Heydrich joined a Freikorps paramilitary unit in 1919 and entered the German navy in 1922. Goodwill ambassadors were sent to countries that were considering a boycott. [28] Heydrich married Lina in December 1931. During Kristallnacht in November 1938, Heydrich ordered the arrest of thousands of Jews by the Gestapo and the SS and their imprisonment in concentration camps. The revenge Hitler wreaked on the Czech people was terrible. Establishing ghettos in the Protectorate was also planned, resulting in the construction of the Theresienstadt Ghetto,[120] where 33,000 people would eventually die. By October he had created a network of spies and informers for intelligence-gathering purposes and to obtain information to be used as blackmail to further political aims. Brother of Reinhard Klaus* Heydrich; Private and Private. Notes from the meeting on the solution of Jewish Questions held on 10.10.1941 in Prague", "The Path to the Mass Murder of European Jews, part 2: Letter of 18 September 1941 from Himmler to Reichsstatthalter Greiser", "Grave of top Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich opened in Berlin", "Reinhard Heydrich: A Devil With Many Faces", Documents concerning the Wannsee Conference, Director of the Reich Main Security Office, List of major perpetrators of the Holocaust, Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law, Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion, National Political Institutes of Education, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reinhard_Heydrich&oldid=1151613285, German military personnel killed in World War II, Holocaust perpetrators in Bohemia and Moravia, Infectious disease deaths in Czechoslovakia, Recipients of the German Order (decoration), Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Elisabeth Anna Maria Amalia Krantz (mother), This page was last edited on 25 April 2023, at 03:29. [98] The reprisals are referred to by Czechs as the Heydrichida. He was a key organiser of the Holocaust, the head of the dreaded security section (SD) of the SS and tipped to one day succeed Hitler as Fuehrer. Eventually up to two-thirds of the populace were to be either removed to regions of Russia or exterminated after Nazi Germany won the war. [71], In mid-1939, Heydrich created the Stiftung Nordhav Foundation to obtain real estate for the SS and Security Police to use as guest houses and vacation spots. [114] Historian Raul Hilberg estimates that between 1941 and 1945 the Einsatzgruppen and related auxiliary troops murdered more than two million people, including 1.3million Jews. [160] His service record also gives him credit as a Navy Reserve Lieutenant, but in 1931 he was dismissed for conduct unbecoming an officer with loss of rank, and during World War II he had no contact with the Navy Reserve. [93][b] Those who were not executed were sent to Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, where only four per cent of Czech prisoners survived the war. Reinhard Heydrich, in full Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich, byname The Hangman, German Der Henker, (born March 7, 1904, Halle, Germanydied June 4, 1942, Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia [now in Czech Republic]), Nazi German official who was Heinrich Himmler s chief lieutenant in the Schutzstaffel (Protective He was directly responsible for the Einsatzgruppen, the special task forces that travelled in the wake of the German armies and murdered more than two million people by mass shooting and gassing, including 1.3million Jews. [54] On 9 June 1934, Rudolf Hess declared the SD the official Nazi intelligence service. [1] After World War II ended, she published a memoir in 1976. This was largely symbolic, as Heydrich was too young for military service. The dismissal devastated Heydrich, who found himself without career prospects.[5]. Reinhard Heydrich, in full Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich, byname The Hangman, German Der Henker, (born March 7, 1904, Halle, Germanydied June 4, 1942, Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia [now in Czech Republic]), Nazi German official who was Heinrich Himmlers chief lieutenant in the Schutzstaffel (Protective Echelon), the paramilitary corps commonly known as the SS. Kubi, who had not been spotted by Heydrich or Klein, threw a converted anti-tank mine at the car as it stopped, which landed against the rear wheel. In his early life, he had a strong desire to join the army. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He was promoted on 1 July 1928 to the rank of first lieutenant. He died on 4 June; an autopsy concluded that he died of sepsis. Despite a fever, Heydrich's recovery appeared to progress well. The daughter of a minor German aristocrat (he worked as a village schoolteacher), she joined the Nazi Party in 1929 and met Reinhard Heydrich in December 1930. This led to a financial crisis for the Heydrich family. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. There is no evidence that he participated in the fighting, and when the skirmishes ended, he was part of the force assigned to protect private property. She was declared entitled to a substantial pension as her husband was a German general killed in action. People disappeared without a trace with no one told of their whereabouts or fate. [151] On 9 June, in the village of Lidice 172 boys and men between age 14 to 84 were shot. He was also a major in the Luftwaffe, flying nearly 100 combat missions until 22 July 1941, when his plane was hit by Soviet anti-aircraft fire. Lina sold the other family properties, including the home in Berlin and the hunting lodge near Nauen. [85], Heydrich created the "Zentralstelle IIP Polen" unit of the Gestapo in order to co-ordinate the ethnic cleansing of Poles in "Operation Tannenberg" and the Intelligenzaktion,[86] two codenames for extermination actions directed at the Polish people during the German occupation of Poland. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [104], By 3 October 1941, Czechoslovak military intelligence in London had made the decision to kill Heydrich.[105][106]. That a man as irreplaceable as Heydrich should expose himself to unnecessary danger, I can only condemn as stupid and idiotic. [13] The family lived there until April 1945 when they, along with many other Germans left the area to flee the advancing Soviet Red Army. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [153][154] Overall, at least 1,300Czechs, including 200 women, were killed in reprisal for Heydrich's assassination. Unemployment insurance was established for the first time. [84] For each prisoner, the SD had to fill in a questionnaire that listed personal information, country of origin, and the details of their crimes against the Reich. Wearing Polish uniforms, 150 German troops carried out several attacks along the border. [113] On 21 September 1939, Heydrich sent out a teleprinter message on the "Jewish question in the occupied territory" to the chiefs of all Einsatzgruppen with instructions to round up Jewish people for placement into ghettos, called for the formation of Judenrte (Jewish councils), ordered a census, and promoted Aryanization plans for Jewish-owned businesses and farms, among other measures. [94] Heydrich's brutal policies during that time quickly earned him the nickname "the Butcher of Prague". Funeral of nazi ss reinhard heydrich aka butcher of prague 1942 british path. [9] Heydrich developed a passion for the violin and carried that interest into adulthood; he impressed listeners with his musical talent. [140], Heydrich's widow Lina won the right to a pension following a series of court cases against the West German government in 1956 and 1959. On that day, Klaus was cycling with his brother Heider Heydrich in the courtyard of the Castle Panensk Beany (Jungfern-Breschan). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [47] Nazi Gauleiter Rudolf Jordan claimed Heydrich was not a pure Aryan. [90] He viewed the area as a bulwark of Germandom and condemned the Czech resistance's "stabs in the back". [15] A talented athlete, he became an expert swimmer and fencer. The Butcher of Prague: 7 Facts About the Life of Nazi Reinhard Heydrich. [58], With the SA out of the way, Heydrich began building the Gestapo into an instrument of fear. He helped organise Kristallnacht, a series of coordinated attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 910 November 1938. Both towns were burned and Lidice's ruins were levelled. WebIn 1936, the leaders appointed 32-year-old Heydrich, chief of the newly created security policy. The Gestapo was considered to be acting legally as long as it was carrying out the leadership's will. [46] Gercke reported that Heydrich was "of German origin and free from any coloured and Jewish blood". [16] Manninen died in September 1969. Some info about Reinhard Heydrich family: Father: Bruno Heydrich Reinhard Heydrich Married to: Lina von Osten Children: Klaus, born 1933, Died in traffic accident 1943 Heider, born 1934 Silke, born 9.4.1939 Marte, born 1942 Siblings to Reinhard Heydrich: Maria Heydrich Heinz Heydrich [81] Soviet military prosecutors did not use SD forged documents against the generals in their secret trial; they instead relied on false confessions extorted or beaten out of the defendants. [25], Heydrich became notorious for his countless affairs. As Heydrich's car slowed, Gabk took aim with a Sten submachine gun, but it jammed and failed to fire. [123] On 20 January 1942, Heydrich chaired a meeting, now called the Wannsee Conference, to discuss the implementation of the plan. [141] A photograph of Heydrich's burial shows the wreaths and mourners to be in section A, which abuts the north wall of the Invalidenfriedhof and Scharnhorststrae, at the front of the cemetery. WebReinhard Heydrich was born on March 7 1904, in Halle, to Richard Bruno Heydrich and Elisabeth Krantz. Reynard Heydrich lived in the lower castle and his family continued to live there until the Red Army forced them out in 1945. WebTop Image: Entrance to the Memorial and Educational Site-House of the Wannsee Conference. [92] Although small disorganised cells of Central Leadership of Home Resistance (stedn veden odboje domcho, VOD) survived, only the communist resistance was able to function in a coordinated manner (although it also suffered arrests). By year's end there were over fifty camps. 'He offered to help gain money for it, for instance, via the European Union. [89], On 27 September 1941, Heydrich was appointed Deputy Reich Protector of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (the part of Czechoslovakia incorporated into the Reich on 15 March 1939) and assumed control of the territory. After Heydrich's funeral in Berlin - the biggest of its kind in Nazi Germany - he and his mother continued to live in the castle until approaching Red Army troops forced them in 1945 to head back into Germany, where he now lives. By the late 1930s, the duties of Reinhard Heydrich led him to work long hours and often be away from home. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [43] Information on thousands of people was recorded on index cards and stored at the Brown House. Heydrich ordered his driver, Klein, to halt and attempted to confront Gabk rather than speed away. Heydrich was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (including the Gestapo, Kripo, and SD). Lina's older brother Hans had joined the Nazi Party and was a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA). She kept several dozen prisoners at the estate for forced labour. Thereafter, all adults in Leky were murdered. [18], In 1918, World War I ended with Germany's defeat. [39] At first he had to share an office and typewriter with a colleague, but by 1932 Heydrich was earning 290 Reichsmarks a month (equivalent to 1,191 in 2021), a salary he described as "comfortable". Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich[8] was born in 1904 in Halle an der Saale to composer and opera singer Richard Bruno Heydrich and his wife, Elisabeth Anna Maria Amalia Heydrich (ne Krantz). [12] As the oldest son, Reinhard was expected to inherit his father's music conservatory and was trained in music by his father. Eventually, they married for the purpose of changing her last name. Soon after a chance introduction to Himmler, Heydrich was entrusted with the organization of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD; Security Service), the intelligence and surveillance arm of the SS. [143] The couple had four children: Klaus, born in 1933, killed in a traffic accident in 1943; Heider, born in 1934; Silke, born in 1939; and Marte, born shortly after her father's death in 1942. A translation of the text is available at, This description of the meeting was employed by Holocaust historian, Reinhard Heydrich funeral, German newsreel, Reinhard Heydrich funeral in Prague & Berlin, Resistance in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, Central Leadership of Home Resistance (stedn veden odboje domcho, VOD), Excerpt from a speech by Reinhard Heydrich in 1941, List of rulers of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. WebI fondamenti ideologici Heinrich Himmler in uniforme da Reichsfhrer-SS. He became a naval cadet at Kiel, Germany's primary naval base. [101], Despite public displays of goodwill towards the populace, privately Heydrich was very clear about his eventual goal: "This entire area will one day be definitely German, and the Czechs have nothing to expect here."
