Chrona

The interactive map is loading…

Jozef Gabčík

Czechoslovak soldier · ANTHROPOID commander

8 April 1912–18 June 1942

Jozef Gabčík commanded the pair deployed on ANTHROPOID. After landing near Nehvizdy, he and Jan Kubiš relied on domestic resistance members to prepare their attack on Reinhard Heydrich. His submachine gun failed at the bend below Vychovatelna on 27 May 1942. Following escape and weeks underground, he died in the Resslova Street church crypt on 18 June.

A soldier from Slovakia

Gabčík came from Poluvsie and trained as a blacksmith and farrier. After compulsory service he remained a non-commissioned officer in the Czechoslovak army for several years. In 1939 he left the country and joined the army forming abroad.

He fought in the retreat through France and received the Czechoslovak War Cross for bravery. He continued serving in Britain and was the first man selected for ANTHROPOID.

Training and return

His original partner was Karel Svoboda. After Svoboda’s injury, Kubiš took his place. Both undertook further training before flying to the Protectorate on 28 December 1941. A navigation error brought them to Nehvizdy.

Gabčík injured his leg on landing. He received help in the Plzeň region; Jaroslav Piskáček later took him to Vysočany physician Stanislav Hrubý. Sokol helpers also arranged cover documents, food and recovery of the hidden equipment.

Preparations in Prague

Through Král, Bejbl and the Růts, the pair reached their first Prague apartment. Other households followed, supported by Zelenka, Moravcová, the Nováks and others. Without this network, two men unfamiliar with occupied Prague could scarcely have spent months observing Heydrich’s journeys and preparing an attack.

The submachine gun and final battle

On 27 May, Gabčík attempted to fire his STEN, but it failed. Kubiš then used the bomb. Gabčík escaped and later hid with other soldiers in the Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

On 18 June he defended the crypt, where he died. Čurda’s denunciation did not give the refuge’s address, but enabled the Gestapo to strike the support network and reach the church through violent interrogations.

Explore further

Sources