Reinhard Heydrich Assassination Völkischer Beobachter 1942

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HEYDRICH ASSASSINATION FIRST NEWSPAPER REPORT IN GERMANY

AN ACTUAL EXAMPLE OF
THE FIRST GERMAN
NEWSPAPER REPORT OF
THE ATTEMPT ON THE
LIFE OF THE DEPUTY
REICHSPROTEKTOR OF
BÖHMEN UND MÄHREN,
POLICE GENERAL AND
SS-OBERGRUPPENFÜHRER
REINHARD HEYDRICH

This is an absolutely authentic, original example of the largest daily newspaper in all of Third Reich Germany for Thursday 28 May 1942, containing the first account of the attempted assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. The 17-1/2 x 21 inch illustrated newspaper Völkischer Beobachter consists of four pages of the very latest news. At the bottom of the right hand column on page 1 is the following report as translated from German:

“The Deputy Reichsprotector is hurt

Attack on Heydrich

Prague, 27 May

On Wednesday morning in Prague unknown assailants attacked Deputy Reichsprotector SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich. SS-Obergruppenführer Heydrich was hurt but is not in danger of death. A reward of 10 million Crowns has been offered for the apprehension of the assailants.''

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was the epitome of Nazi bureaucrats. He did his three jobs enthusiastically with vigor and care - all simultaneously and almost perfectly. He took responsibility for the Geheime Staatspolizei or Gestapo, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD or Secret Service) and only Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler and Germany’s 23rd Chancellor Adolf Hitler had more authority in the Greater German Reich.

In mid 1941 the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) was authorized by Winston Churchill to assassinate high ranking German authorities wherever they could be found. Although the British had recognized the Dutch government in exile, they withheld recognition of the democratic Benes government of Czechoslovakia in hopes of requiring President Benes to incite the Czechs in revolt against the German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia.

Many Czech citizens received espionage training in England and were air dropped into their homeland to carry out British plans for sabotage and assassination. Few of them survived. Among those who did survive were Josef Gabcik, Jan Kubis and Josef Valcik, who in late May 1942 successfully exploded a bomb against the open Mercedes-Benz car of Deputy Reichsprotector Reinhard Heydrich as he was being driven to his office in Prague. Heydrich was not badly hurt, but as infection from the explosion took over his condition worsened, and he died in Bulovka Hospital in Prag on 4 June 1942.

While Heydrich’s assassination went on to become much bigger news around the world after he died on 4 June, there was plenty of other big news in this edition of the Völkischer Beobachter.

That news included the chaos in the battle of Karkov (Charkow in German), Waffen-SS General Josef “Sepp” Dietrich on his 50th birthday, the heroic struggle of the Battleship ,,Bismarck’’, Oak Leaves for the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross of General of Cavalry von Mackensen, etc.

This is a very, very rare historic piece of Heydrich and Third Reich ephemera. It has been laminated for permanent preservation. Very good condition. Please read our "ephemera" explanation below.

This May 1942 Völkischer Beobachter newspaper is
**SOLD**.

Other Reinhard Heydrich material offered for sale on this website:

- Genuine oil painting of SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich.

- Framed material related to Reinhard Heydrich's life and untimely death.

- Original September 1941 Heydrich proclamation, death sentences for high treason.

- A stone piece from the church in Prague where Reinhard Heydrich's assassins died.

- Czech commando / British SOE spy material.

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EPHEMERA

The word “ephemera” refers to things that are typically expected to have a rather short life - the daily paper, an auction or advertising poster, and even a Christmas card are good examples of ephemera. The newspaper above was printed over 60 years ago during the Third Reich on poor quality paper with a highly acidic wood pulp content. Through exposure to ordinary air, chemicals in the air began the process of destroying it. The yellowing or browning of old paper is a sure sign of that destruction process.

This newspaper has been very carefully dried and then laminated between two thin layers of plastic material that seal out air born contaminants like sulfur that could destroy the paper it is printed on. It can now be handled, examined, displayed, and even copied and it should still last for hundreds of years longer than it would if it was not laminated.