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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.

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