Operation Anthropoid-The Assassination of SS Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich (Prague, Czechoslovakia)

This post takes us to one of my favorite cities, Prague in the Czech Republic. Unlike many ancient cities, it retains an old city center that is beautiful and welcoming to tourists. It was also the stage for one of my favorite WWII events: Operation Anthropoid. While the 2016 film “Anthropoid” is a good watch, there is much more to the story. I encourage you to read about this incredible event, a brief overview of which I will provide here.

The Nazis appointed the brutal SS leader Reinhard Heydrich as the administrator of Bohemia and Moravia (Czechoslovakia). He was based in Prague, and was appointed to quell the resistance activity in the country and bring the Czechs in line with the thinking of the German Reich. His conduct brought him numerous nicknames, including the Butcher of Prague, the Blond Beast, and the Hangman. Most importantly, he was the architect of the “Final Solution”, the ultimate planner of the mechanisms of the holocaust.

The Czech Government was in exile in Britain, along with many of its military personnel. Czech President Edvard Benes was under pressure from all around. The British wanted to see more resistance activity. Benes himself thought the Czechs were not being seen as valuable allies. His worry was that any post-war agreements would not look out for his country’s interests. He was also concerned about the pride of his countrymen. A dramatic action could help all of this, but at a risk of both failure and retribution. The decision was made to have commandos parachute back into Czechoslovakia and assassinate Heydrich.

The British SOE (Special Operations Executive) was responsible for training Allied special forces. Teams of Czech volunteers trained to join small parachute teams with specific missions. Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis would ultimately be the ones to attack Heydrich.

The plan was to lie in wait at the slowest turn on Heydrich’s morning drive. As the staff car approached, Gabcik stepped out to spray the Mercedes with a Sten submachine gun. The weapon jammed without a shot fired. Heydrich could have escaped, but elected to stop the car and fire at the commandos. Kubis then reached into a briefcase and pulled out a modified anti-tank grenade which exploded next to the rear wheel. Heydrich was wounded but a foot chase and shoot out followed. The assassins escaped, returning to their friends in the Resistance.

Heydrich received excellent medical care, and as a favorite of Hitler, had anything the Reich could offer at his disposal. He was recovering well, then took a downturn and died. History says the shrapnel from the grenade drove some horsehair from the car’s upholstery stuffing into his body. This led to a fatal case of sepsis.

German reaction was swift and brutal. There were searches, threats, bounties offered, and Resistance members tortured and killed. In reprisal, the Nazi’s murdered around 5,000 people. They also destroyed the villages of Lidice and Lezaky, and removed any vestiges of the towns when they were done. The residents were all killed or taken to concentration camps.

Gabcik and Kubis (as well as members of the other teams) and Resistance members were betrayed by one of their own for the 1 million reichsmark bounty. The remaining men took shelter in the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, being hidden in the basement crypt by church personnel. A force of 750 German Waffen-SS laid siege to the church, but could not take the commandos alive. Unlike the movie portrayal, the commandos had only pistols for defense. The Germans has machine guns, grenades, and unlimited ammunition. The Czechs made an attempt to tunnel through the stone wall of the crypt to get to the river and escape. There was not enough time to complete their breech of the stone wall (see pic). After a 2 hour gun battle, with the heroes fighting from the second level balcony (pictured) and the crypt, the standoff came to a tragic end.

The killing of Heydrich was the only successful Government sanctioned elimination of a high ranking Nazi official during WWII. In hindsight was the success worth the cost? Operation Anthropoid will always have that question surround it. That aside, the courage of the commandos was an example of bravery to the extreme. Their dedicated and patriotism has made them national heroes, and the subject of many books and movies. I hope you will take the time to learn more about this event and see the wonderful city of Prague.

TRAVEL TIP: While Prague you can take an Anthropoid walking tour through the sites related to this amazing event. The distances are modest, and a good guide will relate many details around the operation. Prague is worthy of an extended visit. It is affordable and very tourist friendly.