Reinhard Heydrich

Reinhard Heydrich (1904–1942) had a rapid career in the Nazi state. In just a few years, he rose under Heinrich Himmler to become the most powerful man in the surveillance and persecution apparatus of the SS and police. During World War II, he was a key orchestrator of the Holocaust. As “Deputy Reich Protector”, he took rigorous action against the resistance in the German-occupied part of Czechoslovakia. He died in June 1942 as a result of an assassination attempt in Prague. After his death, the regime celebrated him as a “martyr”.

The exhibition “Reinhard Heydrich. Career and Violence” examines the path and conditions of Reinhard Heydrich’s rise to power and highlights his role in the complex of Nazi crimes. In conclusion it draws attention to images and ideas associated with Heydrich that originated in Nazi propaganda, were perpetuated and reinterpreted after 1945, and continue to have an impact today.

An exhibition of the Topography of Terror Foundation

‘Operation Anthropoid’

Special presentation in the foyer

From 27 May to 2 June 2025, the Czech-English roll-up exhibition ‘Operation Anthropoid’ will be on display in the foyer of the Topography of Terror Documentation Centre. We are presenting the exhibition in the context of the last accompanying event to our special exhibition ‘Reinhard Heydrich. Career and Violence’ on 27 May 2025, which will focus on the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in the Czech Republic's culture of remembrance.

The exhibition ‘Operation Anthropoid’ by the association ‘Iniciativa A.’ and the Czechoslovak Association of Legionnaires (Československá obec legionářská – ČSoL) focuses on the assassination of Heydrich on 27 May 1942 in Prague and its aftermath. It presents the events in detail from the perspective of the Czechoslovak resistance and comprehensively documents the preparation and execution of the assassination attempt, which was known as ‘Operation Anthropoid’ among those involved.