Reinhard Heydrich (1904-1942) was a lieutenant-general in the Nazi SS organisation, Gestapo chief, and head of Reich security. A favourite of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), Heydrich controlled all police activity in the Third Reich and was instrumental in carrying out the widespread persecution, detention, and murder of Jewish people, communists, political rivals, and others considered enemies of the Nazi state.
More about: Reinhard HeydrichDefinition
Timeline
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1904 - 1942Life of Reinhard Heydrich, the head of the Nazi police forces.
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7 May 1904Reinhard Heydrich is born in Halle, Germany.
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1922Reinhard Heydrich joins the German navy.
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1931Reinhard Heydrich joins the German Nazi party.
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Dec 1931Reinhard Heydrich marries Lina von Osten.
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1934Reinhard Heydrich creates the SS military intelligence unit, the SD or Sicherheitsdienst.
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Jul 1934Reinhard Heydrich is promoted to Obergruppenführer or lieutenant-general of the SS.
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1936Reinhard Heydrich is appointed the head of the Nazi security police, known as Sipo or Sicherheitspolizei.
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Sep 1939Reinhard Heydrich is appointed head of the Reich Security Main Office or RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt).
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Sep 1941Reinhard Heydrich is appointed the Deputy Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia.
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20 Jan 1942The Wannsee Conference, chaired by Reinhard Heydrich, begins the first practical steps of the Final Solution or Holocaust.
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27 May 1942Czech Resistance fighters attempt to assassinate the top Nazi Reinhard Heydrich in Prague.
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4 Jun 1942Reinhard Heydrich dies of injuries sustained after an assassination attempt by the Czech Resistance.
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6 Jun 1942In reprisals for the death of Reinhard Heydrich, the Czech village of Lidice is razed to the ground and its inhabitants either shot or deported.
