The Operation Anthropoid – Praha-Libeň, Memorial Operation Anthropoid
Fact of the Czech figure „Munich Agreement”
Part of the „The myth of national disaster” topic
The assassination of Acting Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich is regarded as a significant act of the anti-Nazi resistance. The operation, codenamed Operation Anthropoid, was carried out in Prague on 27 May 1942 by exiled paratroopers Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš.
Heydrich died as a result of his injuries a week later. In retribution, the occupying power instigated a series of reprisals, which resulted in the murder and burning of the villages of Lidice and Ležáky. For several weeks, the paratroopers evaded the Gestapo in the crypt of a Prague church. Nevertheless, they were ultimately betrayed and, refusing to surrender, perished in combat.
The unfortunate events provoked a widespread worldwide expression of solidarity and facilitated an enhanced awareness of the foreign resistance organisation’s involvement in the reinstatement of Czechoslovakia. The events associated with Operation Anthropoid are reflected in street names, numerous film adaptations and several memorials. In 1947, a memorial was placed on the building of the Church of St Wenceslas. Another monumental memorial was erected in Prague-Libeň in 2009. The Lidice and Ležáky memorials are lasting symbols of Nazi terror.
