Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich: One of the Key Organizers of the Holocaust WWII
SS Leader Reinhard Heydrich
Early Years
Born in Halle, Germany, on March 7, 1904,
Reinhard Eugen Tristan Heydrich grew up in a family with a strong musical
background. His father founded a music conservatory, and his mother was a
skilled pianist. Despite enjoying a privileged lifestyle, Heydrich faced
bullying in school due to his high-pitched voice and Catholic faith. He
excelled in academics and sports, becoming an award-winning fencer.
Unable to
participate in World War I, Heydrich joined a right-wing, anti-Semitic group
after the war. Influenced by the German Völk movement's racial fanaticism, he
associated with violently anti-Semitic organizations to counter false rumors
about his potential Jewish ancestry.
The aftermath
of Germany's defeat in World War I led Heydrich, at age 18, to pursue a naval
career for the free education, adventure, and prestige it offered. Despite
being teased in the Navy for his appearance and rumored Jewish heritage,
Heydrich rose to the rank of second lieutenant by 1926.
Heydrich's
naval career faced a setback when he was accused of a scandal involving the
daughter of a shipyard director. Refusing to marry her, he resigned from the
Navy in 1931 due to "conduct unbecoming to an officer and a
gentleman."
Joins Nazi
Party and the SS
In 1931, at the age of 27, Heydrich joined the
Nazi Party and became a member of the SS, an elite organization known for its
black-coated members chosen based on racial characteristics. Heinrich Himmler,
the SS Reichsführer, was impressed by Heydrich's appearance, confidence, and
response to a challenge during an interview. Himmler assigned him the task of
creating the SS Security Service (SD).
Heydrich
established the SD, starting with a small office and a single typewriter.
Through his tireless efforts, the organization grew into a vast network of
informers, gathering information on individuals who might pose a threat to
Hitler. Heydrich also had a penchant for gossip, maintaining records of the
personal lives and activities of top Nazis, sometimes resorting to hidden
microphones and cameras.
Heydrich's relentless effort and the swift success of the SD led to his rapid
promotion within the SS. He became an SS Major by December 1931, followed by an
appointment as SS Colonel with sole control of the SD by July 1932. In March
1933, at less than 30 years old, he was promoted to SS Brigadier General.
However, rumors
about possible Jewish ancestry in Heydrich's family, stemming from his
grandmother's second marriage, created a hurdle. Hitler and Himmler were aware
of these rumors, spread by Heydrich's enemies within the Nazi Party. Himmler
considered expelling Heydrich, but after a private meeting with Hitler,
Heydrich remained in the SS, haunted by persistent rumors and developing
hostility toward Jews.
Dachau
Concentration Camp was established after the Nazi
seizure of power in January 1933. Heydrich and Himmler oversaw mass arrests of
opposition figures. Dachau, initially a munitions factory, became a
concentration camp where prisoners faced harsh treatment, beatings, and punishments.
The infamous slogan "Arbeit Macht Frei" adorned the
gates. Similar camps were opened at Buchenwald, Sachsenhausen, and Lichtenburg.
Night of the
Long Knives
In April 1934,
amid Nazi infighting, Himmler took control of the Gestapo, with Heydrich as his
second in command. During the Night of the Long Knives in June 1934, Heydrich,
Himmler, and Göring plotted the downfall of SA chief Ernst Röhm. Röhm and top
SA leaders were murdered on Hitler's orders, diminishing the SA's influence in
favor of the SS.
By 1936, local
police forces, the Gestapo, the SD, and the Criminal Police were under
Himmler's command, answering only to Hitler. In 1937, justice norms were
abandoned as the police, especially the Gestapo, gained unlimited powers.
Criticizing the Nazis could lead to concentration camps, and fear of informants
permeated society.
Heydrich's SD
and Gestapo agents employed torture, murder, arrests, extortion, and blackmail
to crush suspected anti-Nazis, enhancing Heydrich's feared reputation.
Operating behind the scenes, Heydrich preferred anonymity, rarely appearing in
public. His only companions were senior SS subordinates, and his intimidating
presence even unnerved top Nazis.
International Covert Operations
Heydrich
demonstrated proficiency in clandestine activities, often operating on a global
scale. His endeavors included influencing Soviet leader Stalin to conduct a
purge of top Red Army generals in 1937. By providing evidence to Soviet secret
agents suggesting a potential military coup against Stalin, Heydrich played a
key role in these covert maneuvers.
In Germany,
Heydrich was instrumental in discrediting and removing two influential German
Army generals, Blomberg and Fritsch, who opposed Hitler's long-term war plans
in 1937. Following their removal, Hitler personally assumed command of the
German Army.
Subsequently,
Hitler aimed to expand the German Reich, focusing on Austria and
Czechoslovakia. In Austria, Heydrich and Himmler covertly supported pro-Nazis
to instigate unrest. After the Nazi annexation in 1938, Heydrich established
the Gestapo Office of Jewish Emigration, coercing wealth from Jews seeking to
leave Austria.
Shifting attention to Czechoslovakia, Heydrich encouraged the Nazification of ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland. The threat of German invasion prompted the Czech government to cede the Sudetenland to Hitler in 1938.
The Night of
Broken Glass
In November 1938, orchestrated by Heydrich,
Kristallnacht occurred, resulting in attacks on Jews and mass arrests. On his
orders, 25,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps, marking a
disturbing episode in Heydrich's covert operations.
In 1939,
Heydrich destabilized Czechoslovakia by inciting unrest and dispatching a
sabotage squad. Hitler, unchallenged at Munich, sent the German Army to
'protect' Czechoslovakia, with the SS following suit, and concentration camps
proliferating.
The Prelude to
World War II
World War Two
commenced in 1939 with the Nazi invasion of Poland. Heydrich engineered a
fabricated Polish attack near the border, providing a pretext for military
action and illustrating his adeptness in orchestrating covert events.
The Reich's
Security Nexus
Following the
invasion of Poland, Heydrich assumed control of the new Reich Main Security
Office (RSHA), amalgamating the SD, Gestapo, Criminal Police, and foreign
intelligence. The RSHA became a centralized organization terrorizing Europe and
orchestrating unprecedented mass murder, showcasing Heydrich's involvement in
covert operations.
In
Nazi-occupied Poland, Heydrich executed Hitler's plan to annihilate the nation.
SS Einsatz Groups, led by Heydrich, targeted Polish politicians, intellectuals,
and clergy. The Jewish population, deemed inferior, faced dire conditions in
ghettos, experiencing widespread starvation and disease.
The Invasion of
the Soviet Union
After the Nazi
invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Heydrich organized SS Einsatz groups to
pacify the occupied areas. Executions targeted Communist political commissars
and perceived security threats.
As the German
Army advanced, Heydrich led Einsatz groups, assisted by ethnic Germans and
volunteers from various countries. Heydrich conveyed Hitler's directive for the
physical extermination of Jews to his subordinate, Adolf Eichmann.
Systematic
Genocide of Jews
The Einsatz
groups shifted their focus to the systematic genocide of Jews. Otto Ohlendorf,
commander of Einsatzgruppe D, outlined the method during his Nuremberg trial
after the war. The units would enter a village, instruct prominent Jewish
citizens to gather all Jews, and then execute them near an antitank ditch,
shooting men, women, and children before disposing of the bodies.
Einsatz leaders meticulously recorded daily numbers of Jews murdered, with over 300,000 killed in the first year of the Nazi occupation of Soviet territory. By March 1943, the number exceeded 600,000, reaching an estimated 1,300,000 by the war's end.
Heydrich and the Mobile Gas Vans
Witnessing an
execution in Minsk, Himmler became distressed, leading Heydrich to explore more
humane extermination methods. Mobile gas vans were introduced, feeding exhaust
into a sealed compartment holding 15 to 25 people, primarily Jewish women and
children. This method, however, proved unsatisfactory due to low numbers killed
and the difficulty of body removal.
The Euthanasia
Program and Experimentation
The euthanasia
program in Germany provided the SS with an opportunity to experiment with gas
chambers. The killing center at Brandenburg employed gas chambers disguised as
shower rooms. Patients, drugged and naked, were led to their deaths, with
families told false causes of death.
SS Major
Christian Wirth, head of the euthanasia program, utilized the knowledge gained
to construct a gas chamber at Chelmno in occupied Poland for Jews.
Wannsee
Conference and the Final Solution
In response to
Hitler's order, Heydrich received instructions from Hermann Göring to prepare a
plan for the Final Solution. The Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942,
coordinated the extermination of approximately 11,000,000 Jews in Europe and
the Soviet Union.
Heydrich emphasized deportations to the east and manipulated Jewish councils within ghettos to organize and finance the Final Solution. By mid-1942, mass gassing of Jews with Zyklon B began at Auschwitz, resulting in an estimated three million deaths through various means.
Protector of
Czechoslovakia
In September
1941, Heydrich became Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia in former
Czechoslovakia. He established a Jewish ghetto at Theresienstadt and
implemented a policy rewarding Czech workers for meeting Nazi production quotas
while suppressing the resistance.
Assassination
Attempt and Reprisals
On May 27,
1942, Czech agents attacked Heydrich's car, injuring him. Despite Himmler's
efforts to save him, Heydrich succumbed to blood poisoning on June 4. The Nazis
orchestrated an elaborate funeral, and reprisals included the murder of over
1,000 Czechs and the liquidation of Lidice, where men and boys were shot, women
deported, and the village destroyed.
Legacy and
Succession
After
Heydrich's death, Heinrich Himmler hesitated to appoint a successor.
Eventually, Ernst Kaltenbrunner assumed the role, but he lacked Heydrich's
intrigue skills. Himmler's personal power increased, and under subsequent
leaders, the Final Solution continued until the war's end, resulting in the
genocide of millions.
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