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Dramatic portrayals of Reinhard Heydrich number among the more numerous of any
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
figure, comparable to Adolf Hitler as well as
war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...
s depicting Erwin Rommel.
Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
has been portrayed in both television and film, and was one of the few high ranking Nazis to be depicted in a dramatic film while the Second World War was still ongoing.


Film and television

The first known portrayal of
Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
was in the 1943 Hollywood film ''
Hangmen Also Die! ''Hangmen Also Die!'' is a 1943 noir war film directed by the Austrian director Fritz Lang and written by John Wexley from a story by Bertolt Brecht (credited as Bert Brecht) and Lang. The film stars Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Brian Donlevy, W ...
'', in which Heydrich was played by
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski Hans Heinrich von Twardowski (5 May 1898 – 19 November 1958) was a German film actor. Career in Germany Twardowski was born in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin in Poland). He made his first film appearance in the 1920 Robert Wiene-directed horr ...
. The same year, he was the subject of the feature ''
Hitler's Madman ''Hitler's Madman'' is a 1943 World War II drama directed by Douglas Sirk. It is a highly fictionalized account of the 1942 Operation Anthropoid, assassination of Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich and the resulting Lidice massacre, which the Nazi G ...
'', starring
John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...
. Further works produced during World War II were ''
The Hitler Gang ''The Hitler Gang'' is a 1944 American pseudo-documentary film directed by John Farrow, which traces the political rise of Adolf Hitler. Described as a "documentary-propaganda" film by its studio, Paramount Pictures, the historical drama is based ...
'', with Peter Pohlenz portraying Heydrich, and ''
Air Raid Wardens ''Air Raid Wardens'' is a 1943 comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was the first of two feature films the duo made at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Plot Set during World War II, just after Pearl Harbor, Stan (Stan L ...
'' in which he was played by
Don Costello Eldon Lawrence "Don" Costello (September 5, 1901 – October 24, 1945) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. Background Costello was born in New Orleans on September 5, 1901. He was the son of James J. Costello and Mary E. Cos ...
. Later, on US television, Heydrich was portrayed by Alvin Epstein in a 1960 episode of the series ''
Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The U.S. Steel Hour''. It fi ...
'', entitled "Engineer of Death: The Eichmann Story"; and by
Kurt Kreuger Kurt Kreuger (July 23, 1916 – July 12, 2006) was a Swiss-reared German actor. Kreuger once was the third-most-requested male actor at 20th Century Fox. He starred with, among others, Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. Life and career Kreuger w ...
in a two-part episode of ''
GE True ''GE True'' (also known as ''General Electric True'') is a 33-episode, American anthology series sponsored by General Electric. Telecast on CBS, the series presented stories previously published in ''True'' magazine. Articles from the magazine ...
'' in 1963. Heydrich was portrayed by
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Oth ...
in the 1978 miniseries ''
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
''. Warner would again play the character in the 1980s television production '' Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil''. Warner's performance was rated as "cunning and chilling", with the ''Holocaust'' miniseries receiving several television awards. Within West German productions, Heydrich was portrayed by
Martin Held Martin Held (1908–1992) was a German television and film actor. Partial filmography * '' Dark Eyes'' (1951) - Alexander Grabner * ''Homesick for You'' (1952) - Direktor Petermann * '' Canaris Master Spy'' (1954) - Obergruppenfuehrer Heydrich ...
in the 1954 film '' Canaris'' (renamed ''Deadly Decision'' in the US).
Malte Petzel Malte is a male given name that is mainly used in Denmark, Sweden and Germany, which is from Old Danish ''Malti''. It originated from ''Helmhold / Helmwald'' ("helmet-govern") or from former Low German and Old Danish short form of Old German names ...
played Heydrich in the 1963 television miniseries ''Das Kriminalgericht'' and again in the 1966 telemovie ''Der Fall der Generale''. Heydrich was also played by
Siegfried Loyda Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...
in the 1964 film ''
Atentát ''Atentát'' (English title: ''The Assassination'') is a 1964 black-and-white Czechoslovak war film directed by Jiří Sequens. The World War II story depicts events before and after the assassination of top German leader Reinhard Heydrich in Pr ...
''; and by
Martin Benrath Martin Benrath (9 November 1926 – 31 January 2000) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1954 and 2000. Partial filmography * ' (1954), as Michael Godeysen * '' The Angel with the Flaming Sword'' (1954), as J ...
in the 1967 telemovie, ''Heydrich in Prag''. Anton Diffring portrayed Heydrich in the 1965 television series ''
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
'' (in the episode titled "Geld, Geld, Geld"). Diffring portrayed Heydrich again a decade later, in ''
Operation Daybreak ''Operation Daybreak'' (also known as ''The Price of Freedom'' in the U.S. and ''Seven Men at Daybreak'' during production) is a 1975 war film based on the true story of Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of SS general Reinhard Heydrich in ...
'', a US film focused on the assassination of Heydrich in Prague and filmed on location in Czechoslovakia. It is adapted from the book ''Seven Men at Daybreak'' by
Alan Burgess Alan Burgess (1 February 1915 – 10 April 1998) was an English Royal Air Force pilot and author who wrote several biographical and non-fiction books between the 1950s and the 1970s. He wrote biographies of Gladys Aylward, and Flora Sandes, and ...
. ''Atentát'' and ''Operation Daybreak'' set the standard for the procedural-style rundown of the assassination itself, which the mainstream of later films follow. Heydrich appeared as a character in the 1977 West German television production ''Manager des Terrors'' (1977) where he was portrayed by
Dietrich Mattausch Dietrich Mattausch is a German stage, film and television actor. Life and career Dietrich Mattausch was born on April 26, 1940, in Leitmeritz, Sudetenland (now Litoměřice, Czech Republic). He is a stage, film and television actor best known ...
. Mattausch's performance was viewed as "cold and stunning", and he reprised the role of Heydrich in the acclaimed 1984 West German telemovie '' The Wannsee Conference''. ''The Wannsee Conference'' would inspire the remake ''
Conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...
'' (2001), with Irish actor
Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...
, whose performance was described as a "chilling portrayal" of Heydrich. Within
Czechoslovak cinema Czech cinema is the name for cinematography of Czech Republic, as well as the Czech cinematography while it was a part of other countries. ''The Fabulous World of Jules Verne'' is considered the most internationally successful Czech film ever ma ...
, Heydrich appeared in the 1974 war film '' Sokolovo'', portrayed by
Hannjo Hasse Hannjo Hasse (31 August 1921 – 5 February 1983) was an East German actor. Biography Hasse began studying acting in 1938, and attended Lily Ackermann's Institute for Stage Artists' Education in Berlin. At 1941, he was drafted for the Labour Ser ...
, an East German actor who often represented Nazi villains in East European
war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...
s. The character of Heydrich is further frequently mentioned in Czechoslovak movies dealing with the topic of the Nazi reprisals which followed Heydrich's assassination as well as his role in enforcing Nazi directives in the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; cs, Protektorát Čechy a Morava; its territory was called by the Nazis ("the rest of Czechia"). was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany established on 16 March 1939 following the German oc ...
. In 2009, the character of Heydrich briefly appeared, played by Ondřej Matějka as a non-speaking extra, in the
Czech Lion Awards The Czech Lion Awards ( cs, Český lev) are annual awards that recognize accomplishments in filmmaking and television. It is the highest award of achievement in film awarded in the Czech Republic. The jury is composed of members of the Czech Fi ...
-winning Czech drama film '' Protektor'', where the main character (a radio commentator/Nazi-collaborator) describes him as "tall figure hoattracts attention like a magnet". This movie also features a minimalist representation of Heydrich's assassination which is not seen, only heard in the background. In 2011, the extensive Czech television series (44 episodes) named ''Heydrich — konečné řešení'' (''Heydrich — Final solution'') used historical footage of Reinhard Heydrich combined with reenactment scenes in which he was portrayed by an uncredited actor. In 2011, Czech director Petr Nikolaev finished his drama film ''
Lidice Lidice (, german: Liditz) is a municipality and village in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Lidice is built near the site of the previous village of the same name, which was co ...
'', with Heydrich portrayed by German actor Detlef Bothe. Bothe had portrayed Heydrich before – he appeared briefly in two episodes of the BBC documentary series ''Auschwitz: The Nazis and the 'Final Solution'' (2005). He played Heydrich for the third time in the 2016 British-Czech-French thriller ''
Anthropoid Anthropoid means 'ape/human feature' and may refer to: * Simian, monkeys and apes (anthropoids, or suborder Anthropoidea, in earlier classifications) *Anthropoid apes - apes that are closely related to humans (e.g., former family Pongidae and some ...
''. Bothe has been described as a "dead ringer" of Heydrich. The following year saw the release of the war thriller film '' The Man with the Iron Heart'' based on
Laurent Binet Laurent Binet (born 19 July 1972) is a French writer and university lecturer. His work focuses on the modern political scene in France. Biography The son of a historian,Valérie Trierweiler, October 18, 2010"Laurent Binet, retour sur un succès" ...
's novel '' HHhH'' ('' The Man with the Iron Heart'' is the name of another novel about Heydrich), with Heydrich portrayed by Australian actor
Jason Clarke Jason Clarke (born 17 July 1969) is an Australian actor. He has appeared in many TV series, and is known for playing Tommy Caffee on the television series '' Brotherhood''. He has also appeared in many films, often as an antagonist. His film r ...
. In the 2015
Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
streaming television series ''The Man in the High Castle'', an alternate history drama based on the
Philip K Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...
novel of the same name, Heydrich is portrayed by American actor Ray Proscia. In this story, the Axis forces were victorious and have occupied the former United States. By 1962, Heydrich has reached the age of 58 and risen to the rank of
SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer ''SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer'' () was (from 1942 to 1945) the highest commissioned rank in the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS), with the exception of '' Reichsführer-SS'', which became a commissioned rank when held by SS commander Heinrich Himmler. Th ...
.


Novels

In
Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...
's alternative history novel '' The Man with the Iron Heart'' (2008), Heydrich survives the 1942 assassination attempt in
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
by partisans and later goes on to lead an insurgent movement against the
Allied occupation of Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...
. In Robert Harris' alternative history novel ''
Fatherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...
'' (1992), it is 1964, the United Kingdom surrendered to Nazi Germany twenty years earlier and the Nazis are trying to negotiate peace with the United States, which is supporting a severely-reduced Soviet Union as it continues to fight against Nazi forces; Heydrich survived the 1942 assassination attempt in Czechoslovakia, is head of the SS after
Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
was killed in an aircraft crash, and is covering up the
Final Solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
by having all attendees of the Wannsee conference murdered. In Philip K. Dick's alternative history novel ''
The Man in the High Castle ''The Man in the High Castle'' (1962), by Philip K. Dick, is an alternative history novel wherein the Axis Powers won World War II. The story occurs in 1962, fifteen years after the end of the war in 1947, and depicts the political intrigues b ...
'' (1962), the Axis Powers have won the Second World War, America has been conquered and carved up between the Greater Germanic Reich and
Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
, Hitler has been removed from office because of his syphilis and Heydrich is one of the Nazis vying to succeed Hitler as the
Führer of Germany ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader princip ...
. In
Eric Norden ''The Ultimate Solution'' is a 1973 alternate history novel by journalist and former ''Playboy'' interviewer Eric Norden, set in a world where the Axis forces won World War II and partitioned the world between them. The novel is noted for its ...
's 1973 ''
The Ultimate Solution ''The Ultimate Solution'' is a 1973 alternate history novel by journalist and former ''Playboy'' interviewer Eric Norden, set in a world where the Axis forces won World War II and partitioned the world between them. The novel is noted for its ...
'' the Axis Powers have won the Second World War and carved up the world between themselves; Hitler has been removed from office after going mad and has been placed in a
lunatic asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatr ...
; Germany and Japan are in the middle of a Cold War and both have nuclear weapons; Heydrich leads a successful Coup d'etat overthrowing Albert Speer and starts
World War III World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at ...
against Japan.


Other media

The story of the 1942 assassination was narrated in a short Czech comic book titled ''Atentát'' ("The Assassination"), created in 1976 by brothers
Jan Saudek Jan Saudek (born 13 May 1935) is an art photographer and painter. Jan Saudek's art work represents a unique technique combining photography and painting. In his country of origin, Czechoslovakia, Jan was considered a disturbed artist and oppres ...
and Kája Saudek. It was published in 1976 in the Polish comic book magazine ''Relax'', as "Zamach" ("The Assassination"). A fictional iteration of Reinhard Heydrich is one of the chief characters in Takashi Masada's popular
visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
video game '' Dies irae''.


References

{{reflist Nazis in fiction