Original subtitles

May the 27th, 1942, Prague, Czechoslovakia. A powerful Mercedes

hairpin bend.

A young man steps out, aiming a machine gun. It jams.

A second man throws a powerful grenade, fatally wounding one of Adolf Hitler's

most bloodthirsty henchmen.

June the 4th, 1942, Prague.

Eight days after the shooting, Reinhard Heydrich, one of the most feared men in

the Nazi Reich, is dead of blood poisoning.

Hitler's rage is terrible, and the German reprisals appalling.

Two villages are razed to the ground, and thousands of people murdered.

Knowing that the Nazis would react with bestial ferocity, Who would have dared

to murder one of the most powerful and sinister members of the ruling clique?

The men who carry out the assassination have been well equipped, and clearly

know Heydrich's movements in detail.

The rise of Reinhard Heydrich, who is only 38 when he dies, has been

extraordinarily rapid.

Born on March 7, 1904, in Halle, Saxony,

He is the son of the founder of the local conservatory for music, theatre

teaching.

Heydrich becomes an accomplished violinist.

He joins the small navy of the Weimar Republic and gets a commission.

But in 1931 he is dismissed for conduct unbecoming of a naval officer.

Apparently he is seduced and then failed to marry the daughter of one of his

superiors.

When Heydrich returns to civilian life, Germany is in turmoil.

The Great Depression has brought mass unemployment.

Extremist parties like the Nazis of Adolf Hitler and the Communists are

Seeing an opportunity, in 1932 Heydrich applies to join the SS, the elite of the

Nazi movement.

He is interviewed by its leader, Heinrich Himmler.

and impresses him so much that he becomes his assistant, with special

responsibility for intelligence and counter -espionage.

It's a good career move, for in January 1933, Hitler becomes Chancellor.

Immediately, the Nazis begin to eliminate the opposition and introduce

against Germany's Jewish population.

Himmler and Heydrich move swiftly to take over policing and internal security

throughout the Reich.

Hitler's deputy, Hermann Göring, even hands over to them the secret police

he has founded, the Gestapo, as part of a deal to resist the rise of Ernst Röhm,

the head of the Nazis' mass paramilitary movement, the SA.

June, 1934, Berlin.

Heydrich is instrumental in planning and carrying out the purge of Ernst Röhm

and the SA, the Night of the Long Knives.

He and Himmler are now among the most powerful and sinister figures in

And in 1936, Heydrich consolidates his position by becoming head of the

Sicherheitsdienst, or SD.

the Reich Security Service.

Two years later, Hitler begins the aggressive expansion of his empire by

annexing Austria.

Then, in September 1938, Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Great

accepts the Munich Agreement, allowing Hitler to occupy the Sudetenland, the

area of western Czechoslovakia with a largely Germanic population.

The Czech Prime Minister, Eduard Beneš, resigns and then flees to England.

Within six months, Hitler has completed the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia by

occupying Bohemia and Moravia.

Slovakia is left as a puppet state.

Konstantin von Nurat is appointed Reichsprotector of Bohemia and Moravia

introduces a brutal regime of repression and anti -Semitism.

Then, in September 1939, Hitler precipitates World War II by invading

And then occupying Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Norway

blitzkrieg campaigns during the spring and early summer of 1940.

Even though Britain remains undefeated, she is so isolated that Hitler has no

concerns about turning his attention east.

In June 1941, the German invasion of the Soviet Union massively expands the war.

Heydrich's main responsibility is to set up Einsatzgruppen, special task forces,

to eliminate communist officials and Jews within the occupied territories.

They set to work with enthusiasm, organizing mass searches and executions.

Even though the German campaign initially goes well, with the panzers

deep into the Soviet Union and millions of prisoners being taken, it is felt

that the Czechs, with their first -rate armaments industry, could be

contributing more to the war effort.

September 1941, Prague.

The Reich, protector of Bohemia and Moravia...

von Nurath is sidelined as being too weak and Heydrich brought in as his

He starts by striking a major blow against the Czech resistance with over 4

arrests and 400 executions.

But cunningly he balances this with improved rations, working conditions and

pay. so as to get the Czech factories humming again.

Alongside the other nations occupied by the Germans, a Czech government in exile

has been set up in Britain by Benes, and Czech exiles have been formed into

military units to prepare for the liberation of their country.

The feeling is soon spreading that the Czechs are being too cooperative with

Germans.

And in late 1941, the decision is made to assassinate Heydrich, even though it

is obvious that the German reaction will be brutal.

Volunteers to do the job are selected from the Free Czech Forces training in

Scotland.

They are Josef Gabcik, a locksmith from Slovakia, and Jan Kubiš, a farmer's son

from Arabia.

Both are former NCOs in the Czech Army, who had fled to France and joined Czech

forces there.

After the fall of France, both had escaped to Britain and joined the Free

Units.

The two men are sent to be trained by Britain's Special Operations Executive

clandestine warfare and assassination methods.

The operation to assassinate Heydrich is codenamed Anthropoid.

December 28, 1941, southern England.

A bomber carrying Kubitsch and Gabchik takes off from a secret base near

It is a long and dangerous flight across Nazi -occupied territory without any

fighter escort.

The two men land by parachute near the village of Novizhdy, 20 kilometers from

Prague.

The Czech resistance has no knowledge they are coming, but luckily the first

person they meet is a member of the organization.

He manages to get news of their arrival to the main resistance group in Prague,

led by Professor Vladislav Banek.

And after a few days hiding in the countryside, it is decided to move them

the capital.

They are put in the charge of Jan Zelenka and hidden in a house belonging

Maria Moravich, one of whose sons is serving with the RAF.

Zelenka is able to put them in touch with Frantisek Safaric, a carpenter

at Hradkarni Castle, the headquarters of the Nazi administration.

And with his help, they monitor Heydrich's routine and begin planning

attack.

Heydrich travels every day from his official residence at Panenska Brezhany,

about 12 miles outside Prague, to Hradkany Castle in an open Mercedes

SS -Oberscharführer Klein.

Contemptuous of the Czechs and convinced that they are thoroughly cowed, he

travels without an escort and rarely varies his route.

But the road into Prague is open and uncrowded.

and Heydrich likes to be driven fast.

Soon the agents have decided that the attack should take place at a hairpin

in the suburb of Liban, where the car has to slow to a walking pace.

The corner also has a bus stop just before it, at which the killers will be

to loiter without arousing suspicion.

During the early spring, a third British -trained agent Josef Walczek is

parachuted in.

And the three men now firm up on their plan.

Because of the speed at which Heydrich's car will be approaching, and a slight

bend, Walczek will be posted as lookout about 250 yards further back up the

road.

When Walczek sights the car, he will signal with a mirror.

Gabchik and Kubish should then have time to get back round the corner and into

position.

Gabchik, armed with a submachine gun, will be the first to attack.

Kubish, with a specially constructed armour -piercing grenade, will be the

backup.

The assassins will have bicycles hidden nearby on which to escape.

In early May, The agents receive intelligence that Heydrich will be going

Berlin on the 27th for a conference.

They decide to make their attempt then, in case he does not return.

May the 27th, 1942, Prague.

The three men meet at the bus stop in Liban at nine in the morning.

Valchik takes up his position.

that they have longer to wait than expected.

Perninsky -Burjan.

Heydrich is an hour late getting on the road.

Because he is going to be away for some days, he delays his departure to say

goodbye to his family.

At 10 .30, Valchik finally spots the car and signals.

Gabcik and Kubis take up their positions.

10 .32, Liban. The Mercedes slows down for the corner.

And as it completes the turn and is almost stationary, Gabcik steps out into

road and aims at Heydrich.

He presses the trigger, but the gun jams.

And spotting him...

Heydrich stands up and fumbles for his pistol.

As he does so, the chauffeur foolishly fails to accelerate away.

Kubisch takes advantage of this to step forward and lobbies hand grenade at the

car.

It explodes and Heydrich takes the full force of the blast.

Nevertheless, he staggers out of the car and starts shooting, followed by his

chauffeur, Klein.

He starts firing at Kubitsch, who drops his briefcase, grabs his bicycle, and

disappears into the city.

Gabchik abandons his submachine gun and races away.

He's unable to get to his bicycle before Klein gives chase, firing at him.

Gabcik ducks into a butcher's shop, but Klein continues after him until Gabcik

manages to shoot him down severely wounded.

He then escapes by boarding a tram heading into the city.

Meanwhile, Heydrich has collapsed and is rushed to hospital.

He has severe internal injuries from the bomb splinters and bits of car

upholstery which have been embedded in him.

Prague is immediately sealed off and a curfew imposed.

More than 36 ,000 houses are raided and over 500 arrests made.

A reward of 20 ,000 Czech crowns is offered.

The coat?

Briefcases, bicycle, and British -made Sten submachine gun are put on display.

But there are no leads.

Hydric is operated on immediately, but splinters from the bomb have pierced his

spleen. Soon, blood poisoning sets in, and Hydric goes into a coma.

Without penicillin, which is then only available in the United States, There is

nothing his doctors can do.

June 4, 1942, Prague.

Heydrich dies, delirious and in agonizing pain, like so many of his

The next day his body is taken to lie in state at Hradkany Castle.

June the 7th, 1942, Prague.

Heydrich's coffin is paraded through the city, before being taken by train to

Berlin, where it lies in state in the new Reich's Chancellery building.

On June the 9th, Heydrich's wife and two sons are comforted by Hitler and the

top Nazi chieftains at a funeral service.

Heinrich Himmler gives the funeral oration.

The body is then buried.

in the cemetery of fallen heroes.

Hitler is apoplectic with rage and determined that the Czechs will suffer

terribly for this outrage.

As so often with the Nazis, the retribution will be random and savagely

disproportionate.

June the 10th, 1942, Ledici.

Even though there is nothing to connect it with the killing of Heydrich, this

village, 50 miles from Prague, is selected for destruction.

SS execution squads move in and round up all the inhabitants.

173 men and boys over 15 are shot.

195 women and 98 children sent to concentration camps.

A few of the youngest children are spared and placed with Nazi German

Once the inhabitants have been disposed of, the village is destroyed with

explosives.

And every building leveled to the ground.

Even the animals are slaughtered.

In Prague, the Gestapo and SS killings continue.

More than 800 are dead, but still there are no leads.

Kubis, Gabcik and Balcik have managed to get back to safe houses and are now

being moved constantly.

Then the German authorities announced that June 18th will be the deadline for

the killers to be caught.

If they are not...

Who knows how many more Ledicis will follow?

Throughout Prague, the tension is becoming unbearable.

And finally, one man cracks.

June 16th, 1942, Prague.

With two days to go until the deadline, resistance man Karol Kurda goes to the

Germans and reveals that Maria Muravich had been responsible for sheltering at

least one of the assassins.

As the Gestapo arrives, Maria kills herself with a cyanide capsule, but her

-year -old son, Atta, is captured.

He is tortured for 24 hours and refuses to speak until he is shown his mother's

severed head and warned that his father's will soon be beside it.

Then finally he reveals that the three assassins and four other resistance men

have taken cover in the Orthodox Church of St. Cyril and Methodius.

June 18, 1942, Prague.

Jackboots echo in the streets as several hundred SS troops under the command of

SS General von Troyenfeld surround the church.

Their first attempt to storm the building is turned back by the

fighters, but after an hour, a second assault gets them into the church.

One of the resistance men, Lieutenant Adolfo Palka, is cut off.

and shoots himself.

Two other severely wounded men are found.

Jaroslav Schwarz and then Jan Kubisz.

The traitor Karol Kurda identifies him.

The Germans realize that the other assassins have retreated down into the

Unwilling to get into a close -quarter firefight, the SS pump tear gas into it.

When this is ineffective, they call in the Prague fire brigade to try to flood

it.

But the surviving resistance fighters continue firing back.

It is not until 10 in the evening that a hand -picked SS squad blows up the

trapdoor and forces its way down.

After further fighting, the bodies of Josip Gabcik, Josip Valcik, Josip Bubik,

and Jan Truby are found.

Fourteen SS men have also been killed.

Kurdak confirms that all the assassins are dead.

Tragically, it had been planned for them to move out of Prague the following

morning.

The reprisals go on.

The priests who had sheltered the resistance men are executed.

And six months after the assassination of Heydrich, Another innocent village,

the Yechki, is also completely destroyed and its inhabitants sent to the gas

chambers.

In total, more than 1 ,500 people are killed in reprisal and more than 10 ,000

sent to concentration camps.

It is a heavy price to pay for showing that there is still a resistance in the

country. and that there are Czechs prepared to take extreme measures to

their country's reputation.

Almost exactly three years after the killing of the hangman of Prague, the

Soviet army liberates the city from Nazi rule.

Czech president Eduard Beneš returns from exile in London.

Now it is time to mete out justice.

Carol Curder, who had not hesitated to accept the 20 ,000 crown reward for

betraying the agents, is tracked down, tried, and hanged.

So too is SS Gruppenführer Karl Hermann Frank, who had become acting

Reichsprotector of Bohemia and Moravia after Heydrich's death, and supervised

the reprisals.

Soon afterwards, Kurt De Luger, the SS officer directly responsible for the

massacre at La Diche, follows him to the gallows.

It is little compensation for the hundreds he had murdered.

Today, the ruins of La Diche still stand as a testimony to the savagery of the

Germans.

On a hill above the remains is a memorial to the children who were

Few assassinations can have caused such direct suffering for so many innocent

people.

But few assassinations have had such symbolic importance.

By killing Reinhard Heydrich, One of the most feared and important men in Nazi

Germany. The team which carried it out, and the government in exile which sent

it, showed that Czechoslovakia was still resisting, no matter what the cost.