SS-3 The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich

[Music] on november the 19th an unusual ceremony took place in sun fighters cathedral on the castle hill above prague the former capital of czechoslovakia in the gothic splendor of the chapel dedicated to francislas the patron saint and defender of the checks a golden door with seven locks guards the jewel room containing the ancient crown of bohemia the traditional symbol of czech independence [Music] it was in this historic setting that the czech puppet president emil presented the seven keys to the treasure chamber to a man considered the most dangerous in nazi germany after hitler himself he was ss obergruppenfuhrer reinhard heidry the governor of bohemia and moravia and the head of the secret police by entrusting the most precious symbol of nationhood to heiderich was displaying czech's subservience to nazi germany it was said that in the privacy of the jewel room heydrich placed the crown of senpenceslas on his own head defying an ancient czech legend that said whoever did so unjustly would die within a year on the 27th of may 1942 six months after the ceremony in the treasure chamber of saint pence's last chapel heydrich left his country mansion to drive to prague airport he was to fly to berlin for an important meeting with hitler his briefcase full of ambitious plans to destroy all resistance to nazi rule and harness the industry of occupied europe to the german blitzkrieg in russia [Music] heydrich had no fear of physical attack he was openly contemptuous of the czechs who in his own words hadn't enough guts to do anything while leading nazis above all hitler traveled everywhere in armored limousines with bulletproof glass surrounded by bodyguards heydrich drove in the front seat of an open 3.5 litre mercedes convertible despite the orders issued at the beginning of may for insertion of armor plate in the body work and seat backs of the mercedes nothing had been done a mistake that was to prove fatal in less than 30 minutes [Music] barely 38 years old heydrich was feared throughout occupied europe even within the shadowy world of the nazi security police which he headed one subordinate recalled his sinister physical appearance his small restless eyes as crafty as an animals and of unusual power another remembered his hands slender and too long like those of a strangler he was cold and ruthless traits that served him well in the jungle of nazi politics yet heydrich regarded himself as more than a secret policeman he cultivated his image as an aryan hero a man of action trading on his physical fitness and nordic appearance he was a gifted fencer and pet athlete he was also a fighter pilot who flew with the luftwaffe over france britain and russia earning himself the frontline flyers badge in bronze and silver his flying career ended only after he was shot down behind the russian lines in 1941 and had to be rescued by the german army after that he was forbidden by hitler to fly in combat again the head of the ss heinrich himmler who had started heydrich on his murderous career was impressed by his emotional hardness and ferocious physical energy the qualities of the ideal ss man heydrich joined himmler's black uniformed elite the ss in 1931 when a scandal over a love affair forced him to resign from the navy in the period of political struggle before the nazis came to power heydrich created an ss security service that spied on hitler's rivals inside and outside the party after hitler became chancellor in 1933 heydrich constructed a system of state terror that provided the nazis with an instrument of total political control his men arrested without warrants tortured suspects and sent opponents to concentration camps without trial heydrich's secret empire now included not only the ss security service but also the political state police the gestapo outside germany heydrich paved the way for nazi expansion his agents supported hitler's designs on czechoslovakia encouraging the sudeten german minority there to demand annexation after the surrender of the sudetenland at the munich conference of september 1938 heydrich subverted what remained of czechoslovakia when hitler marched into prague in 1939 and established the protectorate of bohemia moravia heiderich was hovering in the background watching the fiera savor his latest triumph with the outbreak of war heiderich became responsible for the terror inflicted on the population of the occupied territories in january 1942 advanced in berlin he chaired the conference that officially sealed the fate of millions of jews throughout europe barely 38 he was at the height of his murderous powers [Music] in late september 1941 hitler sent heydrich to prague as acting rice protector of bohemia and moravia his mission was to crash check resistance increase armaments production and prepare the way for ultimate germanization he was assisted by his deputy carl hermann frank the number two man in the protectorate with the official title of state secretary frank was a former bookseller from karlovy vary a sudeten german known for his rabid hatred of the czechs frank cooperated enthusiastically with heydrich's plans for bohemia moravia in a secret speech on the 2nd of october the new reichs protector announced that he had two main aims the task of the near future is dictated by the needs of waging war i need peace in this region so that the czech workers may make full use of their labor to support the german war effort this means of course that the czech workers must be given their swill it is necessary however to show the checks whose master in the house so that they should know for certain that the german interest dictates here but the second task must remain secret that this region must become german the czechs have no right to be here as to the final germanization of this czech rabble those of good race and well-intentioned can be germanized those of inferior racial origins with hostile intentions i have to get rid of there's plenty of space for them in the east heydrich launched a reign of terror against all who opposed german rule martial law courts were established passing over 400 death sentences in a few weeks almost five thousand were arrested and sent to mauthausen concentration camp among the victims were those considered natural leaders of the czech nation he ordered the deportation of the jews to the newly created ghetto at terezin a stopover on the way to the death camps further east his draconian measures earned heiderich a new title the hangman of prague president and his regime terrified by heydrich urged the population to work for germany many czechs seemed ready to collaborate as an incentive heydrich offered czech workers improved rations and social security payments peasant leaders were summoned to prague castle and encouraged to grow more food while his victims died in the camps and execution yards heydrich proudly displayed his achievements to leading nazis himmler was plainly impressed hitler's architect albert speer was taken on a personal tour of prague which was to be rebuilt as a german city the inhabitants of prague lived their daily lives against the background of nazi occupation [Music] for many however the pursuit of pleasure went on as before peace and prosperity reigned in bohemia and moravia throughout the protectorate buildings and vehicles carried the letter v proclaiming faith in the victory of the third reich what the czechs did not know was that ss experts had begun to screen the population to decide who would live and who would die in heiderick's secret program of racial assimilation what heidrick did not know was that in distant london other checks were already planning his destruction [Music] after the german occupation in 1939 some czechs joined the home resistance and fought underground others including a number of slovaks escaped abroad to continue the struggle after the collapse of france in june 1940 they arrived in britain where they kept their hopes of freedom alive the troops obeyed the exiled president edward banish the successor of the late founder of czechoslovakia thomas masay banished had become head of state in 1935 hitler had always hated him he'd forced banish to resign after the munich conference and flee abroad with a fierce devotion to the cause of independence banish had pursued one goal ever since to reverse the munich agreement and secure an allied commitment to the restoration of czechoslovakia within its 1938 borders it was a crusade that became an obsession as the head of the czechoslovak government in exile banishes position with churchill was strengthened by the activities of his intelligence chief colonel frantisek seen here with banish in a rare archive film never shown before with the assistance of the british secret service morovets had escaped from prague shortly before the german occupation the british gave moravets men access to communication facilities with which he maintained contact with the home resistance this provided banished with a valuable bargaining counter in his dealings with the allies czechoslovak exiles in london already under pressure to take a more active part in the war were faced with a new crisis by hydrik's reign of terror the british and the russians were demanding a sabotage campaign in the protectorate banish felt that something quite dramatic must be done to impress the allies and put czechoslovakia back on the political map of europe he wanted more credibility for his government in exile he also wanted to demonstrate the strength of the czech resistance since heydrich decimated the home resistance it had to be an imported one he knew the inevitable consequences because until now he'd been cautious not to stir up the nazis but the ss terror removed the previous inhibition it was quickly decided that heiderich the symbol of nazi oppression throughout occupied europe must be assassinated the plan to kill him was code named anthropoid the czechs asked soe the british special operations executive for help soe established by winston churchill in 1940 to set europe ablaze was already training volunteers from the czechoslovak army for underground work the men had undergone weeks of intensive training at the commandos school in [Music] scotland it was from the ranks of these volunteers that colonel morovets selected the men to kill heideri [Music] they were two warrant officers jan kubish and joseph gabchik who'd impressed their british instructors as fine soldiers jan kubish seen briefly here in this unique home movie at an army sports day in england was a shy and reserved man from moravia a soldier before munich kubish had been decorated for heroism during the battle of france yosef gabchik from the juliana district of slovakia was a career soldier although hot tempered he was an honest and open character popular with the men of his infantry company during the fighting in france gabchi could earn the czechoslovak war cross and the french quad aguer both men were patriots determined to reverse the shame of munich and secure freedom for their country it was this burning sense of mission that had carried them across frontiers and brought them to britain to continue the fight the two men were close friends who'd volunteered for secret work together they symbolized the nation that heiderich was trying to destroy although warned they were unlikely to survive both volunteered without hesitation the final entry in kubish's diary read i have been chosen for a special mission i will carry it out come what may the plan was to attack heydrich's car on his daily journey to the office if necessary one of the agents was to throw himself at the vehicle with a suitcase containing 30 pounds of plastic explosives at the special operations executive schools in britain gabcik and kubis were given further training for their mission and equipped with weapons considered suitable for their special task after several delays the royal air force finally allocated an aircraft to the czechs on the evening of the 28th of december 1941 they were loaded into a long-range halifax of the raf special operations unit flown by squadron leader ron hockey and his crew [Music] shared the aircraft with two other czech parachute groups codenamed silver a and silver b whose task was to re-establish radio communications with london the lone bomber flew across enemy territory evading flack and roving night fighters on its perilous journey visibility over the protectorate was poor with low cloud and heavy snow before jumping into the winter night gabchi ripped the dispatcher by the arm his last words were remember you'll be hearing from us we will do everything possible as their parachutes opened the agents did not know they'd been dropped 70 miles off target which was near the city of pogenya instead they came down in a frozen field just outside nevisday a village near prague worse still gabchik injured his foot landing on the hard ground it was an ominous beginning to a dangerous mission [Music] the country was in the grip of a harsh winter despite the cold czechs were expected to contribute warm clothing for the german troops on the icy plains outside moscow the program was promoted by heydrich under the title winter help a propaganda newsreel was produced for the purposes of [Music] foreign was convinced that the total mobilization of czech resources was essential at this crucial point in the war [Music] despite their initial difficulties gabcik and kubish reached prague in early january where they were able to contact the czech underground they were found safe houses by jan zelenka code name heiske a leading resistance worker at the center of his network was the flat of a family called moravets who had a son with the raf in england after lying low for a few weeks in their safe houses gabcik and kubish began their preparations but they told nobody about their secret orders heydrich's duties often took him out of the protectorate carl hem and frank was left in charge while heydrich traveled throughout occupied europe in connection with the final solution waiting for the right moment gabcik and kubish found time to visit ice hockey matches and an anti-soviet propaganda exhibition they also flirted with girls in the cafes and dance halls of the city in the spring of 1942 a wave of new parachute groups was sent from london to commit sabotage but none were successful many parachutists were killed soon after landing or lost their equipment and fled to prague where six of them were hidden by the resistance as a result of this activity heydrich called for increased police vigilance and there were rumors of a new round of ss terror some members of the resistance who guessed what gabchek and kubish were planning feared massive reprisals an urgent radio message was sent to london asking for the operation to be called off but there was no response large-scale collaboration in the protectorate was embarrassing the exiles in britain on the 28th of april 1942 presented heydrich with a complete hospital train for the russian front as a birthday gift to hitler heydrich's acceptance speech is heard here for the first time since 1942 foreign meanwhile gabchek and kubis were stalking their target a check on the domestic staff of prague castle passed information about heydrich's daily schedule through the window of a flat in one of the streets below heydrich lived with his wife and children in a country mansion outside prague heavily guarded by ss troops but on his daily journey to the city in his open touring car he sat unprotected in the front seat next to his chauffeur gab cheek and kubish explored this route by bicycle they discarded the plan to stop the car in open country by stretching a cable between the trees that lined the road since there was no chance of escape on one reconnaissance mission however they found the ideal site in the northern suburbs of prague here the road turned sharp right on its way down to the river and heydrich's driver would have to slow to a crawl a nearby tram stop offered perfect cover for the waiting assassins by may the 26th the men had completed their plans [Music] on the evening of the 26th of may heiderich attended the opening concert of prague music week accompanied by his wife lena [Music] the performance was held in the opulent setting of the valentine palace built by a 17th century general which cruelly suppressed the revolt of the czech nobility against the german emperor as the evening progressed heydrich savored his achievement and contemplated a bright future in the highest ranks of the nazi movement many talked about him as hitler's future successor he did not know that in another part of the city different plans had been completed next morning at the hairpin bend in the suburbs of holy shavitza gabchik and kubish were waiting impatiently for their target to appear this is a reenactment of the events that were to follow gupty's stengum was hidden under his raincoat kubish's bombs fused and ready were concealed in his briefcase untypically heydrich was late [Music] then his mercedes ss3 approached the corner on the opposite side of the road from the waiting parachutists a tram came up the hill as heydrich's car slowed down and rounded the corner gabchik dropped the raincoat raised his gun at point-blank range and pulled the trigger nothing happened the gun had jammed gabchik was left standing helplessly as the mercedes swept past heydrich then made a fatal error he stood up and drew his pistol yelling at the driver to stop kubish stepped from cover and threw his bomb in that moment the fate of heydrich and thousands of others was sealed [Music] on the 27th of may 1942 an attempt was made on the life of acting rice protector heidrich a reward of 10 million crowns is offered for apprehending the assassins whoever harbours or assists the assassins or has knowledge of their persons or whereabouts and fails to report this information will be shot together with his family martial law is hereby declared throughout the area of the oberland route a massive manhunt began that night 21 000 police and ss searched over 36 000 houses in the city they found no trace of the attackers the troops fearing a checkup rising fired at anything that moved in the sudetenland there were demands for harsh reprisals and checks were assaulted in the streets prague was cordoned off with checkpoints on every road hitler was informed of the attack shortly after midday he was deeply shaken he flew into a rage threatening to send someone to prague who would not hesitate to wade through blood and ordered the immediate arrest of ten thousand checks as hostages he was persuaded to postpone this draconian measure by heydrich's deputy carl hermann frank who emphasized the dangers to armaments production ss general kurt daluga was appointed as hijrik's temporary successor he pursued a policy of selective terror advocated by frank in the next three months 3188 were arrested of whom 1357 were executed 657 more died under gestapo interrogation the victims included people who had merely expressed approval of the assassination these measures were given continuous publicity by press radio and loudspeaker 1900 according to the gestapo most czechs had at first believed that heydrich had got what he deserved but now this gave way to a sense of fear terrified crowds thronged the newsstands the puppet regime terrified by the reprisals hastily arranged demonstrations of loyalty to germany and all the cities propaganda newsreel teams were present to record these events [Music] and behind the sinister black flags at the petjak palace headquarters of the prague estapo the investigation began in earnest the evidence left at the scene of the ambush together with the accounts of witnesses rounded up by the gestapo gave the first clues as to what had happened the impact bomb had exploded in the gutter near the right back wheel at approximately 10 35 kubish staggered back hit by pieces of the car's bodywork the blast blew out the windows of the tram heydrich jumped from the car and fired two shots at kubis before slumping down wounded against the railings kubish ran for his bicycle throwing away his briefcase which contained a second bomb he fired into the air to frighten off the term passengers who were trying to catch him and escaped downhill into the city gupty threw down his useless stun gun and drew a pistol unable to reach his bicycle he was chased by hydrix driver ober shafiore klein he tried to hide in a butcher's shop but finding no rear exit turned back into the street where he encountered klein gupty shot the german firing twice as he'd been trained to do so by the soe from the evidence collected at the scene the gestapo concluded that the attack had been prepared in england the sten gun was a favorite weapon of the special operations executive it broke into three parts and could be easily concealed the bomb was similar to anti-tank grenades used by the british in north africa the attackers had to be parachutists sent from britain but where were they the evidence was shown in newsreels time and time again thousands of anonymous letters poured into the gestapo but not one offered a real lead on heydrich's elusive attackers while the greatest manhunt in the history of nazi germany went on outside heydrich hovered between life and death at the bulovka hospital not far from the corner where his car had been attacked at first he seemed likely to survive his wounds but within a few days he developed blood poisoning caused by fragments from the seat back of the car carried into his spleen by a splinter from kubish's bomb despite repeated blood transfusions and treatment with sulfonamide drugs heydrich fell into a coma at 7 30 a.m on the 4th of june 1942 the hangman of prague breathed his last at midnight on the 6th of june the body was carried by torchlight from the hospital to prague castle [Music] the streets through which this ghostly procession passed were entirely cleared of civilians thousands of ss men lined the route [Music] himmler's black order wanted this night to itself on the morning of the 7th of june heydrich was laid in state in the castle courtyard his coffin guarded by senior officers of the army ss and security police thousands of checks terrified by what his death might mean for them filed past in endless columns peasants women with flowers policemen early that evening the body was carried across the river beneath the statues of the saints and martyrs on the ancient charles bridge bidding farewell to a man who planned to do away with christianity immediately after the war the british press called the occasion a gangster funeral in the pompous chicago style the cortege wound its way through the couple's streets on its way to the main station where a special funeral train waited to take heydrich on his last journey to berlin [Music] three days later in the mosaic hall of the reich chancellery the nazis staged the most elaborate funeral ceremony ever held in the third reich [Music] the chief mourner was hitler and his ministers were also present [Music] the event was attended by the highest leaders of the state party and army many concealing behind their show of mourning for the dead heydrich their fear of the live one [Music] only a few days previously hitler had condemned hedrick's conduct as idiotic saying such heroic gestures as driving in an open unarmored vehicle or walking about the streets of prague unguarded are just a damn stupidity men of importance like heydrich should know that they're being continually stalked like game that there are any number of people just waiting to kill them an official ss poet praised heidrich as wolf leader among the keen wolf pack but many in the wolf pack were visibly relieved that he was dead himmler gave the aeration hitler made a short statement praising heydrich as a nazi martyr then he patted the dead man's sons muttering heidrik he was a man with a heart of iron as the final vollis from the god of honor echoed over the grave hitler was planning another kind of firing squad to teach the czechs a final lesson of subservience and humility that evening he ordered the total destruction of lydice a village near cladno in bohemia at 9 30 p.m on the 9th of june the village was cordoned off and an execution squad under ss commander max rostock went to work they shot their victims in front of mattresses propped up against the barn wall to prevent ricochets 199 men were murdered 195 women and 87 children were sent to concentration camps only eight children considered worthy of germanization were spared for adoption by ss families the buildings were dynamited and the site leveled it took five hours to kill almost every living thing the destruction was meticulously recorded on film lijitse had been singled out on the advice of the prague gestapo two families living there had sons in the raf and contact addresses in the village had been found amongst the possessions of captured parachutists carl hammond frank boasted that corn would grow where lijitse once stood as a symbol of the fate awaiting all those who resisted german rule after legit say rumors spread that every tenth check was to be shot despite the terror that gripped the population however the assassins had still not been found commenting on the death of heidrick dr benish czechoslovakia's president has promised retribution for the appalling nazi persecution of his country heydrich is dead so are hundreds of innocent checks interviewed in london banish acknowledged the high cost of the operation but worse was to come frank tried a new move on the 13th of june he promised a pardon to anyone who denounced the assassins within five days even if they'd not come forward earlier but the selective terror continued in the morning and the evening the firing squads were busy at the killing field of prague the kobelise execution ground while the germans raged above them kubish and gupty were hiding in the crypt of sincerel and methodius a serbian orthodox church on wrestler street in prague five surviving parachutists from other groups were with them they were lieutenant adolf alpalka sergeants joseph valjeik yaroslav schwarz josef bublik and jan harubi only one was missing sergeant carol who'd fled from prague and broken the most important rule of underground warfare by seeking refuge in his mother's house near benishav in southern bohemia bishop gorest and his priests seen here in a rare pre-war archive film were taking a terrible risk by hiding the parachutists the men slept in the niches formerly occupied by the coffins of the monks and were brought food and water by members of the resistance despite the dark and the cold the parachutists could rely on each other for support jordan was in a different position isolated and afraid he tried to drown his fears and drink but his nerve finally broke under the strain on the 16th of june he took the train to prague to save his own skin and protect his family he wandered the streets preparing himself for the final act of betrayal then he walked into gestapo headquarters at the petje palace a building no check entered voluntarily although he did not know where the assassins were hiding he was able to give the gestapo the addresses of the safe houses they'd used in prague those included the flats of jan zelenka and the morovets family the gestapo raided the safe houses early next morning but found nothing those who knew most zelenka and mrs moravets swallowed suicide pills the germans worked on the others concentrating on mrs morovitz's youngest son atya he was tortured in the basement cells of the pacheck palace for an entire day then stupefied with brandy and shown his mother's severed head floating in a fish tank from atia morovets the gestapo learned the secret of the church of sincerel and methodius at 4 10 in the morning on the 18th of june the area was cordoned off by ss troops this dramatic reconstruction of the events which were to follow is from the czech feature film the assassination three of the parachutists tired of the dark and narrow crypt were keeping watch in the choir loft as the germans entered the nave they opened fire from above the battle for the choir loft lasted for over two hours [Applause] when the firing stopped it was discovered that two of the parachutists had committed suicide a third wounded and unconscious had been unable to kill himself he was rushed to hospital but died on arrival the body was that of heydrich's assassin jan kubish while the battle raged above them the parachutists in the crypt tried to tunnel into the sewers but there was no escape now it was their turn unable to storm the crypt through the trapdoor in the nave the germans turned their attention to a slit in the outside wall the gestapo wanted the parachutists alive the germans tossed in tear gas then the prague fabricate with someone to flood the crypt and force them to give up carl hemm and frank became impatient and ordered a sealed trap door in front of the altar to be blown open he wanted the ss to attack the crypt from two directions as the echoes of the explosion died away four shots rang out on the ground the parachutists had shot themselves with their last bullets rather than surrender the bodies were brought up and thrown onto the pavement where they were identified by the traitor carol churda minutes before he tried to talk his former comrades into giving up in return for a pardon but the parachutists had fired at him shouting we will never surrender [Music] as the threat of mass reprisals was lifted national relief was obvious the biggest demonstration of loyalty to the third reich took place in wenceslas square just two weeks after the siege of the church in resslaver street carl hammond frank commented the atmosphere of terror amongst the czechs created by us has produced the required results over 200 000 czech men and women raised their arms in a nazi salute while singing their national anthem [Music] for other checks the terror continued the village of lejaki shared the fate of ligitse on the 24th of june bishop gorast and his officials were sentenced to death on the 3rd of september for hiding the assassins 252 relatives and helpers of the parachutists were murdered at mauthausen on the 24th of october 1942. the men were shot the women and children died in the gas chambers according to the prague gestapo even under interrogation many of them especially the women were often heard to say we are proud to die for our country between may and september 1942 over 6 000 czechs were arrested and over three thousand murdered in the terror unleashed after the attack on hadry abroad the assassination put czechoslovakia back on the map according to banish the czech nation had dealt the nazis a heavy blow the allies treated the killing as a symbol of hope and a warning of the fate in store for the nazi leaders in washington president franklin roosevelt pledged that those responsible for lijitse would answer for their crimes after the war britain repudiated the munich agreement the sudeten germans would be expelled and czechoslovakia restored within its 1938 borders the soviet union gave similar pledges in a broadcast to the homeland banish claimed that the tasks he'd set himself had been achieved but the cost had been high the debt was soon paid in full in may 1945 the germans were defeated and the protectorate collapsed benish and his government returned to prague over two million sudeten germans were expelled from czechoslovakia the traitor carol choda who had collected his reward and spent the war as a gestapo spy was caught and hanged he was followed to the gallows by heidrich's henchman carl hermann frank on the 22nd of may 1946 amongst the witnesses at pancratz prison where so many of his victims had died with after the war the head of the czechoslovak military intelligence general morovets reflecting on the morality of the operation included in a society which lives by normal rules assassination cannot be morally justified but when a nation is enslaved by murderers and fanatics assassination may be the only means of destroying evil in these terms the assassination of reinhard heydrich was justified [Music] ah [Music] hmm [Music] [Music] you

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Length: 54min 2sec (3242 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 11 2021

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[u/RangerPL]

Wanna explain what's wehrb about it? I'm not watching an hour long video