Reinhard Heydrich: Holocaust Horror Quiz

Answer: The Blond Beast

'The Blond Beast' was indeed a man who instilled fear into many civilians and other Nazi party members, for that matter. This young and successful Nazi was also nicknamed 'Hangman Heydrich'. Behind these alliterative nicknames lay a man who was emotionless and misanthropic; the perfect combination for an official about to embark upon the ultimate journey of horror - the holocaust.

Answer: Violin

Reinhard's father was known for his opera singing, in particular Wagnerian opera. His authoritarian mother was accomplished on the piano but played a part in the sullenness of Reinhard in his youth. Heydrich received regular beatings at the hands of his mother and became resentful.

He was also bullied at school for his high-pitched voice and was further bullied whilst in the German Navy. Heydrich was an accomplished violinist and sought pleasure from the instrument throughout his life.

Answer: That he had Jewish ancestry

Reinhard already had trouble with this rumour at school. The rumour that he had Jewish ancestry made the future mass murderer withdrawn. This rumour resurfaced when he was in the SS and the news reached Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Hitler. Heydrich said the story was malicious gossip. Hitler and Himmler decided to keep him. To them, he was indispensable.

Answer: SD

The SD (Sicherheitsdienst) was in effect a Nazi security service. It was through Heydrich's department that political subversives and threats to the Nazi state were identified and eliminated. This could mean being sent to a concentration camps or the death penalty, though often these punishments were one and the same.

The DAF was the German Labour Front which was, on the surface, a sort of government-run trade union headed by Robert Ley. Its main function were organising leisure activities and it was a way of controlling the work force.

The NSDAP was the name of the Nazi party, and HJ stands for Hitlerjugend or the Hitler Youth Movement.

Answer: Arbeit macht frei

'Arbeit macht frei', the phrase that adorned the gates to Dachau, literally means 'work sets [you] free'. This would have been one of the first things prisoners would have seen at the concentration camp and would ultimately lead them to believe that if they worked hard they would be released. However, we now of course know that, although some were released, many unfortunately died. After the Auschwitz death camp was established the phrase 'Arbeit macht frei' was also used at the entrance. Most other concentration camps also utilised this slogan.

'Heil Hitler' was the greeting given throughout Germany and the occupied territories. 'Vernichte!' is German for 'destroy!' and Schutzstaffel Totenkopfverbände (SS Death's Head Units) was a division of the SS.

Answer: Heinrich Himmler

The SS (Schutzstaffel) was a Nazi military organisation that is most infamous for its contributions to the liquidation of the 'undesirables'. The SS had many divisions and the division that was in charge of the concentration and death camps was called the SS-Totenkopfverbände (Death's Head Units).

Heinrich Himmler was the man in charge of this large and brutally important Nazi organisation. If the SS weren't able to contain anti-Nazis such as political subversives as well as not being able to contain the racially and genetically 'inferior', the Third Reich might not have lasted as long as it did. Heydrich was second-in-command attaining the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer (roughly equivalent to a lieutentant-general). More important than this rank, which he attained in 1941, is that Heydrich consolidated the key branches of Nazi oppression into a single unified machine of terror.

Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele were both lower down in the SS holding the ranks of SS-Obersturmbannführer and SS-Hauptsturmführer respectively. Martin Bormann was at the head of the Party Chancellery and was the private secretary to Adolf Hitler himself.

Answer: Wannsee

With the help of my clue, I hope you managed to get this one right. This conference is probably one of the best known gatherings of pure evil. Many Nazis were present to discuss the solution which would ultimately be the liquidation of most European Jews.

These figures included Obersturmbannführer (corresponds roughly to lieutenant-colonel) Adolf Eichmann who took care of the minutes of the discussion and Reinhard Heydrich himself. Wannsee is located in southwest Berlin in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf.

Answer: Bohemia and Moravia

Reinhard Heydrich replaced Konstantin von Neurath whom Hitler considered to be inept at the job. He implemented the rule of the Gestapo (a policing organisation that was already under his command) in the Czech protectorate. The 'undesirables' including the Jewish community were deported to concentration camps for hard labour and extermination. However, he also had to ensure efficient production at the Czech armaments factories, including the Skoda works.

Heydrich was now a very important Nazi figure with all the titles and decorations to match. So much power and success for such a young man, however, it was all about to end for Heydrich - sooner than expected!

Answer: Jan Kubis and Jozef Gabcik

Jan Kubis and Jozef Gabèík were the assassins of Heydrich as a part of Operation Anthropoid - undertaken by the the Free Czechoslovak Army with assistance from Britain. Heydrich didn't die directly due to the explosion caused by these two men but from the onset of septicemia caused by the fragments of his car that entered his bloodstream and infected his internal organs.

Jan Kubis and Jozef Gabcik managed to escape capture for a while but were found after being betrayed by a fellow squad member, Karel Curda.

Upon Heydrich's death, an impressive two-part funeral was conducted firstly in Prague and then in Berlin. Hitler described Heydrich as "the man with the iron heart".

Answer: Lidice

On that regrettable day in 1942, Lidice, a Czech village, suffered the loss of hundreds of men, women and children. Those who were initially spared death were sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp and the children to the Lodz ghetto, where they were isolated. Most perished. There exist some truly horrifying pictures of the aftermath of this shocking incident which shows the ground covered with corpses and also show the complete demolition of the village.

The other three options are all areas in Poland, another country hugely affected by the Nazi regime.

I would like to thank all who has played and supported this quiz series in its entirety or in part. I hope it has served its purpose of being a small reminder of the potential evil of humanity and how we must not let such things happen again.