Seven heroes made their last stand right here at Pamatnik. The National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror stands as a solemn reminder. It commemorates the brave paratroopers involved in the assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich in 1942. This memorial is fittingly located in the Orthodox Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius. The church is in Prague’s New Town.
The Pamatnik exhibition sensitively describes Czechoslovakia’s situation. It covers the time before and during World War II. The exhibition focuses on Operation Anthropoid. This operation was the assassination of Heydrich by Czech foreign resistance members. We learn what preceded the event and its consequences.
Most tragic was the slaughter of Lidice inhabitants by the Nazis. They razed the village. The link between the villagers and the assassination was a pretext. It was based on unfounded suspicions.
The Pamatnik exhibition has two parts. The first part is a room. It contains texts and numerous photographs. Display cases hold items preserved from the fateful event. The exhibition considers the period from the Munich Agreement to the German occupation. It covers Heydrich’s arrival and his attempts to humiliate the Czech nation. It describes the build-up to his killing. The assassination and subsequent events form part of the exhibition. Accounts of people involved in the event make this information powerful. Many were executed for aiding the parachutists.
The second part of the Pamatnik exhibition is the church crypt. It leaves a powerful impression. The paratroopers hid there after the assassination. They were found after betrayal. All of them died heroes’ deaths. A modern door to the crypt marks a symbolic boundary. For anyone involved in the assassination, passing through the door signified a conscious and irreversible decision. It meant traversing the border from safety to mortal danger.
After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, seven Czechoslovak soldiers hid in the crypt of St Cyril and St Methodius. Jan Kubiš and Josef Gabčík were among the seven men. The period after the assassination was called “Heydrich’s terror”. The museum and memorial in the crypt preserve the memory of seven Czechoslovak paratroopers. They bravely fought against the vastly outnumbered German Nazi forces. This happened on June 18, 1942.
The Military Historical Institute Prague installed the contemporary exhibition in 2022. The exhibition follows the main historical events. It goes from the Munich Agreement in 1938 to the battle in the Cathedral and Crypt in June 1942. Visitors can follow the history of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. They can see Heydrich’s transport, special training of Czechoslovak soldiers in Scotland and families of resistance fighters. The exhibition also covers the Sokol, the Orthodox Church, all helpers and the history of Lidice. The Nazis burnt down Lidice on June 10, 1942. The exhibition is in Czech and English. It is supplemented by contemporary exhibits and audiovisual material.
The crypt itself is a place of worship. The whole exposition ends there. It is decorated with seven busts of all seven paratroopers. Their biographies are included. The sculptor Milan Benda made them.
Jaroslav and Eva Šuvarský established the National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror in 1995. The museum was built as a new space next to the original underground cellar. The new hall has been connected with the crypt since the reconstruction was completed in 1995. In 2017, the Military Historical Institute Prague took over the memorial’s management.
The paratroopers hid in the church’s crypt for three weeks after the killing. Czech traitor Karel Čurda betrayed their hiding place. The Germans besieged the church. First, they tried to smoke the paratroopers out. Then, they flooded the crypt with fire hoses. Three paratroopers were killed in the ensuing fight. The other four took their own lives rather than surrender to the Germans.
In the crypt, you can still see bullet marks and shrapnel scars on the walls. You can also see signs of the paratroopers’ last desperate efforts. They tried to dig an escape tunnel to the sewer under the street. On the Resslova side of the church, the narrow gap in the wall of the crypt is still visible. This is where the Germans inserted their fire hoses. It is pitted with bullet marks. The Pamatnik is a reminder of their courage. It shows the cost of freedom.