Jozef Gabčík
Jozef Gabčík | |
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Rotmistr (Staff Sergeant) | |
Unit | Special Operations Executive |
Battles/wars |
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Awards |
Jozef Gabčík (Slovak pronunciation: .
Life
Youth
Gabčík was born 1912 in Poluvsie, part of town Rajecké Teplice,
In 1937, he began work at a military chemical plant in Žilina; after an accident, however, he was transferred to the gas storage facility (which belonged to the Czechoslovak army) in Trenčín.[citation needed]
In exile
The
Following France's surrender, together with remnants of Czechoslovak troops, he evacuated (12 July 1940) to Great Britain where he was trained as a paratrooper. He became a rotmistr (approx. UK staff sergeant) in rank. The Free Czechoslovaks, as he and other self-exiled Czechoslovaks were called, were stationed at Cholmondeley Castle near Malpas in Cheshire.[1]
Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich
Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš were airlifted along with seven soldiers from Czechoslovak army-in-exile in the United Kingdom and two other groups named Silver A and Silver B (who had different missions) by a Royal Air Force Halifax 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, Heydrich proceeded on his daily
Death
A rigorous investigation of the assassination determined that it was planned and executed by the
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 in
Posthumous recognition
The town of
In May 2007, with the aim of commemorating the heroes of the Czech and Slovak Resistance, the Slovak 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 film Anthropoid (2016), campaigners called for Gabčík's and Kubiš's bodies to be exhumed from the mass grave at the Ďáblice 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 in Ightfield (ref W9VR+FJ Whitchurch on Google Maps).
Gabčík in film and fiction
Gabčík is portrayed by:
- Ladislav Mrkvička (1964) Atentát
- Anthony Andrews (1975) Operation Daybreak
- Cillian Murphy (2016) Anthropoid[19]
- Jack Reynor (2017) The Man with the Iron Heart
Gabčík is a character in the historical novel "HHhH" by Laurent Binet (2009/English translation 2012).
References
- ^ Czechs in Exile: Cholmondeley Castle, Czechoslovak Government in Exile Research Society, archived from the original on 7 February 2012, retrieved 17 December 2013
- ^ Burian et al 2002, pp. 48–49
- ISBN 3-8423-3944-5
- ^ MacDonald 1998, pp. 205, 207.
- ^ MacDonald 1998, p. 206.
- ^ "Nová tajemství muže, který zabil Reinharda Heydricha". Aktuálně.cz. 18 June 2013.
- ^ Williams 2003, pp. 147, 155.
- ^ MacDonald 1998, pp. 206, 207.
- ^ a b MacDonald 1998, p. 207.
- ISBN 0-553-23508-7
- ^ Burian et al 2002, p. 64
- ^ Heydrich Is Dead: Czech Toll At 78, By Daniel T Brigham, The New York Times, June 5, 1942.
- ^ "Rešice". Vets.estranky.cz. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "Vémyslice". Vets.estranky.cz. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ Ray R. Cowdery, with Peter Vodenka: Reinhard Heydrich: Assassination. Victory WW2 Publishing Ltd. (1994) Lakeville, MN, USA
- ISBN 0-306-80860-9
- ^ "Jozef Gabčík - životopis".
- ^ Charter, David (20 August 2016). "Fight to honour heroes who killed top Nazi". The Times. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ Hawksley, Rupert (31 August 2016). "The incredible true story behind World War Two film Anthropoid". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
Works cited
- Burian, Michal; Knížek, Aleš; Rajlich, Jiří; Stehlík, Eduard (2002). Assassination: Operation ANTHROPOID, 1941–1942. Prague: Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. ISBN 978-8-07278-1-584.
- MacDonald, Callum (1998) [1989]. The Killing of Reinhard Heydrich: The SS 'Butcher of Prague'. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80860-9.
- Williams, Max (2003). Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography, Volume 2—Enigma. Church Stretton: Ulric Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9537577-6-3.