History UsefulNotes / ReinhardHeydrich

Popular culture tends to consider him as the poster boy "Aryan" as envisioned by Nazi ideals, due to him being [[BlondGuysAreEvil blond]], [[LeanAndMean tall]] and [[IcyBlueEyes blue-eyed]] (one of the only Nazi leaders to combine all these traits, actually), in addition to being [[WickedCultured cultured]] (he was a fencer and musician) and ruthless. He is also a frequent character in AlternateHistory fiction works, in which he often outlives his real life counterpart due to GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel or an extensive DayOfTheJackboot, if not outright [[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural reasons]].

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (March 7, 1904 – June 4, 1942) was one of the key figures of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. Most infamously, he was one of the main architects of UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. Many historians regard him as the darkest figure within the Nazi elite, the one most closely resembling the Nazi Aryan ideal of being tall, blonde haired, blue eyed, athletic, intelligent, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick power hungry, and utterly ruthless and merciless]]. UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler described him as "the Man with the Iron Heart", while his enemies and victims referred to him as "The Hangman", "The Butcher of Prague" and [[BlondeGuysAreEvil "The Blonde Beast"]], amongst other names.

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (March 7, 1904 – June 4, 1942) was one of the key figures of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. Most infamously, he was one of the main architects of UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. Many historians regard him as the darkest figure within the Nazi elite, the one most closely resembling the Nazi Aryan ideal of being tall, blonde haired, blue eyed, athletic, intelligent, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick power hungry, and utterly ruthless and merciless]]. UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler described him as "the Man with the Iron Heart", while his enemies and victims referred to him as "The Hangman", "The Butcher of Prague" and "The Blonde Beast", amongst other names.

Heydrich was in his youth known to be athletic, and especially enjoyed swimming and fencing. He was also notably shy, and was held in at least some degree of contempt by his peers, who where known to mock him behind his back for his lanky build, his slight tendency towards being cross-eyed, and, not least, his [[VocalDissonance notably high-pitched voice]] and rather unusual laugh which was described as sounding like "braying", which earned him the not very flattering nickname "Die Ziege" (the Goat). Heydrich was so ashamed of these traits that he for his entire life refused to hold public speeches, fearing that his voice would reduce him to a laughingstock. His youth was also marked by recurring rumors that suggested that he had some Jewish ancestry, something that resulted in yet another rather unflattering nickname: "Moses Handel".

Heydrich was in his youth known to be athletic, and especially enjoyed swimming and fencing. He was also notably shy, and was held in at least some degree of contempt by his peers, who where known to mock him behind his back for his lanky build, his slight tendency towards being cross-eyed, and, not least, his [[VocalDissonance notably high-pitched voice]] and [[AnnoyingLaugh rather unusual laugh]] which was described as sounding like "braying", which earned him the not very flattering nickname "Die Ziege" (the Goat). Heydrich was so ashamed of these traits that he for his entire life refused to hold public speeches, fearing that his voice would reduce him to a laughingstock. His youth was also marked by recurring rumors that suggested that he had some Jewish ancestry, something that resulted in yet another rather unflattering nickname: "Moses Handel".

** ''Hangmen Also Die'', 1943 - American movie. The first fiction movie to feature him, filmed only a couple of months after his death, and [[InNameOnly very loosely based on the events]]. Heydrich was played by exiled anti-Nazi German actor Hans Heinrich von Twardowski.
** ''Film/HitlersMadman'', 1943 - American movie. A ''slightly'' more faithful version than ''Hangmen Also Die''. Portrayed by Creator/JohnCarradine.

* ''Sokolovo'', 1974 - Czechoslovak movie. Portrayed by Hannjo Hasse.

* ''Film/TriumphOfTheWill'', 1935 - The real one can be seen watching SS parades with other officers by Hitler's car.

** ''Film/HitlersMadman'', 1943 - American movie. A ''slightly'' more faithful version compared with ''Hangmen Also Die''. Portrayed by Creator/JohnCarradine.

* ''Film/{{Conspiracy}}'', 2001 - TV movie about the Wannsee Conference. Portrayed by Creator/KennethBranagh.

Heydrich was in his youth known to be athletic, and especially enjoyed swimming and fencing. He was also notably shy, and were held in at least some degree of contempt by his peers, who where known to mock him behind his back for his lanky build, his slight tendency towards being cross-eyed, and, not least, his [[VocalDissonance notably high-pitched voice]] and [[AnnoyingLaugh rather unusual laugh]] which was described as sounding like "braying", which earned him the not very flattering nickname "Die Ziege" (the Goat). Heydrich was so ashamed of these traits that he for his entire life refused to hold public speeches, fearing that his voice would reduce him to a laughingstock. His youth was also marked by recurring rumours that suggested that he had some Jewish ancestry; something that resulted in yet another rather unflattering nickname: "Moses Handel".

After being dismissed from the German Navy[[note]]He was charged with "conduct unbecoming to an officer and gentleman" for breaking an engagement with a woman he had known for six months before.[[/note]], he joined the Nazi party in 1931 (his wife Lina, née von Osten, was already a member and encouraged him) and became the head of the ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD), the intelligence gathering service of the SS within the party, which became a StateSec once Nazis took power in January 1933. He went on to head the ''Reichssicherheitshauptamt'' (RSHA, Reich Main Security Office), which merged the SD with the ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ([=SiPo=], Security Police) and was deemed to [[FinalSolution solve the problem]] of the "enemies of the Reich". To reach that goal, Heydrich supervised the creation and actions of the ''Einsatzgruppen'' ("deployment groups") death squads in Eastern Europe, which ended up massacring over 1 million people in the wake of the [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht]] on the Eastern front during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the majority of them being Jews.

He projected the next step in industrialized murder -- the deportation and gassing of millions in specifically designed camps in UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} -- and presented it to his peers at the Wannsee Conference on 20 January 1942. 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. Heydrich made an emergency landing behind enemy lines, evaded a Soviet patrol and contacted a forward German patrol. After this, Hitler personally ordered Heydrich to return to Berlin to resume his SS duties. He became acting ''Reichsprotektor'' of the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia (basically the governor of the de facto occupation of what is today UsefulNotes/TheCzechRepublic) in September 1941. Upon his arrival in Prague, Heydrich sought to eliminate opposition by suppressing Czech cultural elites and deporting and executing members of the Czech resistance while making sure the local population remained productive for the German war effort.

He became probably the most famous target of assassination during World War II (next to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler naturally, although all of the attempts on the latter were unsuccessful). Two Czechoslovak soldiers in exile, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, were trained in Great Britain and targeted Heydrich in Prague with the help of local resistance operatives on 27 May 1942, in an operation known as Anthropoid, which aimed at "shaking up" the Czech [[LaResistance resistance]] against Nazi Germany. Heydrich didn't directly die in the attack[[note]]Gabčík's Sten submachine gun jammed at the worst moment and Kubiš threw a grenade at Heydrich's staff car; Heydrich was caught in the blast, after which both assassins were forced to flee on foot after a brief firefight with Heydrich and his driver[[/note]] but succumbed to an infection of his wounds and died in hospital on 4 June 1942 [[note]] Despite his personal fury at Heydrich for carelessly travelling in an open-topped car, making him an easier target, for propoganda purposes, Hitler had Heydrich given a state funeral[[/note]].The commando squad was hunted down and all of its members ended up dead [[note]]After one of their own betrayed them for amnesty as well as the bounty being offered, the commandos responsible for the attack on Heydrich retreated into the crypts of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Prague, where they were either killed or committed suicide when the Nazis stormed the church[[/note]], and a horrific wave of reprisals claimed the lives of at least 5000 persons [[note]] Hitler initially wanted to execute 10,000 Czechs at random in retaliation, and was only persuaded not to when his advisers insisted such a swathe of executions would be too detrimental to Czechoslavkia's ability to supply the German war effort[[/note]], including the population of the villages of Lidice and Ležáky, which were razed to the ground. [[note]] This was actually the intended outcome, designed to horrify the Czech populace into opposing Nazi rule; many of the local resistance members who helped the assassins had no idea of their actual mission and were actually aghast when they learnt their intent to kill Heydrich as they knew full well the type of vengeance the Nazis would seek [[/note]]

Popular culture tends to consider him as the posterboy "Aryan" as envisioned by Nazi ideals, due to him being [[BlondGuysAreEvil blond]], [[LeanAndMean tall]] and [[IcyBlueEyes blue-eyed]] (one of the only Nazi leaders to combine all these traits, actually), in addition to being [[WickedCultured cultured]] (he was a fencer and musician) and ruthless. He is also a frequent character in AlternateHistory fiction works, in which he often outlives his real life counterpart due to GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel or an extensive DayOfTheJackboot, if not outright [[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural reasons]].

** ''Film/HitlersMadman'', 1943 - American movie. A ''slightly'' more faithful version compared to ''Hangmen Also Die''. Portrayed by Creator/JohnCarradine.

** ''Operation Daybreak'', 1975 - Czechoslovak-American movie. Portrayed by Anton Diffring, who [[RoleReprisal reprised the role]] after the 1965 series ''Interpol''.

* ''Film/{{Canaris}}'', 1954 - West German movie about Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr, a rival intelligence organization to Heydrich's SD. Heydrich suspected Canaris of being a DoubleAgent working for the German resistance, which he indeed was. Portrayed by Martin Held.

* ''Literature/TheManWithTheIronHeart'' - Alternate history novel by Creator/HarryTurtledove.

He became probably the most famous target of assassination during World War II (next to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler naturally, although all of the attempts on the latter were unsuccessful). Two Czechoslovak soldiers in exile, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, were trained in Great Britain and targeted Heydrich in Prague with the help of local resistance operatives on 27 May 1942, in an operation known as Anthropoid, which aimed at "shaking up" the Czech [[LaResistance resistance]] against Nazi Germany. Heydrich didn't directly die in the attack[[note]]Gabčík's Sten submachine gun jammed at the worst moment and Kubiš threw a grenade at the car which detonated, injuring Heydrich before both assassins were forced to flee on foot[[/note]] but succumbed to an infection of his wounds and died in hospital on 4 June 1942 [[note]] Despite his personal fury at Heydrich for carelessly travelling in an open-topped car, making him an easier target, for propoganda purposes, Hitler had Heydrich given a state funeral[[/note]].The commando squad was hunted down and all of its members ended up dead [[note]]After one of their own betrayed them for amnesty as well as the bounty being offered, the commandos responsible for the attack on Heydrich retreated into the crypts of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Prague, where they were either killed or committed suicide when the Nazis stormed the church[[/note]], and a horrific wave of reprisals claimed the lives of at least 5000 persons, including the population of the villages of Lidice and Ležáky, which were razed to the ground. [[note]] This was actually the intended outcome, designed to horrify the Czech populace into opposing Nazi rule; many of the local resistance members who helped the assassins had no idea of their actual mission and were actually aghast when they learnt their intent to kill Heydrich as they knew full well the type of vengeance the Nazis would seek [[/note]]

He became probably the most famous target of assassination during World War II (next to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler naturally, although all of the attempts on the latter were unsuccessful). Two Czechoslovak soldiers in exile, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, were trained in Great Britain and targeted Heydrich in Prague with the help of local resistance operatives on 27 May 1942, in an operation known as Anthropoid, which aimed at "shaking up" the Czech [[LaResistance resistance]] against Nazi Germany. Heydrich didn't directly die in the attack[[note]]Gabčík's Sten submachine gun jammed at the worst moment and Kubiš threw a grenade at the car which detonated, injuring Heydrich before both assassins were forced to flee on foot[[/note]] but succumbed to an infection of his wounds and died in hospital on 4 June 1942. The commando squad was hunted down and all of its members ended up dead [[note]]After one of their own betrayed them for amnesty as well as the bounty being offered, the commandos responsible for the attack on Heydrich retreated into the crypts of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Prague, where they were either killed or committed suicide when the Nazis stormed the church[[/note]], and a horrific wave of reprisals claimed the lives of at least 5000 persons, including the population of the villages of Lidice and Ležáky, which were razed to the ground. [[note]] This was actually the intended outcome, designed to horrify the Czech populace into opposing Nazi rule; many of the local resistance members who helped the assassins had no idea of their actual mission and were actually aghast when they learnt their intent to kill Heydrich as they knew full well the type of vengeance the Nazis would seek [[/note]]

He became probably the most famous target of assassination during World War II (next to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler naturally, although all of the attempts on the latter were unsuccessful). Two Czechoslovak soldiers in exile, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, were trained in Great Britain and targeted Heydrich in Prague with the help of local resistance operatives on 27 May 1942, in an operation known as Anthropoid, which aimed at "shaking up" the Czech [[LaResistance resistance]] against Nazi Germany. Heydrich didn't directly die in the attack[[note]]Gabčík's Sten submachine gun jammed at the worst moment and Kubiš threw a grenade at the car[[/note]] but succumbed to an infection of his wounds on 4 June 1942. The commando squad was hunted down and all of its members ended up dead, and a horrific wave of reprisals claimed the lives of at least 5000 persons, including the population of the villages of Lidice and Ležáky, which were razed to the ground. [[note]] This was actually the intended outcome, designed to horrify the Czech populace into opposing Nazi rule; many of the local resistance members who helped the assassins had no idea of their actual mission and were actually aghast when they learnt their intent to kill Heydrich as they knew full well the type of vengeance the Nazis would seek [[/note]]

Heydrich was in his youth known to be athletic, and especially enjoyed swimming and fencing. He was also notably shy, and were held in at least some degree of contempt by his peers, who where known to mock him behind his back for his lanky build, his slight tendency towards being cross-eyed, and, not least, his notably high-pitched voice and rather unusual laugh which was described as sounding like "braying", which earned him the not very flattering nickname "Die Ziege" (the Goat). Heydrich was so ashamed of these traits that he for his entire life refused to hold public speeches, fearing that his voice would reduce him to a laughingstock. His youth was also marked by recurring rumours that suggested that he had some Jewish ancestry; something that resulted in yet another rather unflattering nickname: "Moses Handel".

Heydrich was in his youth known to be athletic, and especially enjoyed swimming and fencing. He was also notably shy, and held in at least some degree of contempt by his peers, who where known to mock him behind his back for his lanky build, his slight tendency towards being cross-eyed, and, not least, his notably high-pitched voice and rather unusual laugh which was described as sounding like "braying", which earned him the not very flattering nickname "Die Ziege" (the Goat). Heydrich was so ashamed of these traits that he for his entire life refused to hold public speeches, fearing that his voice would reduce him to a laughingstock. His youth was also marked by recurring rumours that suggested that he had some Jewish ancestry; something that resulted in yet another rather unflattering nickname: "Moses Handel".

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (March 7, 1904 – June 4, 1942) was one of the key figures of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. Most infamously, he was one of the main architects of UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. Many historians regard him as the darkest figure within the Nazi elite, the one most closely resembling the Nazi Aryan ideal of being tall, blonde haired, blue eyed, athletic, intelligent, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick power hungry, and utterly ruthless and merciless]]. UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler described him as "the Man with the Iron Heart", while his enemies and victims referred to him as "The Hangman" and "The Blonde Beast" amongst other names.

He became probably the most famous target of assassination during World War II (next to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler naturally, although all of the attempts on the latter were unsuccessful). Two Czechoslovak soldiers in exile, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, were trained in Great Britain and targeted Heydrich in Prague with the help of local resistance operatives on 27 May 1942, in an operation known as Anthropoid, which aimed at "shaking up" the Czech [[LaResistance resistance]] against Nazi Germany. Heydrich didn't directly die in the attack[[note]]Gabčík's Sten submachine gun jammed at the worst moment and Kubiš threw a grenade at the car[[/note]] but succumbed to an infection of his wounds on 4 June 1942. The commando was hunted down and all of its members ended up dead, and a horrific wave of reprisals claimed the lives of at least 5000 persons, including the population of the villages of Lidice and Ležáky, which were razed to the ground. [[note]] This was actually the intended outcome, designed to horrify the Czech populace into opposing Nazi rule; many of the local resistance members who helped the assassins had no idea of their actual mission and were actually aghast when they learnt their intent to kill Heydrich as they knew full well the type of vengeance the Nazis would seek [[/note]]

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (March 7, 1904 – June 4, 1942) was one of the key figures of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. Most infamously, he was one of the main architects of UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. Many historians regard him as the darkest figure within the Nazi elite. UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler described him as "the Man with the Iron Heart".

He became probably the most famous target of assassination during World War II (next to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler naturally, although all of the attempts on the latter were unsuccessful). Two Czechoslovak soldiers in exile, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, were trained in Great Britain and targeted Heydrich in Prague with the help of local resistance operatives on 27 May 1942, in an operation known as Anthropoid, which aimed at "shaking up" the Czech [[LaResistance resistance]] against Nazi Germany. Heydrich didn't directly die in the attack[[note]]Gabčík's Sten submachine gun jammed at the worst moment and Kubiš threw a grenade at the car[[/note]] but succumbed to an infection of his wounds on 4 June 1942. The commando was hunted down and all of its members ended up dead, and a horrific wave of reprisals claimed the lives of at least 5000 persons, including the population of the villages of Lidice and Ležáky, which were razed to the ground.

He became probably the most famous target of assassination during World War II (next to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler naturally, although all of the attempts on the latter were unsuccessful). Two Czechoslovak soldiers in exile, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, were trained in Great Britain and targeted Heydrich in Prague with the help of local resistance operatives on 27 May 1942, in an operation known as Anthropoid, which aimed at "shaking up" the Czech [[LaResistance resistance]] against Nazi Germany. Heydrich didn't directly die in the attack[[note]]Gabčík's Sten submachine gun jammed at the worst moment and Kubiš threw a grenade at the car[[/note]] but succumbed to an infection of his wounds on 4 June 1942. The commando was hunted down and all of its members ended up dead, and a horrific wave of reprisals claimed the lives of at least 5000 persons, including the population of the village of Lidice, which was razed to the ground.

Heydrich was in his youth known to be athletic, and especially enjoyed swimming and fencing. He was also notably shy, and held in at least some degree of contempt by his peers, who where known to mock him behind his back for his lanky build, his slight tendency towards being cross-eyed, and, not least, his notably high-pitched voice and rather unusual laugh which was described as sounding like "braying", which earned him the not very flattering nickname "Die Ziege" (the Goat). Heydrich was so ashamed of these traits that he for his entire life refused to hold public speeches, fearing that his voice would reduce him to a laughingstock. His youth was also to some degree marked by recurring rumours that suggested that he had some Jewish ancestry; something that resulted in yet another rather unflattering nickname: "Moses Handel".

* ''Canaris'', 1954 - West German movie about Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr, a rival intelligence organization to Heydrich's SD. Heydrich suspected Canaris of being a DoubleAgent working for the German resistance, which he indeed was. Portrayed by Martin Held.

** ''Hangmen Also Die'', 1943 - American movie. The first fiction movie to feature him, filmed only a couple of months after his death, and [[InNameOnly very loosely based on the events]]. Heydrich was played by exiled and anti-Nazi German actor Hans Heinrich von Twardowski.

After being dismissed from the German Navy[[note]]He was charged with "conduct unbecoming to an officer and gentleman" for breaking an engagement with a woman he had known for six months before.[[/note]], he joined the Nazi party in 1931 (his wife Lina, née von Osten, was already a member and encouraged him) and became the head of the ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD), the intelligence gathering service of the SS within the party, which became a StateSec once Nazis took power in January 1933. He went on to head the ''Reichssicherheitshauptamt'' (RSHA, Reich Main Security Office), which merged the SD with the ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ([=SiPo=], Security Police) and was deemed to [[FinalSolution solve the problem]] of the "enemies of the Reich". To reach that goal, Heydrich supervised the creation and actions of the ''Einsatzgruppen'' ("deployment groups") death squads in Eastern Europe, which ended up massacring over 1 million people in the wake of the [[NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht]] on the Eastern front during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the majority of them being Jews.

* ''Film/TriumphOfTheWill'', 1935 - He can be seen watching SS parades with other officers by Hitler's car.

Popular culture tends to consider him as the posterboy "Aryan" as envisioned by Nazi ideals, due to him being [[BlondGuysAreEvil blond]], [[LeanAndMean tall]] and [[IcyBlueEyes blue-eyed]] (one of the only Nazi leaders to combine all these traits, actually), in addition to being [[WickedCultured cultured]] and ruthless. He is also a frequent character in AlternateHistory fiction works, in which he often outlives his real life counterpart due to GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel or an extensive DayOfTheJackboot, if not outright [[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural reasons]].

He projected the next step in industrialized murder -- the deportation and gassing of millions in specifically designed camps in UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} -- and presented it to his peers at the Wannsee Conference on 20 January 1942. 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. Heydrich made an emergency landing behind enemy lines, evaded a Soviet patrol and contacted a forward German patrol. After this, Hitler personally ordered Heydrich to return to Berlin to resume his SS duties. He became acting ''Reichsprotektor'' of the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia (basically the governor of the de facto occupation of what is today UsefulNotes/TheCzechRepublic) in September 1941. Upon his arrival in Prague, Heydrich sought to eliminate opposition by suppressing Czech culture and deporting and executing members of the Czech resistance while making sure the local population remained productive for the German war effort.

* ''Film/TriumphOfTheWill'', 1935 - He can be seen vatching SS parades with other officers by Hitler's car.

Popular culture tends to consider him as the posterboy "Aryan" as envisioned by Nazi ideals, due to him being [[BlondGuysAreEvil blond]], [[LeanAndMean tall]], [[IcyBlueEyes blue-eyed]], [[WickedCultured cultured]] and ruthless. He is also a frequent character in AlternateHistory fiction works, in which he often outlives his real life counterpart due to GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel or an extensive DayOfTheJackboot, if not outright [[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural reasons]].