Jozef Gabčík (8 April 1912 – 18 June 1942) was a
SlovakThe Slovaks are a western Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language....
soldier involved in
Operation AnthropoidOperation Anthropoid was the code name for the assassination of top German SS leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was the chief of the Reich Main Security Office , the acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, and a chief planner of the Final Solution, the Nazi German programme for the genocide of the Jews...
, the assassination of
Reinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was an SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
(one of the most important men in Nazi Germany).
Gabčík was born in Palosnya in the
Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary , emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896, was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from Monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946, ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary...
,
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
(today Poluvsie, part of
Rajecké TepliceRajecké Teplice is a town in the , Žilina Region in northern Slovakia.-History of the spa:Located between the Lúčanská Malá Fatra and Martinské hole Hills at the valley of the Rajčanka river, the spa is marked as Thermae on a map from 1376, but a deed by Luis the Great gives the first written...
,
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
. He became a
paratrooperParatroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
of
rotmistr (approx. UK
Staff SergeantStaff Sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
) rank. At the end of 1941, he and
Jan KubišJan Kubiš was a Czech soldier, one of a team of Czechoslovak British-trained agents sent to assassinate one of the most important Nazis, Reinhard Heydrich, in 1942 as part of Operation Anthropoid.- Biography :...
secretly landed in the
Protectorate of Bohemia and MoraviaThe Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic...
to plan the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, which they carried out on May 27, 1942.
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Jozef Gabčík (8 April 1912 – 18 June 1942) was a
SlovakThe Slovaks are a western Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language....
soldier involved in
Operation AnthropoidOperation Anthropoid was the code name for the assassination of top German SS leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was the chief of the Reich Main Security Office , the acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, and a chief planner of the Final Solution, the Nazi German programme for the genocide of the Jews...
, the assassination of
Reinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was an SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
(one of the most important men in Nazi Germany).
Gabčík was born in Palosnya in the
Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary , emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896, was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from Monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946, ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary...
,
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
(today Poluvsie, part of
Rajecké TepliceRajecké Teplice is a town in the , Žilina Region in northern Slovakia.-History of the spa:Located between the Lúčanská Malá Fatra and Martinské hole Hills at the valley of the Rajčanka river, the spa is marked as Thermae on a map from 1376, but a deed by Luis the Great gives the first written...
,
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
. He became a
paratrooperParatroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
of
rotmistr (approx. UK
Staff SergeantStaff Sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
) rank. At the end of 1941, he and
Jan KubišJan Kubiš was a Czech soldier, one of a team of Czechoslovak British-trained agents sent to assassinate one of the most important Nazis, Reinhard Heydrich, in 1942 as part of Operation Anthropoid.- Biography :...
secretly landed in the
Protectorate of Bohemia and MoraviaThe Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic...
to plan the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, which they carried out on May 27, 1942. Heydrich was wounded but survived and at that time his injuries were not considered fatal. He was rushed into the hospital, where it was later revealed that he was suffering from
blood poisoningSepsis is a serious medical condition that is characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state and the presence of a known or suspected infection.
and succumbed several days later. The Nazi officials in the Protectorate carried out an extensive search for the two men in the subsequent days. Eventually, they found them together with other paratroopers in an Orthodox Church in PraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" , "city of a hundred spires", or Stověžatá Praha in Czech and "the golden city" or Zlaté město in Czech.Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the...
. However, after a six hour battle, in which the Germans lost at least 14 killed and 21 wounded, Gabčík and the others, with the exception of Kubiš who was seriously wounded by a grenade, committed suicide before the Nazis could reach them in the Church catacombs. Kubiš was wounded in the battle and died shortly after arrival at the hospital.
The village of GabčíkovoGabčíkovo is a municipality in Slovakia. It has around 5,100 inhabitants.Near to the village is the main part of Gabčíkovo Waterworks, which are the reason of a long-term dispute between Hungaria and Slovak republic....
in southern Slovakia is named after him, and one of the biggest damsGabčíkovo - Nagymaros Dams is a large barrage project on river Danube. It was initiated by Budapest Treaty on September 16 1977 between Czechoslovakia and Hungary...
on the DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
next to the village is named after the village. Jozef Gabčík also gave name to the "5th special forces regiment of Jozef Gabčík" of the Slovak Army-Ground Forces HQ:In Trenčín * Air Defence Battery in Martin * 11th Mechanized Battalion "Jana Francisciho" in Martin equipped with BVP-2* Engineer Company in Michalovce* Recon Company in Prešov...
, based in ŽilinaŽilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of around 85,000, an important industrial centre, the largest city on the Váh river, and the seat of a kraj and of an okres .-History:The area around...
.
With the aim to commemorate the heroes of the Czech and Slovak Resistance, the Slovak National MuseumThe Slovak National Museum is the most important institution focusing on scientific research and cultural education in the field of museological activity in Slovakia...
in May 2007 opened an exhibition presenting one of the most important resistance actions in the whole Nazi-occupied Europe.
See also
- Adolf Opálka
First Lieutenant Adolf Opálka was a Czechoslovak soldier. He was a member of the Czech sabotage group Out Distance, a World War II anti-Nazi resistance group, and a participant in Operation Anthropoid, the successful mission to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich.Opálka was born into a middle-class...
- Czech resistance to Nazi occupation
Czech resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II is a scarcely documented subject, by and large a result of little formal resistance and an effective German policy that deterred acts of resistance or annihilated organizations of resistance...
- Operation Anthropoid
Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the assassination of top German SS leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was the chief of the Reich Main Security Office , the acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, and a chief planner of the Final Solution, the Nazi German programme for the genocide of the Jews...
- Slovak National Uprising
The Slovak National Uprising or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29, 1944 from Banská Bystrica in an attempt to oust the collaborationist government of Jozef Tiso...
External links