Reinhard Heydrich

During the Nazi era, Reinhard Heydrich held high-ranking positions in the German SS and police and was a key architect of the Holocaust. He oversaw the main office for Reich security (including the Gestapo, Kripo, and SD). Additionally, he served as Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor for Bohemia and Moravia. He presided over the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, which formalized plans for the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question"—the deportation and annihilation of all Jews in German-occupied Europe. He also served as president of the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC, later known as Interpol).

Heydrich is regarded by many historians as the Nazi regime's most evil character. He was referred to as "the guy with the iron heart" by Adolf Hitler. He was the founding leader of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), an intelligence agency tasked with locating and eliminating Nazi Party resistance through arrests, deportations, and executions. On November 9-10, 1938, he assisted in planning Kristallnacht, a series of synchronized attacks against Jews across Nazi Germany and some areas of Austria. The Holocaust was foreshadowed by the attacks, which were carried out by SA stormtroopers and civilians.

Heydrich arrived in Prague with the intention of eradicating resistance to the Nazi occupation through the repression of Czech culture and the deportation and execution of members of the Czech resistance. He bore direct responsibility for the Einsatzgruppen, the special task forces that followed the German armies and killed over two million people, including 1.3 million Jews, through mass shooting and gassing.