Reinhard Heydrich

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was one of the most powerful and feared figures in Nazi Germany. As chief of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), he controlled the Gestapo, the Security Service (SD) and the Criminal Police (Kripo), placing vast police and intelligence powers under his command. A close associate of Heinrich Himmler, Heydrich played a central role in the persecution of political opponents, the suppression of resistance movements and the implementation of Nazi racial policies throughout occupied Europe.

Heydrich was a principal architect of the Holocaust and chaired the Wannsee Conference on 20 January 1942, where senior Nazi officials coordinated the so-called "Final Solution of the Jewish Question." His intelligence, organizational abilities and ruthless efficiency earned him a reputation as one of the most dangerous men in the Third Reich. In September 1941 he was appointed Acting Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, where he brutally suppressed opposition to German occupation.

His career came to an abrupt end when Czechoslovak resistance operatives trained by the British Special Operations Executive carried out Operation Anthropoid in Prague on 27 May 1942. Seriously wounded in the attack, Heydrich died on 4 June 1942. His death triggered severe reprisals by the Nazi regime, including the destruction of the villages of Lidice and Ležáky. Today, Heydrich is remembered as one of the chief organizers of Nazi terror and genocide during the Second World War.

Quick Facts

Full Name: Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich
Date of Birth: 7 March 1904
Place of Birth: Halle an der Saale, German Empire
Date of Death: 4 June 1942
Place of Death: Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Age at Death: 38
Nationality: German
Political Party: National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP)
NSDAP Number: 544,916
SS Number: 10,120
Highest Rank: SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei
Occupation: Senior SS leader, intelligence chief and police official
Known For: Chief of the RSHA, Chairman of the Wannsee Conference, Architect of the Holocaust
Spouse: Lina von Osten Heydrich (m. 1931)
Children: Klaus, Heider, Silke and Marte Heydrich

Early Life

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was born on 7 March 1904 in Halle an der Saale, Germany, into a cultured and musically inclined middle-class family. His father, Richard Bruno Heydrich, was a composer, opera singer and director of the Halle Conservatory of Music, while his mother, Elisabeth Krantz, came from a respected musical family. Growing up in an environment that valued education and artistic achievement, Heydrich developed a strong interest in music and became an accomplished violinist at an early age. As a student, Heydrich was intelligent and academically capable, particularly in languages and science. Despite his talents, he was often described as reserved and socially awkward. During his youth, Germany experienced enormous political and economic upheaval. The defeat of the German Empire in the First World War, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the turbulent years of the Weimar Republic left a deep impression on many young Germans of his generation.

The economic crises, political violence and growing nationalist movements of the 1920s contributed to an atmosphere in which radical ideologies gained support. Like many future Nazi leaders, Heydrich came of age during a period marked by uncertainty, resentment and political extremism. These conditions would later influence his worldview and help shape his commitment to National Socialism. 

Naval career

Seeking a military career, Heydrich joined the Reichsmarine (German Navy) in 1922 as an officer cadet and trained as a signals officer, specializing in communications and intelligence. He served on several ships and developed skills in organization and information handling that would later define his career.

His naval career ended abruptly in April 1931, when he was dismissed for “conduct unbecoming an officer” following a personal scandal involving a broken engagement, widely identified as being to Käthe von Oechelhäuser, while he had simultaneously begun a relationship with Lina von Osten. The manner in which the engagement was ended led to a formal complaint, resulting in his dismissal. This abrupt and dishonourable end to his naval career left him unemployed during a time of economic crisis and marked a decisive turning point in his life.

Private life

Shortly after his dismissal, Heydrich married Lina von Osten in December 1931. Lina was a committed supporter of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) and played an important role in encouraging Heydrich’s political involvement. Their marriage helped solidify his entry into the SS.

The couple had four children: Klaus Heydrich (1933–1943), Heider Heydrich (born 1934), Silke Heydrich (born 1939) and Marte Heydrich (born 1942, shortly before Heydrich’s death). Their son Klaus died in a traffic accident in 1943, after his father’s death.

Despite his family life, Heydrich was known to maintain extramarital relationships. His marriage to Lina remained politically and socially significant, and she continued to defend his legacy after the war.

Rise within the Nazi Party

Shortly after leaving the navy in 1931, Heydrich joined the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) and the SS. He was introduced to Heinrich Himmler, who recognized his administrative and analytical abilities and tasked him with building an intelligence service for the SS. Heydrich established the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), which became the primary intelligence organization of the Nazi Party. Under his leadership, the SD collected information on political opponents and monitored loyalty within the party itself.

By 1934, Heydrich played a key role in the Night of the Long Knives, helping to eliminate rivals within the Nazi movement, particularly members of the SA leadership. This operation strengthened Adolf Hitler’s control and elevated Heydrich’s position within the regime.

Power in Nazi Germany

Heydrich’s influence expanded rapidly throughout the 1930s. By 1936, he had gained control of the Security Police (SiPo), which included both the Gestapo and the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo). In September 1939, Heydrich became head of the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA). This organization combined the SD, Gestapo and criminal police into a single centralized system. Under Heydrich’s leadership, the RSHA became one of the most powerful instruments of repression in Nazi Germany, responsible for intelligence, surveillance and internal security across occupied Europe.

Relationship with Adolf Hitler

Although Reinhard Heydrich was never among Adolf Hitler's oldest political associates, he quickly became one of the most trusted and influential figures within the Nazi security apparatus. Hitler greatly valued Heydrich's intelligence, efficiency and ruthless determination, while Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler relied on him to build and direct the SS Security Service (SD), the Security Police (Sipo) and later the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA). Hitler entrusted Heydrich with some of the regime's most sensitive responsibilities, including the suppression of political opponents, intelligence operations, the organisation of the Einsatzgruppen and the coordination of the Final Solution. His exceptional authority earned him the reputation as one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany before his assassination in 1942.

Working Relationship with Adolf Eichmann

Among Reinhard Heydrich's most important subordinates was SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, who headed Referat IV B4 (Jewish Affairs and Evacuations) within the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA). Heydrich recognised Eichmann's organisational abilities and increasingly entrusted him with the practical planning and coordination of anti-Jewish measures across Nazi-occupied Europe.

After Hermann Göring authorised Heydrich on 31 July 1941 to prepare the Final Solution of the Jewish Question, Heydrich relied heavily on Eichmann to organise the administrative details. Eichmann prepared the invitations, agenda and minutes for the Wannsee Conference on 20 January 1942, which Heydrich chaired. Following the conference, Eichmann became responsible for coordinating the deportation of millions of Jews from across Europe to ghettos, concentration camps and extermination camps, acting under the authority established by Heydrich.

Although Heydrich was assassinated only a few months after the Wannsee Conference, the administrative system he had created continued to function. Eichmann remained one of its principal organisers, implementing many of the policies that Heydrich had helped formulate until the collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Role in Nazi crimes

As head of the RSHA, Heydrich was one of the principal architects of the Nazi system of terror and genocide. He oversaw the Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing units that followed the German Army into the Soviet Union after the invasion in June 1941. These units were responsible for mass shootings of Jews, political commissars and civilians, resulting in the deaths of more than 1.000.000 people.

On 31 July 1941, Heydrich was formally authorized by Hermann Göring to prepare a comprehensive plan for the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.” This marked a decisive step toward the systematic extermination of European Jewry. Heydrich chaired the Wannsee Conference on 20 January 1942, where senior Nazi officials coordinated the administrative details of the Holocaust. The meeting outlined plans for the deportation and extermination of millions of Jews across Europe.

Protector of Bohemia and Moravia

In September 1941, Heydrich was appointed Acting Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia in occupied Czechoslovakia. His administration combined economic efficiency with ruthless repression. He introduced strict security measures, including mass arrests, executions and the suppression of resistance movements. At the same time, he attempted to maintain industrial production for the German war effort. His brutal methods earned him the nickname “The Butcher of Prague.”

Assassination: Operation Anthropoid

On 27 May 1942, Heydrich was attacked in Prague during Operation Anthropoid, a mission carried out by Czechoslovak soldiers Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, who had been trained by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). As Heydrich’s open car slowed at a bend in the road, Gabčík attempted to fire a Sten submachine gun, but it jammed. Kubiš then threw a modified anti-tank grenade, which exploded beside the vehicle and caused severe injuries, including shrapnel wounds and damage from upholstery fragments driven into his body. Heydrich was taken to hospital and initially appeared to recover after surgery. However, he developed an infection and died on 4 June 1942 from septicemia.

Nazi reprisals

Following Heydrich’s death, the Nazi regime carried out brutal reprisals across occupied Czechoslovakia. The village of Lidice was destroyed, its male population executed, and women and children were deported to concentration camps. The village of Ležáky was also destroyed. Thousands of civilians were arrested, executed or deported in the aftermath. These reprisals demonstrated both Heydrich’s importance within the Nazi regime and the extreme brutality of its response to resistance.

Historical significance

Reinhard Heydrich remains one of the most powerful and feared figures in Nazi Germany. As head of the RSHA and a central organizer of the Holocaust, he played a decisive role in the implementation of Nazi racial policy and mass murder. His assassination in 1942 was one of the most significant acts of resistance during the Second World War. However, it also triggered some of the harshest reprisals carried out by the Nazi regime, highlighting both the risks and consequences of resistance under Nazi occupation.

Key Dates

7 March 1904: Born in Halle an der Saale, German Empire.
30 March 1922: Joined the Reichsmarine as an officer cadet.
30 April 1931: Dismissed from the German Navy following a court of honour.
14 June 1931: Joined the SS.
26 December 1931: Married Lina von Osten.
1932: Founded the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the SS Intelligence Service.
17 June 1936: Appointed Chief of the Security Police (Sicherheitspolizei) and the SD.
27 September 1939: Became Chief of the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA).
21 September 1939: Issued the Schnellbrief outlining anti-Jewish measures in occupied Poland.
31 July 1941: Received Hermann Göring's written authorization to prepare the Final Solution of the Jewish Question.
27 September 1941: Appointed Acting Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.
20 January 1942: Chaired the Wannsee Conference, coordinating the implementation of the Final Solution.
27 May 1942: Seriously wounded during Operation Anthropoid in Prague.
4 June 1942: Died from his wounds in Prague at the age of 38.
10 June 1942: The village of Lidice was destroyed by German forces in retaliation for his assassination.