Jozef Gabčík | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1912-04-08)8 April 1912 |
| Died | 18 June 1942(1942-06-18) (aged 30) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch | |
| Service years | 1939–1942 |
| Rank | Rittmeister Colonel. |
| Unit | Special Operations Executive |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | |
Jozef Gabčík (Slovak pronunciation:[ˈjɔzevˈɡaptʂiːk]; 8 April 1912 – 18 June 1942) was aSlovak soldier in theCzechoslovak Army involved in theOperation Anthropoid, the assassination ofReinhard Heydrich, the actingReichsprotektor (Realm-Protector) of theProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia,SS-Obergruppenführer.
Gabčík was born 1912 in Poluvsie, part of town Rajecké Teplice (Hungarian: Rajecfürdő),Trencsén County,Kingdom of Hungary (then part ofAustria-Hungary, now in northwesternSlovakia). He learned to be afarrier, as well as ablacksmith. He was also taughtclock making at the village ofKostelec nad Vltavou (in centralBohemia). He was taught by local master blacksmith J. Kunike. He lived with the Kunike family in their house of which still stands together with the outbuilding and yard which was used as a smithy. In 1927 the school records show that he attended school in business studies at villageKovářov near to Kostelec nad Vltavou. The building which housed the school is today the municipal office. (A marble plaque was erected in 2010, together with historical documents on the wall there – these documents were all placed there by the citizens of Kovářov.)[citation needed]
In 1937, he began work at a military chemical plant inŽilina; after an accident, however, he was transferred to the gas storage facility (which belonged to the Czechoslovak army) inTrenčín.[citation needed]
Thebreakup of the Czechoslovak Republic and the subsequent emergence (on 14 March 1939) of theclero-fascist and anti-CzechSlovak State he did not accept – when GermanWehrmacht took over the military depot he sabotaged it. To escape punishment, he fled toPoland (on 6 June 1939) and joined forming Czechoslovak military unit in Polish service (Czechoslovak Legion). Then, with other comrades, was transferred via ship toFrance and there entered the 1st Regiment of theForeign Legion. In 26 September 1939 he was drafted inAgde into the emerging Czechoslovak foreign army in France and included as deputy commander of the machine gun platoon at the 1st Infantry Regiment of the1st Czechoslovak Infantry Division in France (1re division d'infanterie tchécoslovaque en France). Three months later, he was promoted to the rank ofčetař (sergeant) and participated in theBattle of France during the spring of 1940.[citation needed]
Following France's surrender, together with remnants of Czechoslovak troops, he evacuated (12 July 1940) to Great Britain where he was trained as aparatrooper. He became arotmistr (approx. UKstaff sergeant) in rank. The Free Czechoslovaks, as he and other self-exiled Czechoslovaks were called, were stationed atCholmondeley Castle nearMalpas in Cheshire.[1]
Jozef Gabčík andJan Kubiš were airlifted along with seven soldiers from Czechoslovak army-in-exile in the United Kingdom and two other groups namedSilver A andSilver B (who had different missions) by aRoyal Air ForceHalifax of No. 138 Squadron into Czechoslovakia at 10 pm on 28 December 1941. In Prague, they contacted several families and anti-Nazi organisations who helped them during the preparations for the assassination.[2]
On 27 May 1942, at 10:30 am,Reinhard Heydrich proceeded on his dailycommute from his home inPanenské Břežany toPrague Castle. Gabčík and Kubiš waited at the tram stop on the curve nearBulovka Hospital inPrague 8-Libeň. As Heydrich's open-toppedMercedes-Benz arrived, Gabčík, who concealed hisSten gun under a raincoat, dropped the raincoat and raised the gun to shoot Heydrich, but the gun jammed. Heydrich ordered his driver, SS-Oberscharführer Klein, to stop the car. As the car braked in front of him, Kubiš threw a modifiedanti-tank grenade[3] (concealed in a briefcase) at the vehicle; it detonated under the car, seriously wounding Heydrich, its fragments ripping through the right rear fender and embeddingshrapnel from theupholstery of the car into Heydrich, causing serious injuries to his left side, with major damage to hisdiaphragm,spleen andlung, as well as a fractured rib. Kubiš received a minor wound to his face from the shrapnel.[4] Heydrich and Klein leapt out of the shattered car with drawn pistols; Klein ran towards Kubiš, who had staggered against the railings, while Heydrich went to Gabčík who stood, holding the Sten. Kubiš recovered and, jumped on his bicycle and pedalled away, scattering passengers spilling from the tram, by firing in the air with hisColt M1903 pistol. Klein tried to fire at him but dazed by the explosion, pressed the magazine release catch and the gun jammed.[5][6] A staggering Heydrich came towards Gabčík, who dropped his Sten and tried to reach his bicycle. He was forced to abandon this attempt, however, and took cover behind a telegraph pole, firing at Heydrich with his pistol. Heydrich returned fire and ducked behind the stalled tram, when he suddenly doubled over and staggered to the side of the road in pain. He then collapsed against the railings, holding himself up with one hand. As Gabčík took the opportunity to run, Klein rushed to help his wounded superior. Heydrich, his face pale and contorted in pain, pointed toward the fleeing Gabčík, saying "Get that bastard!".[7][8] As Klein gave pursuit, Heydrich stumbled along the pavement before collapsing against the bonnet of his car.[9] Gabčík fled into a butcher shop, where the owner, a man named Brauer, who was a Nazi sympathiser and had a brother who worked for the Gestapo, ignored Gabčík's request for help, and ran out into the roadway, attracting Klein's attention by shouting and pointing. Klein, whose gun was still jammed, ran into the shop and collided with Gabčík in the doorway. In the confusion, Gabčík shot him twice, severely wounding him in the leg.[9] Gabčík then escaped in a tram, reaching a localsafe house.[10][11] The assassins were initially convinced that the attack had failed. Heydrich was rushed to Bulovka Hospital, where he consequently developed a fatal case ofblood poisoning. He died of his injuries on 4 June 1942.[12]
A rigorous investigation of the assassination determined that it was planned and executed by theCzech Resistance with the assistance of the British. The oppression and persecution of the defiant Czechs reached its peak following the failure of Nazi soldiers to capture the assassins alive. More than 13,000 people were ultimately arrested and tortured, including the girlfriend of Jan Kubiš, Anna Malinová, who died atMauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. First LieutenantAdolf Opálka's aunt, Marie Opálková, was executed in Mauthausen on 24 October 1942.[13] His father, Viktor Jarolím, was also killed.[14] Among the unfortunate wasKostelec nad Vltavou nativeJUDr. Jan Fleischmann. It was known locally that Gabčík visited Fleischmann, who was a friend in Kostelec and Vltavou, before the assassination of Heydrich. After the assassination, this visit was discovered due toKarel Čurda informing theGestapo.[citation needed] The Nazis arrested Fleischmann and took him to Pankrác where he was tortured and finally executed.[citation needed]
The Nazi officials in the Protectorate carried out an extensive search for the two men. Eventually, the Germans found them, along with other paratroopers, hiding inCyril and Methodius Cathedral in Prague. After a six-hour gun battle, in which the Germans lost 14 men and sustained wounds to 21 others, Gabčík and the others, with the exception of Kubiš, who was seriously wounded by a grenade, committed suicide before the Nazis could take them alive in the church catacombs.[15] Kubiš died of his wounds shortly after arrival at the hospital.[16]
The town ofGabčíkovo in southern Slovakia is named after Gabčík, and one of the biggestdams on theDanube next to the village is named after the town. Jozef Gabčík's name was also given to the5. pluk špeciálneho určenia ("5th special operations regiment of Jozef Gabčík") part of theSlovak Armed Forces, based inŽilina.[citation needed]
In May 2007, with the aim of commemorating the heroes of the Czech and Slovak Resistance, theSlovak National Museum opened an exhibition presenting one of the most important resistance actions in the whole Nazi-occupied Europe.[17]
Coinciding with the release of the filmAnthropoid (2016), campaigners called for Gabčík's and Kubiš's bodies to be exhumed from the mass grave at theĎáblice Cemetery in northern Prague, and to be given a dignified burial fitting "the heroes of anti-Nazi resistance".[18]
A memorial stone for Gabčík and Kubiš can be found in the grounds of St John the Baptist Church inIghtfield.
Gabčík is portrayed by:
Gabčík is a character in the historical novel "HHhH" by Laurent Binet (2009/English translation 2012).
| Government |
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resistance |
| ||||||||||||||
| Military |
| ||||||||||||||
| Topics | |||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
