On the trail of Prague’s heroes and monsters
Chris Tarrant heads for Prague on the trail of wartime...
The upcoming blockbuster Anthropoid is something I have waited years for as it tells the story of the assassination of one of Hitler’s top henchmen in World War II. The event took place in Prague and the movie was filmed there. The Czech capital is an amazing city, with stunning architecture. Despite its reputation as a location for stag weekends, it somehow maintains an air of elegance. But in that grandeur and history there is also darkness. Some, like me, find it intriguing and some would rather it were forgotten. Prague is the site of one of the most audacious acts of bravery of World War II.
So when I heard that my friend, the Liverpudlian funnyman John Martin, had written a book about Operation Anthropoid, I was enthralled. I still find it incredible that a comedian can diversify and write a book on a very serious subject.
It is called The Mirror Caught The Sun – a spellbinding account of Operation Anthropoid, the codename for the mission to assassinate the hated and ruthless Reinhard Heydrich. The Nazi official, known as the ‘Blond Beast’, was one of the architects of the Holocaust. Heydrich’s death led to extraordinary reprisals against the Czech population. The locations of some of these atrocities are scattered around Prague.
John, who appears in the movie as an extra and on the credits as ‘Man at Assassination’, organises tours to see the important sights connected to Anthropoid.
He said he was going to do some preparatory work for his next tour and asked if I would like to join him for the day. Would I? I didn’t have to go 50-50 or ask the audience – but I am glad I rang my friend! ‘Just try to stop me,’ I said – and that was my final answer!
We flew out the next morning, meeting the third member of this trip, BBC sports journalist Garry Richardson. Like me, Garry was gripped by the story.
At Prague’s Vaclav Havel Airport we were met by Frantisek Veis, a former colonel in the Czech Parachute Regiment. Colonel Veis, in full uniform and saluting our arrival, has become one of John’s closest confidants in Prague.
He was a young boy at the time of the Heydrich assassination. Later, during the communist regime, he was imprisoned for 12 years for ‘preparing to be a spy’ – he had simply gone to ask for a visa to leave the country. What tragic times they must have been.
Colonel Veis was delightful company and acts as translator for John’s tour groups. The tours usually take three full days, following the events of Anthropoid as closely as possible in chronological order. However, our trip was condensed into just one day.
Our first stop, nearest the airport, was the site of former village of Lidice. As a reprisal for the attack on Heydrich, it was completely destroyed. All men over the age of 15 were shot and the women and children were taken away. Today it is a memorial. Among the statues is one dedicated to the children from this village. Next, in eerie contrast to the deserted landscape of Lidice, we entered what is still a school gymnasium, just as it was in June 1942 when the Gestapo used it to imprison the women and children of Lidice while they decided their fate. After three days and nights, the children were dragged away.
DARK HISTORY: The Prague skyline, top, and actor Jamie Dornan, right, who stars in the forthcoming film Anthropoid
The lump in my throat was still present as John took us outside to where another memorial statue. This one is of a mother holding two children and yet the outline of the children is concave, giving the impression that they have gone.
Most of the children from Lidice lost their lives at Chelmno concentration camp, while their mothers were taken to the Ravensbruck camp.
The stories of the loss of life as retaliation for Heydrich’s killing continued as we moved on to the Kobylisy execution ground. Again, there are emotive memorials, one simply a stone with the names, ages, dates and even the time of day that people were brought here and shot. By comparison, the site of the actual attack on Heydrich was almost light relief. As his chauffeur-driven Mercedes slowed to take a sharp bend, the car and its occupants were sprung upon by two assassins.
John explained that the actual bend has changed considerably since 1942. However, he showed us period photographs that enabled us to piece it all together. Slightly guiltily, we drove to the Hotel Duo for lunch. John uses it as a base for his tours as it is convenient for many of the sites.
We had a delightful meal of beef goulash with bread dumplings, and then travelled north to the small village of Panenske Brezany. This is where the Heydrich family were living at the time. John showed us the gates Heydrich had been driven through on the fateful day. He then told us we would be allowed to enter the locked-up villa of Heydrich, which is never
open to the public. We observed that it unused, except as a vast decaying storeroom for a factory.
It is full of old filing cabinets and heaven knows what else. However, it was incredible to walk up the marble staircase that Heydrich had used and to see the once-magnificent main drawing room.
The Czechs are not sure what to do with this building. It has sinister connections to the Nazis and while the talk is of turning it into a museum, it’s more like a mausoleum.
We then headed back to Prague, where our next stop was the Petschek Palace, used in 1942 as the local headquarters of the Gestapo. Some of the rooms were used as locations for the new movie. Again, it is not open to the public but John’s connections got us inside and we were able to see the cells the Gestapo had used.
We moved on to SS Cyril and St Methodius cathedral church. It was here that seven Czech paratroopers, including the men who had killed Heydrich, were discovered hiding: four of them in the crypt beneath the church. This has become a national memorial to the victims of the reprisals. One of the main scenes in the new movie features the action that took place here, and the church was used for exterior shots.
Every year, on June 18, a memorial service is held here but Czechs place flowers at this revered place all year round.
The dean (another friend of John’s) gave us a tour. The church is not open to the public unless a service is taking place. However, the crypt is accessible and is a popular and poignant place.
Standing between its silent walls, I felt as though I could feel the desperate last stand of the paratroopers as they fought off the Nazi stormtroopers. The Nazis tried various unsuccessful ways to get into the crypt. Eventually, after several hours of fighting, there was a lull. Then just four single shots rang out: the four paratroopers had taken their own lives using their last bullets.
We then stopped at Hradcany Castle, where Heydrich’s body had lain in state, and we had coffee while overlooking the whole of the city as the sun began to set.
It was a fitting and sober end to an emotional but thrilling day. See the new movie and then visit the places. This is a true story and one that we should all know.