WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Undetected: Operation Anthropoid.

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

Megan and Alessia dive into the story of Operation Anthropoid, two commandos' plot to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich.

A car was fast approaching. A man crouched behind a large bush alongside the road. Spring was becoming summer just outside the beautiful Czech city of Prague. Such beauty had been marred by the horrors of war, though. The man's hands tensed around his gun. The moment of truth was coming. What he was about to do would either end with him dead along the side of the road or one of the most evil men in history dead.

Although he supposed both could be true. Either way, he was probably experiencing the final moments of his life. The car rounded the bend and came to a stop. The street was frozen in complete silence. Then the man took a deep breath. He stepped in front of the car and raised his gun. Welcome to Undetected on Radio Free Hillsdale. Go undercover with your hosts, Alessia Sandala and Megan Lee,

as they uncover the stories of spies from every country and time. The most thrilling, yet the most secret of lives in history. Welcome back to Undetected. I'm Megan. And I'm Alessia. This week, Megan and I will be diving. into the story of Operation Anthropoid. Our story begins in Prague, 1941, with SS security chief Reinhardt Heidrich. Hyderk had just arrived in the city to become Reich protector of Bohemia and Moravia. Honestly, the term protector is kind of ironic and not in a good way.

Hydrick's job was to force the checks into submission by any means possible, forcing them to serve the Nazi war machine. During his initial crackdown, Hyderick had over 400 checks executed and thousands more sent to concentration camps. Now that we've set the scene, let's turn to the true subjects of today's show, the commandos behind Operation Anthropoid. Yosef Gapsic was born in a small town in what is now Slovakia in 1912. Angry over the German invasion of his country, he sabotaged a military depot when the German army confiscated it. He escaped to Poland and joined a Czech unit in the Polish service, but was soon transferred to France.

When Germany invaded France in 1940, Gapsic was part of the desperate attempt to stop the German advance. After the French surrendered, he was evacuated to England and trained as a paratrooper. During this time, London and the exile Czech government cooked up a plan to parachute commandos into Czechoslovakia with the mission of assassinating Reinhardt Heidrich himself. For fear of extreme reprisals, the planners were looking for men who would appear to be local Czech patriots without a detailed plan. Gapsic was perfect for the role, but he needed a partner. His original partner suffered a training injury, so he was replaced by a man with a very, similar background as Gapsic. Jan Kubis. Kubis was born in 1913 in a small village that is now part of

modern-day Chexia. Both Gapsing and Kubis were trained by the SOE and fully prepared for the danger their mission would entail. On December 28, 1941, the men were flown from England to Czechoslovakia, where they were parachuted to their drop zone. Things began to go wrong when Gapsic injured his foot in the landing. The pair struggled to evade police during the night and eventually found a place to lay low until Czech resistance members found them. With the help of a resistance leader, they arrived in Prague. They continued to work with the resistance to learn Hydric's every move. They met with the other commandos and placed informants everywhere, including Hydrick's castle. It was revealed that Hyderick believed he had wiped out all resistance, meaning he had incredibly slack security. Gapsic and Kubis

also found out that Hydrick often rode in an open car. It was the perfect opportunity. Concerns about reprisals grew from resistance leaders, and they urged London to call off the assassination attempt. London, however, determined killing Hydric was worth any reprisals and instructed the commandos to continue with their mission. After confirming Hydrick's route for the morning of May 27th, Gabsik and Kubis ambushed Hyderick. Gapsic's stend gun jammed right as he was about to open fire on Hydrick. Kubus then threw a bomb into the vehicle which injured Hydrick, but not before Hyderick returned fire with his pistol. Gapsic attempted to escape on foot while Kubis rode his bike.

After more than a year of training and planning, Hyderick was still alive. The commandos hid in the catacombs of an Orthodox church. On June 4th, Hyderick succumbed to his wounds. Hitler was furious and ordered 10,000 checks to be held as hostages. In one town, 200 men were killed. On June 13th, the Germans promised amnesty to whoever gave up the assassins. On the 16th, a commando named Carol Curta decided he wanted amnesty for himself and his family, as well as a large sum of money.

He gave up the name of a Czech woman who worked for the resistance. She, however, killed herself prior to being interrogated. But our commando friends weren't out of the woods yet. The woman had a son who worked as a courier for the commandos. He was tortured and eventually gave up Gab Sick and Kubis's location. The church was quickly surrounded. The church was stormed and an intense firefight began. The Czech resistance members and commandos killed as many Germans as they could

before using their final shot on themselves to escape capture and torture. While Operation Anthropoid was technically a success, thousands of Czechs were executed or sent to concentration camps for the death of a single man. The resistance in Czechoslovakia was also nearly destroyed, yet our commandos gave their lives for what they believed, would help free the world from Hitler's grasp. I'm Megan. And I'm Alessia. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Undetected. Tune in next week for the story of the world's most famous female spy, Matahari, on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7, FDepard. FM.