During the Second World War, Europe became a gruesome battlefield. With the constant war happening during that era, too many innocent lives were sacrificed. This not only helped feed the dark desires of power-hungry perpetrators but also contributed to creating some excessively cruel individuals as well. Reinhard Heydrich being one of them.
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Himmler's right-hand man
Reinhard Heydrich rose through the ranks during his career. Born as the son of a music conservatory director, he joined the German Navy in 1922. In the 1930s, after being discharged from the army, he joined the Nazi party. He met Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel, who made him his right-hand man.
With his cold intelligence, he did not hesitate to use his power to inflict violence and participated in some of the most famous events in history like the burning of the Reichstag, and 'Night of the Long Knives' and also took part in violence against German Jews, especially during the ‘Kristallnacht’, in 1938. A notorious anti-Semite, he also showed his superiors his desire to take part in the Madagascar Plan, which aimed to deport the Jewish population on the Big Island. But it was during the war that the 'Butcher of Prague' earned his nickname.
Co-author of the Final Solution
Shortly after 'Kristallnacht', war broke out and Germany invaded Europe. Reinhard Heydrich continued rising through the ranks and in September he was titled Reich Protector in Bohemia-Moravia. He then set up a regime of terror, executing hundreds of Czech resistance fighters in a few weeks, and deporting the Jewish population to concentration camps, earning him the title of ‘The Butcher of Prague’.
Although the 'paternity' of the Final Solution is often attributed to the highest Nazi leaders, such as Göring and Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich's participation is not to be overlooked. The 'Reich Protector' was indeed fully involved in the elaboration of the plan to exterminate the Jews in the territories occupied by Nazi Germany.
He was wounded in an attempted assassination by Czech rebellions on May 27 1942, when they threw a bomb toward his car. Although he survived during the attempted assassination, he was left gravely injured and succumbed to his injuries 8 days later in a hospital.
This article is translated from GentsideFR.
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