Heroes of the Operation Anthropoid / Hrdinové operace Anthropoid (Praha)
N 50° 04.551 E 014° 25.014
33U E 458276 N 5547226
In June 1942, this place was the scene of the last stand of a number of Czechoslovak patriots who had assassinated Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi SS Obergruppenführer and General of Police - one from the architects of Holocaust...
Waymark Code: WM67J0
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 04/18/2009
Views: 213
At the coordinates, on the wall of Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral (Orthodox church), you can find a memorial tablet dedicated to seven Czechoslovak paratroopers, who died here on 18 June 1942, after taking part the assassination of the Nazi Governor of Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhard Heydrich. Members of the Czech Orthodox community helped them hid in the crypt. After a fierce gun battle, they reportedly committed suicide rather than fall into enemy hands...
On the wall of the crypt near a window, you can still see the holes from the Nazi bullets... The crypt of the cathedral serves now as National Memorial to the victims of the Heydrich Terror. Crypt can be visited by appointment only.
Operation Anthropoid
Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the assassination of top German leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was the chief of the Reich Main Security Office (Reichssicherheitshauptamt, or RSHA), the acting
Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, and a chief planner of the Final Solution, the Nazi programme for the genocide of the Jews of Europe.
Reinhard Heydrich
ReinhardHeydrich had been the chief of the RSHA since 1939. This was an organisation that included the Secret Police (Gestapo), the Security Agency (Sicherheitsdienst, or SD), the Criminal Police
(Kripo) - and, in 1942, the President of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). Heydrich was a key planner in eliminating Hitler’s opponents, as well as (later) the key planner of the genocide of the Jews. He was involved in most of Hitler’s intrigues and a valued political ally, adviser, and friend of the dictator.
Due to his abilities and power, Heydrich was feared by almost all German generals. In September 1941, Heydrich was appointed acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, replacing Konstantin von Neurath,
whom Hitler considered too moderate. 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 confidence in the occupation forces and the effectiveness of their repressive measures against the local population. Due to his cruelty, Heydrich was nicknamed the Butcher of Prague, the Blond Beast, and the Hangman.