Life and death of Reinhard Heydrich, the facts
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 and director of a conservatory, while his mother, Elisabeth Krantz, came from a respected musical background. Heydrich showed early academic ability, particularly in languages and music, and became an accomplished violinist.
Despite this upbringing, his youth coincided with the political instability of post–First World War Germany. The collapse of the German Empire in 1918, followed by economic hardship and political unrest, contributed to the rise of nationalist and anti-Semitic ideologies that later shaped his worldview.
Naval career
In 1922, Heydrich joined the German Navy, the Reichsmarine, 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 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.
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.
