German Leadership

Death in Prague (5)

While Heydrich died a lingering and unpleasant death in hospital, his colleagues back in Gestapoland were under severe pressure. Apart from the urgency of capturing the assasins, the Fuhrer went Axminster-chewing crazy, demanding massive reprisals. Karl Hermann Frank, who appears to have been impressed with Heydrich's severe but measured approach to security, pointed out that an absolute bloodbath would not be in Germany's interests, in view of the importance of Czech industry to war production, and appears to have been persuasive. However, with Kurt Daluege, Chief of the Ordnungspolizei, drafted in to "help", some level of reprisal could not be avoided. The solution to the problem presented itself in an extremely tenuous apparent link established by postal interception between the assasination and the mining village of Lidice (the link is now accepted as entirely mistaken, if not deliberately bogus). In consequence, Lidice was subjected to a "special operation" by Horst Bohme and his Einsatzgruppe (manned by Ordnungspolizei men and SD Security Police). A total of 183 men of the village (including 11 who had been away at the time of the main operation) were murdered in this operation. 203 women and 105 children of the village were deported to Ravensbruck concentration camp. The women were, in the main, worked to death; most of the children died of neglect. A small number of children deemed suitable were "Germanised" and placed for adoption with German families. Following Hitler's orders, the village was reduced to rubble. JR.