Josef Valčík (; 2 November 1914 – 18 June 1942) was a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

British-trained soldier and member of the Resistance in German-occupied Czechoslovakia who took part in the firefight during the aftermath of the assassination 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 (inc ...

Jozef Gabčík Jozef Gabčík (; 8 April 1912 – 18 June 1942) was a Slovak soldier in the Czechoslovak Army involved in the Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of acting ''Reichsprotektor'' (Imperial-Protector) of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, ...

and

Jan Kubiš Jan Kubiš (24 June 1913 – 18 June 1942) was a Czech soldier, one of a team of Czechoslovak British-trained paratroopers sent to eliminate acting Reichsprotektor (Realm-Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia, SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heyd ...

, code named

Operation Anthropoid On 27 May 1942 in Prague, Reinhard Heydrichthe commander of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), acting governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and a principal architect of the Holocaustwas attacked and wounded in an assassinatio ...

Operation Anthropoid

SS-''

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

'' Heydrich, a high-ranking German

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

official, was chief of the

Reich Security Main Office The Reich Security Main Office (german: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and '' Reichsführer-SS'', the head of the Nazi ...

and one of the main architects of the

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; ...

. He was also ''Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor'' 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 1942. The Germans were unable to locate the attackers until

Karel Čurda Karel Čurda (10 October 1911 in Stará Hlína, today part of Třeboň – 29 April 1947 in Prague) was a Czech Nazi collaborator during World War II. Wartime activities A soldier of the Czechoslovak army in exile, Čurda was parachuted into t ...

of the "

Out Distance Out Distance was 7th a Czech resistance group during World War II sent by Special Group D of the MoD of Czechoslovak government in exile in London, operating in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (part of occupied Czechoslovakia). File:O ...

" sabotage group turned himself in to the Gestapo and gave them the names of the team's local contacts for the reward of one million

Reichsmarks The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reichs ...

. Valčík and the others died after a six-hour firefight with Waffen-SS troops and German police in the

Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral The Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Nové Město, Prague, the Czech Republic, is the principal Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church. History Early history According to oral tradition, the site where Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral sta ...

Family

14 members of Valčík's family were arrested, brought to

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 further subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germany ...

and executed. *Parents Jan Valčík (1880-1942) and Veronika Valčík (1888-1942) *Brother Antonín Valčík (1919-1942) and sister Ludmila Valčíková (1923-1942) *Sister Terezia Beňová (1912-1942) with husband Jan Beňa (1908-1942) *Sister Marii Kolaříková (1917-1942) with husband Josef Kolařík (1914-1942) *Sister Františku Sívková (1911-1942) with husband František Sívek (1910-1942) *Brother Aloise Valčík (1908-1942) with wife Anna Valčíková (1907-1942) *Brother Emil Valčík (1909-1942) with wife Anna Valčíková (1911-1942)

Honours

*1942 –

–

Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945 The Czechoslovak War Cross 1939 (''Československý válečný kříž 1939'' in Czech, ''Československý vojnový kríž 1939'' in Slovak) is a military decoration of the former state of Czechoslovakia which was issued for those who had provide ...

*1942 – – Second

'' in memoriam'' *1944 – TCH CS voj pametni medaile (F-VB) BAR

– Commemorative Medal of the Czechoslovak Army Abroad with France and Great Britain Bars *1945 – – Third

''in memoriam'' *1949 – Czechoslovak_Military_Order_for_Liberty_Rib_copy

– Czechoslovak Military Order for Freedom, Gold Star *1968 – Order of the Red Banner (CSSR) Rib

– Order of the Red Banner *2010 – CZE State Defence Cross

– Cross of Merit of the State Defense

References

1914 births 1942 deaths Czech resistance members Czechoslovak military personnel of World War II Czechoslovak military personnel killed in World War II Czechoslovak soldiers Operation Anthropoid People from Valašské Klobouky People killed by Nazi Germany Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross {{CzechRepublic-mil-bio-stub

Operation Anthropoid

Family

Honours

See also

References