Reinhard Heydrich - Manager des Terrors
Heydrich was one of the main architects of the Holocaust during the first years of World War II and chaired the Wannsee conference at which plans for the deportation of the Jews to extermination camps were discussed. In September 1941 he was appointed Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, replacing Konstantin von Neurath who Hitler considered not harsh enough. On May 27, 1942 he was assassinated by a team of British-trained agents of the Czechoslovak government in exile in London. The team comprised of Adolf Opalka (the leader), Josef Valcik, Jan Kubis and Josef Gabchik. Heydrich's car, driven by SS-Oberscharfuhrer Klein, had to slow down to take a sharp bend where the Czech team waited. As the car approached, Gabchik took aim and pulled the trigger of his Sten, but the gun failed and did not fire. Klein, believing Gabchik to be alone, stopped to shoot at him. Kubis then threw an anti-tank grenade at the car. This exploded and severely wounded Heydrich. Despite Himmler sending his best doctors, Heydrich died in Prague at 4:30am on June 4 at the age of 38.
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