In 1942 seven Czech paratroopers involved in the assassination of Reichs-protector Reinhardt Heydrich hid in the crypt of the Church of St Cyril and Methodius for three weeks after the killing, until their hiding place was betrayed by the Czech traitor Čurda. The Germans besieged the church, first attempting to smoke the paratroopers out and then flooding the church with fire hoses. Three paratroopers were killed in the ensuing fight; the other four took their own lives rather than surrender to the Germans. The crypt now houses a moving memorial to the men, with an exhibit and video about Nazi persecution of the Czechs. In the crypt itself, you can still see the bullet marks and shrapnel scars on the walls and signs of the paratroopers’ last desperate efforts to dig an escape tunnel to the sewer under the street. On the Resslova side of the church, you can see narrow gaps in the crypt wall, which is pitted with bullet marks.
In Czech: Národní památník obětí heydrichiády
Address: Resslova 9 (metro Karlovo Náměstí)
Admission: 50 CZK; webiste
Open: 10am-5pm Tue-Sun May-Sep, to 4pm Oct-Apr
Just finished reading the novel ‘HHhH’ by Laurent Binet. I highly recommend it. (HHhH stands for ‘Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich – Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich.’) It’s a unique reading experience, well-researched, unputdownable.
There was a very good film made about this event, does anybody know what it was called? l think it may have been Operation…. something.
It was called “Operation Daybreak”.
Based on the book seven men at daybreak by Alan Burgess which is brilliant. Have only seen the beginning of the film, so cannot give an opinion. A more recent film – Anthropoid – is pretty good.