Czechs commemorate Heydrich’s assassins

President Miloš Zeman, Defence Minister Martin Stropnický, and other officials as well as veterans and members of the public have commemorated the British-trained commandos who assassinated high-ranking Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich. Wednesday marks on the 72nd anniversary of their death. Jan Kubiš and Josef Valčík, along with five other soldiers parachuted into Bohemia, took their own lives after having been cornered by Nazi forces in a Prague church, three weeks after the assassination. Speaking at a ceremony held at the church, Defence Minister Martin Stropnický said the Czech Republic owed its existence to heroes like them.

Author: Jan Richter