Reinhard Heydrich began as an SS henchman and later cruelly ruled over the Czech people and planned the Nazis’ ‘Final Solution’ for Europe’s Jews
Reinhard Heydrich is considered one of the most evil men in history. A disgraced naval officer, his rise through the ranks of the Nazi party and the SS was meteoric. Heydrich was capable of the most brutal acts and went on to become one of the key architects of the Holocaust. Countless thousands died by his indirect hand, both during his life and even after his death. With a twisted affection, Adolf Hitler described Heydrich as “the man with the iron heart”. Others more aptly called him “the Butcher” or “the Hangman”.
Early life
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was born in 1904 in Halle an der Saale in Saxony. His patriotic and nationalist father, Richard Bruno, was a musical director and opera singer who held a fanatical interest in the life of the German composer Richard Wagner. Throughout his childhood Heydrich was exposed to this ‘Cult of Wagner’ as well as his father’s overbearing patriotism. His mother, Elizabeth, was a strict disciplinarian.
Author Robert Gerwarth, in his book Hitler’s Hangman, highlights the influence of music on Heydrich’s parents: “In naming their first-born son, they took inspiration from the world of music that surrounded them: ‘Reinhard’ was the name of the tragic hero of Bruno’s first opera… ‘Tristan’ paid tribute to Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde… ‘Eugen’ was the name of his late maternal grandfather, Professor Eugen Krantz, the director of… the Royal Dresden Conservatory.”
Heydrich was a sickly child who took up exercise to strengthen himself. He excelled at school, but remained meek and was bullied by his classmates for his high-pitched voice and alleged (but false) Jewish ancestry. During the upheavals in post-First World War Germany, the 15-year-old Heydrich joined the right-wing Maercker’s Volunteer Rifles paramilitary group, although it is unclear how active with the unit he was. Like many young Germans during this period, Heydrich developed ideas and opinions based on racist (völkisch) nationalism that would influence his later life.
Naval career
In 1922, Heydrich joined the Reichsmarine, specialising in signals and communications. Rumours of his supposed Jewish ancestry followed him, and his fellow cadets did not let him forget it. By mid-1924, he was promoted to oberfähnrich zur see and attended the Naval Academy Mürwik. By 1926 he was a leutnant zur see aboard the battleship SMS Schleswig-Holstein. Further promotion followed in 1
