Reinhard Heydrich
"The Hangman"
Heydrich was known as the Hangman because he swore to kill all the Jews in Germany before he was assassinated himself. He was also known as, "The God of Death", "The Blonde Beast", and by Adolf Hitler, "The man with the iron heart".
Heydrich was known as the Hangman because he swore to kill all the Jews in Germany before he was assassinated himself. He was also known as, "The God of Death", "The Blonde Beast", and by Adolf Hitler, "The man with the iron heart".
Background: Reinhard Heydrich was born on March 7, 1904 in Halle an der Salle, Germany. During World War 1, Heydrich was just a teenager. He later followed in his parents footsteps of blaming the Jew's for his country's loss in the war. He began entering in revolutionary groups that fought against revolutionary groups in Germany. He became a nationalist and joined the anti-semitic organization. Eventually, Heydrich received a reputation for harshness and toughness. Heydrich created the SD, a Nazi intelligence agency. They used the agency to create files on all of the Jews in Germany. By 1934 he ran the Gustapo, the largest police force, which was the final battle against the Jews. Some of his violent comments included things like threatening anyone who endangered German lives or property to be burned, seized, or sent to concentration camps. Lastly, Heydrich was included in the Final Solution. As you can see, Reinhard Heydrich was a very harsh and demanding person.
Heydrich was one of Adolf Hitler's Lieutenants, along with Heinrich Himmler. They joined the Nazi party, and became a part of the SS. Hitler described Heydrich as a gifted, but also a very dangerous man. Hitler saw him as a very strong man, and socialist, and also appointed him in charge of many groups.
His Assassination: The code name for the assassination was, "Operation Anthropoid". May 27, 1942, Heydrich was badly injured, in Prague, Czech Republic. He later died after his health became worse. The attack was prepared by the British Special Operations Executive, and with the approval of the Czechoslovakian government. His death lead to the destruction and killing of many villages, and civilians.
This is a letter written to Heydrich concerning his role in the final solution. The Wannsee conference was to ensure the work of the different leaders of the government departments of the final solution, where most of the Jews would be deported, and killed. In the meeting, Heydrich confirmed how the European Jews would be brought about from the west to the east, and then sent to camps to be killed.