Reinhard Heydrich, the commander of the German Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), the acting governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a principal architect of the Holocaust, was assassinated during the Second World War in a coordinated operation by the Czechoslovak resistance. The assassination attempt, code-named Operation Anthropoid, was carried out by resistance operatives Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš on 27 May 1942. Heydrich was wounded in the attack and died of his wounds on 4 June 1942.
The operatives who carried out the assassination were soldiers of the Czechoslovak Army who were prepared and trained by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) with the approval of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, led by Edvard Beneš. The Czechoslovaks undertook the operation to help confer legitimacy on the government-in-exile, and to exact retribution for Heydrich's brutal rule. The operation was the only verified government-sponsored assassination of a senior Nazi leader during the war. Heydrich's death led to a wave of reprisals by SS troops, including the destruction of villages and mass killings of civilians, notably the Lidice massacre.
Multiple memorials have been created in different nations such as in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and in the United Kingdom as a result of both the assassination and its aftermath. In addition, the events have been featured in several well-known dramatic films (this taking place in the general context of World War II in popular culture and specifically Reinhard Heydrich in popular culture).
Background
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Reinhard Heydrich had been the chief of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) since September 1939 and was appointed acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia after replacing Konstantin von Neurath in September 1941. Chancellor Adolf Hitler agreed with Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler and Heydrich that von Neurath's relatively lenient approach to the Czechs promoted anti-German sentiment, and encouraged anti-German resistance by strikes and sabotage.
Heydrich came to Prague to "strengthen policy, carry out countermeasures against resistance", and keep up production quotas of Czech motors and arms that were "extremely important to the German war effort". During his role as de facto dictator of Bohemia and Moravia, Heydrich often drove with his chauffeur in a car with an open roof. This was a show of his confidence in the occupation forces and in the effectiveness of his government. Due to his brutal efficiency, Heydrich was nicknamed the Butcher of Prague, the Blond Beast and the Hangman.
Strategic context
By late 1941, Nazi Germany controlled almost all of continental Europe, and German forces were approaching Moscow. The Allies deemed Soviet capitulation likely. The exiled government of Czechoslovakia under President Edvard Beneš was under pressure from British intelligence, as there had been very little visible resistance since the occupation of the Sudeten regions of the country in 1938. The takeover of these regions was accepted by the United Kingdom and France in the Munich Agreement. Occupation of the whole country had begun in 1939, and the initial betrayal, along with the subsequent terror of the Nazis, seemed to break the will of the Czechs for a period.
The German invasion of the Soviet Union had stimulated acts of sabotage by Czech communists, leading to Heydrich's appointment. As well as terrorizing the opposition and establishing the Theresienstadt ghetto/concentration camp, Heydrich had overseen a progressive policy of good wages (equivalent to those in Germany) for industrial workers and farmers, which caused acts of sabotage to drop significantly and helped cooperative production of war materials. Heydrich was thought to be scheduled to transfer to occupied northern France and Belgium, with the intent to implement similar policies there.