanded that prisoners already in custody be executed that very night. The savagery of the Nazi leadership was fueled by fear. The specter of assassination had reached the most powerful men in Nazi Germany for the first time. Karl Hermann Frank, a high-ranking Czech Nazi, actually resisted calls for wholesale reprisals, but not on humanitarian grounds. He was concerned they would not only disrupt vital armaments production but also play into the hands of the exiles and provide damaging propaganda. If the Czechs did not like Heydrich, he raged, he would send them someone a great deal worse. His choice was SS General Kurt Daluege, commander of the uniformed police and a man well credentialed in the art of terror. The 10 million crown reward for the arrest of the assassins came with a warning stating that anyone who aided the assassins or withheld information would be executed along with their entire families; more than death sentences were soon carried out to reinforce the threat. The largest manhunt in the history of the Third Reich resulted in at least 36, homes being raided and over 13, civilians being arrested. Under Daluege, the violent German rampage seemed to have no boundaries—but in actual fact, Frank ensured that a tight rein was kept on reprisals. Believing that an implied threat would be as effective as the act itself, he ensured the Czechs remained in a constant state of nervous tension by orchestrating a rumor campaign warning of the dire consequences soon to befall the nation if the assassins were not surrendered. He also saw to it that the executions, of which there were hundreds, were not as random as many thought. He wanted to promote the perception that those Czechs who were loyal to the Reich would have nothing to fear. The reality for the population, however, was that as the death lists grew ever longer no one seemed to be safe no matter how loyal they had been. The Czech exiles in London learned of the attack through Prague radio on May Even though Heydrich was still alive, Benes was buoyed by the news that he had been wounded, labeling it a clear rejection of Nazi rule and a warning that no one was beyond the reach of Allied justice. For the tens of thousands of Czechs enduring the horrific consequences, these inspiring words from the safety of far-off London carried little weight. Many who had been brutalized to the point of despair prayed that Heydrich would recover in the forlorn hope that it would bring an end to the murderous Nazi retribution. Neither morphine nor transfusions could control the blood poisoning or his excruciating pain. Finally, a week after the attack, on June 4, Heydrich died. Savage German retribution was, however, put on hold as the Third Reich paused to bury one of its most evil sons. In an attempt to placate the Nazis, Emil Hacha and other Czech government officials would escort the body to Germany. Immediately following the ceremony, Hacha and his ministers endured a ferocious tirade from Hitler. The German leader, who had worked himself into an uncontrollable rage, made it clear that if the Czechs did not hand over the assassins he would think nothing of deporting the entire population. No one doubted that he meant what he said. As a brutal warning against further armed resistance, he backed up his threats by ordering the total destruction of the small town of Lidice, 48 miles from Prague. The reprisal action at Lidice, which had been incorrectly connected with the assassins, was to become one of the most notorious Nazi atrocities of the war. At pm on June 9, , SS troops and security police cordoned off the sleepy mining village, then dragged the families from their homes. The women and children were separated and placed inside the local schoolhouse, the men and older boys in a barn. At dawn the next morning the males were led out in groups of 10 and all were shot. To speed up the killing a further 26 where burned alive in a nearby barn, while another 11 men returning to the village from night shift were also executed. The women of Lidice were deported to Ravensbruck concentration camp, and more than children were either handed over to SS families or sent to the concentration camp in Gneisenau. Only a handful would return after the war. Having overseen the massacre or deportation of the entire population, the SS set about systemically destroying every building and structure in the village. After removing 84, square yards of rubble, they leveled the ruins, ploughed them over, and planted grain. With its name removed from the maps of the Protectorate, Lidice had been erased from the face of the earth. The blood sacrifice of Lidice, however, did not satisfy the Nazi thirst for vengeance, and the campaign of ruthless terror ground on relentlessly. Frank ordered the use of loudspeakers to broadcast the names of people who had been executed each day. In the evenings, crowds gathered somberly at newsstands to read the latest list of those condemned to the same fate. More than 1, would be executed in Prague alone. Meanwhile, as the German security net tightened, the pressure on the fugitive Czech agents intensified. Not only were many of the safe houses in the city compromised, but roadblocks and train security made escape from Prague a virtual impossibility. In desperation, the local resistance organized temporary refuge for the assassins and a handful of other Czech agents in the crypt of St. Cyril and Methodius Church in central Prague. The lay preacher, Vladimir Petrek, had agreed to smuggle in the men, but not all of them could be found. Karel Curda, whose team had arrived in the Protectorate on the same aircraft as Gabcik and Kubis, had fled the German crackdown and remained at large. The seven fugitives settled into the dank catacombs as best they could, but the mounting death toll coupled with the reprisal action in Lidice, left Gabcik and Kubis absolutely distraught. They were talked out of it. Noble as the gesture was, it would hardly have satisfied the Nazis, who clearly wanted the assassins alive. With plans afoot to spirit them out of the city in a matter of days, there was nothing they could do but sit tight and wait. The Gestapo, in the meantime, was at its wits end trying to break open the case after nearly two weeks had failed to unearth a single worthwhile lead. As the investigation ground to a complete standstill, Frank was under enormous pressure from Berlin to immediately instigate mass reprisals. He had in fact received an order from Himmler demanding that 30, politically active Czechs be arrested and executed. They threatened the Czechoslovakian people that if the men responsible were not captured by this date, far more blood would fill the streets. The next day, the SS barricaded the church and laid siege. Despite wanting to bring them in alive, all seven men died in the church. One of the most famous of these was the Moravecs — all of whom, except the father who had no idea, were involved in the resistance movement. Additionally, most of the family members of those in Operation Anthropoid were executed, as were all the church clergy who helped them hide. He went on to marry a German woman and continued as a Nazi collaborator for the remainder of the war. When the war ended, he was hunted down, arrested and tried for treason, for which he was found guilty. Most historians believe he betrayed his friends because, unlike the other conspirators, he was the only one to return home after the assassination, and the only one to witness the reprisals. So he gave himself and the other members of Operation Anthropoid up to prevent this. He locked himself in his room and stayed up all night reading and burning the files. Shortly afterwards, he began forging documents and helping Jews to escape. It is unclear exactly how many he helped. He used this position — and his connection to Reinhard — to acquire extra paper which was typically in shortage during the war and carry on without any suspicion. Sadly, in officials came in to investigate the missing paper supplies and Heinz panicked, believing he was discovered. He shot himself to protect his family. The SS had absolutely no idea what he was up to. By all accounts it is a lesser-known and infrequently visited destination in the city. It is a small space, granted, but it still felt like half the tourists in Prague were crammed into that small space. There were at least three tour groups there, all trying to talk over each other. The guides pretty much summed everything up, then gave their wards minutes to explore. And this made it pretty damn crowded. And due to the size of the memorial, any amount of people makes it feel claustrophobic. Nevertheless, visiting the Crypt was one of the highlights of Prague. So it pains me not to put it on all the lists forever. When we visited December it was free admission. You can even read a book or three about our favourite Prague legend, The Golem. American by birth, miniature by design. I moved for the first time when I was 18 months old, and I haven't stopped since. I'm a classic introvert with a penchant for Camelidae, salt and underground spaces. What a brilliant article! Thanks for sharing! Thanks Kirsty! And then learned so much more while we were in Prague. It was a very educational and eye-opening visit, and one I thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in history, or at least in WWII history, who is visiting Prague! I would love to see policies initiated at sites that limit tour groups to specific hours of the day, or even specific days. Certainly, people have a right to travel in large tour groups, but I wonder if they really understand or care how disruptive a large tour group can be to other people. However, I usually prefer to enjoy a museum at my own pace and this can be problematic in the squall of an oncoming tour. It makes me remember a day I spent in Oslo… I was keen to see the Viking Museum, so keen, I made it my first stop of the day. Unfortunately, it was also the first stop for a group of tour busses. The groups came into the museum like a swarm of buzzing bees. I found an alcove on the second floor few ventured upward and waited them out, luckily they left rather quickly. Oslo has some great museums, btw, and I was hoping to make the most of the long daylight hours and my day pass. If this was what the day held in store, I began to fear the worst. Thankfully, that was my last encounter of the day with busloads of tourists. Thanks for the informative read. The site looks well worth the visit, crowds aside. Hopefully others will be luckier than you and miss the tour groups! That luck can certainly be hit or miss. Perhaps the place is on some tour guide list. Sometimes, in like situations, it may be worth waiting the crowd out by spending time in a less popular exhibit, the cafe, or gift shop. And even as someone on the tour, I sometimes find them disruptive. So I hate to feel rushed in a museum. On the other hand, I think walking tours can be a great way to see a city and get in some history and fun facts. But I do panic when I show up to museum with buses outside. It is truly shocking to me that the Nazis honoured the payment. I have seen some sources say that they only gave him half because they also provided him with a new identity. But that still seems like an insanely fair tradeoff considering the circumstances. I hope others are able to visit unimpeded by crowds. We did also visit over Christmas season, which I think is almost if not worse than summer in terms of tourism numbers. So nearly everywhere we went was busy. But I was still surprised by just how busy the Heydrich Terror Memorial was. Wow, this made me quite upset. Especially looking at the picture of Alois Elias knowing that he was assassinated. Think of his family! How horrible. So, honestly, I have studied and learned a lot about WWII and the Holocaust but never really ventured into learning about specific people — like Reinhard. Hearing about these people makes me wonder what kind of men they were before the war started. Besides hatred and power — what turned these men into these horrible monsters? Were they always like that and were just able to let loose during the war? I am a fan of places that are empty so I can take my time without the hassle of others. However, I am all for people learning about these histories and remembering the people who lost their lives. It felt important to show the victims. Not that Reinhard is a victim. And then, of course, it turned into a bit of a rabbit hole. I also often wonder what men like Heydrich were like before the war. I think most people become evil, or at least cruel, when the opportunity arrises. Which is terrifying. I agree.

The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich — Central Intelligence Agency

Ver todas las apps de lectura gratuitas de Kindle. Opiniones de clientes. Compra verificada. I bought this as background reading for my military history buff husband on a recent trip to Prague, as it concerns a pivotal event in Czech history and several of the locations mentioned would feature in our itinerary. He gave me the bones of the story which had all the hallmarks of a thrilling film - 'the Butcher of Prague' - a savage Nazi anti-hero oppressing a nation, two young heroes whose seemingly impossible mission is to rid their country of him, Czech politicians in exile cynically? Well I was hooked. The difficulty is not creating a brilliant story from such compelling real events, but what you put in to give this story its essential context. Callum Macdonald has pulled off an astonishing feat. He has produced a scholarly book which is a real page turner never thought I'd see those words in review about a history book. His success is in part due to meticulous research and judicious selection of material, but also due to the fact that he tells the story extremely well, without hyperbole none is needed , pathos or purple prose. The facts speak eloquently for themselves. We're now back from that most beautiful of cities. We saw the places there which feature in this book some of them, like the Pecek Palace, former HQ of the Gestapo, are now anonymous government buildings. The Czechs don't seem particularly keen to advertise the Gestapo museum in its basement - the number we were given never answered, nor did the email address reply. This was a completely absorbing read, with appendices for those who wanted more facts and figures behind this astonishing story.. Easily the best overview of this subject you'll find. Well written and thorough account of the Czechs patriots returning to killing Heydrich. And convincing. Before reading this book, I was one of the people who thought that the assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich in Prague on 27th May leading to him dying of wounds on 4th June as a brave and symbolic act: Yet probably hard to justify in the sense that the German retribution against the Czech people was so high, and his loss did not prevent the Holocaust. However, the writer shows that Heydrich was certainly one of the most capable of of the Nazi organisers. When becoming the leading German commander in Bohemia and Moravia, he was a master of psychology. Rewarding the Czech workers in the armaments factories with pay increases and treats to increase production, wrecking the black market, and ruthlessly dealing with any opposition to Nazi rule. If moved to another country such as France, he might be just as successful against the Resistance. In the long term, Hedyrich despised the Czechs and was probably going to subject all those who could not be Germanised to mass deportation eastwards to forced settlement and even mass murder. The early Summer of was a tough time for the Allies, North Africa and Malta were threatened, losses in the North Atlantic shipping lanes were horrific, defeats in Asia Seemed to be one irreversible setback The author is also helpful in looking at the splits in the Czech opposition with Eduard Benes' government in exile in London fearing a successful pro-Soviet underground forming in Czechoslovakia. The massacre of civilians arising from the destruction of the village of Lidice on 10th June does not take up many pages of this book, but still helpful. The writer shows that the German's callous boasting of the atrocity helped to galvanise support for the War effort amongst the Allies particular in the USA. Overall an invaluable book. Meticulously researched. What in the world happened to you? Two men bombed me and then shot up my spine with tommy guns, the contemptible, bicycling plutocrats—Heil Hitler! Now just tell me what you did in Czecho-Slovakia. By the following week, however, he had died—leading to a brutal campaign for revenge. What came next was even worse: the wiping out of the town of Lidice, near Prague, pop. Write to Lily Rothman at lily. By Lily Rothman. Reinhard Heydrich died and went to hell. Get our History Newsletter. Put today's news in context and see highlights from the archives. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time.

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