Reinhard Heydrich
| Reinhard Heydrich | |
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Heydrich as an SS-Gruppenführer in 1940
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Deputy Protector of Bohemia and Moravia (acting Protector) |
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In office 29 September 1941 – 4 June 1942 |
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| Appointed by | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by |
Konstantin von Neurath (Protector until 24 August 1943) |
| Succeeded by |
Kurt Daluege (Acting Protector) |
| Director of the Reich Main Security Office | |
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In office 27 September 1939 – 4 June 1942 |
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| Appointed by | Heinrich Himmler |
| Preceded by | Post created |
| Succeeded by | Heinrich Himmler (acting) |
| President of the ICPC (now known as Interpol) | |
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In office 24 August 1940 – 4 June 1942 |
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| Preceded by | Otto Steinhäusl |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Nebe |
| Director of the Gestapo | |
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In office 22 April 1934 – 27 September 1939 |
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| Appointed by | Heinrich Himmler |
| Preceded by | Rudolf Diels |
| Succeeded by | Heinrich Müller |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich 7 March 1904 Halle an der Saale, German Empire |
| Died | 4 June 1942 (aged 38) Prague-Libeň, Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia (now Prague, Czech Republic) |
| Political party | National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) |
| Spouse(s) |
Lina von Osten (1931–1942; his death) |
| Relations | Heinz Heydrich (brother) |
| Children | 4 |
| Signature |  |
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| Military career | |
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| Service/branch | |
| Years of service | 1922–1942 |
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| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | See Service record of Reinhard Heydrich |
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (German: [ˈʁaɪnhaʁt ˈtʁɪstan ˈɔʏɡn̩ ˈhaɪdʁɪç]) (7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German Nazi official during World War II, and a main architect of the Holocaust. He was an SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei (Senior Group Leader and Chief of Police) as well as chief of the Reich Main Security Office (including the Gestapo, Kripo, and SD). He was also Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor (Deputy/Acting Reich-Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia, in what is now the Czech Republic. Heydrich served as president of the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC; later known as Interpol) and chaired the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, which formalised plans for the Final Solution to the Jewish Question—the deportation and genocide of all Jews in German-occupied Europe.
Many historians regard him as the darkest figure within the Nazi elite; Adolf Hitler described him as "the man with the iron heart". He was the founding head of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), an intelligence organisation charged with seeking out and neutralising resistance to the Nazi Party via arrests, deportations, and murders. He helped organise Kristallnacht, a series of co-ordinated attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938. The attacks, carried out by SA stormtroopers and civilians, presaged the Holocaust. Upon his arrival in Prague, Heydrich sought to eliminate opposition to the Nazi occupation by suppressing Czech culture and deporting and executing members of the Czech resistance. He was directly responsible for the Einsatzgruppen, the special task forces which traveled in the wake of the German armies and murdered over two million people, including 1.3 million Jews, by mass shooting and gassing.
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