Ideas men, and the men that then make those ideas happen -
Hitler wasn’t alone in his sick desire to ‘purify’ Europe. One of his most ardent supporters, and head of the SS, was the very recognisable Himmler. He is widely attributed to be the architect of the Holocaust and the formation of the Einzatsgruppen (a commando group of SS tasked solely with extermination activity), and it’s true he was an important part in its formation.
But he was more of an ideas man. He was also pretty careful, and made liberal use of propaganda and subterfuge. As is often the case, men like Himmler need men who will execute the plan without mercy. One of the most instrumental men is pictured, his name was Reinhard Heydrich.
Heydrich was actually the driving force behind the Einzatsgruppen, and was crucial in actually implementing their Final Solution. By all accounts, he was a horrific man who relished terrorizing not only his enemies, but all those around him as well.
He wasn’t an ideas man, he was the kind of guy that made the ideas of genocide happen. Not a face you’d recognise unless you knew this story already. This is the true face of a monster, capable of coldly executing these hideous plans.
Thankfully Reinhard’s arrogance cost him his life, he had a habit of driving around Czechoslovakia without an armed escort in an open topped car, assuming everyone was too terrified of him to attempt anything.
This proved to be a flawed assumption, as he was attacked by two partisan assassins and wounded by a bomb. He appeared to make a recovery and survived for about a week before suddenly dropping dead. Some speculate that Himmler took advantage of the situation and used the opportunity to kill him as he was becoming a threat, though there is no concrete evidence to suggest this.
Given his crimes, some would say he got off very lightly by being assassinated, never having to face justice for his crimes. It’s doubtful he ever would have surrendered though, by all accounts he was a zealous Nazi.
Not many people know about Reinhard, but they should. One of the main operations of extermination in Eastern Europe was in fact named after him. His Einzatsgruppen units killed an estimated 2 million people out in the field, and the stories of how efficient they became at slaughtering people are too grim to share here.
The demagogues and despots always need men to put their ideas into action. Reinhard was one of the most important men to the Nazi’s insane crimes, yet he has been forgotten instead of rightly reviled.
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