Bulovka — a hospital, Heydrich’s treatment and wartime resistance
Story period: Hospital opened in 1931 · Heydrich treated here 27 May–4 June 1942
Location: Bulovka Hospital grounds
Bulovka opened in 1931 as a major Prague hospital. On 27 May 1942 the wounded Reinhard Heydrich was brought here and operated on; he died on 4 June. During the occupation, staff at the same hospital also assisted the resistance. Its history extends well beyond that one patient.
From a small infectious-diseases hospital to a new complex
1896–1931
An older twenty-bed institution was replaced by the hospital opened in 1931.
A small twenty-bed infectious-diseases hospital had operated at Bulovka since 1896. A larger institution was planned before the First World War, but construction resumed only in 1925. The new Bulovka Hospital formally opened on 21 June 1931.
The hospital under occupation
1939–1945
Staff faced strict working conditions; some also assisted the resistance.
The hospital’s retrospective describes long working hours and restrictions on staff. It also records the hiding of persecuted people and secret deliveries of medicines and medical supplies to resistance members. A memorial plaque on the grounds commemorates staff who died during the war.
From the attack site to the surgical pavilion
27 May 1942
Heydrich underwent surgery under exceptional security.
After the attack below Vychovatelna, Heydrich was brought to Bulovka’s surgical pavilion. The hospital introduced exceptional security measures, with SS personnel guarding the grounds. Doctors performed an operation.
Treatment and death
27 May–4 June 1942
An initial improvement was followed by an infectious complication.
Heydrich’s condition temporarily improved after surgery, before an infectious complication developed. He died on 4 June. His death ended neither the investigation nor the violence against the Protectorate’s population.
Remembering the hospital’s wartime history
after 1945
The surgical pavilion’s name also recalls the war.
Bulovka continued as a hospital after the war. According to its own retrospective, memorials on the grounds commemorate staff who died under the occupation. The surgical pavilion bears the name of physician B. Budín, who was tortured to death by the Gestapo.
The map shows the hospital grounds, without identifying a pavilion, entrance or room.
Explore further
- Reinhard Heydrich
treated here after the attack; died on 4 June
- The bend below Vychovatelna
the attack site from which Heydrich was brought
Sources
- Atentát: Operace Anthropoid 1941–1942 · 65
- Atentát: Operace Anthropoid 1941–1942 · 64