Jozef Gabcík and Jan Kubiš - Nehvizdy, Czech Republic
Posted by: ToRo61
N 50° 07.403 E 014° 43.036
33U E 479789 N 5552387
The memorial dedicated to participants of parachute group Anthropoid - Warrant Officer Jozef Gabcík and Sergeant Jan Kubiš.
Waymark Code: WMNYFC
Location: Středočeský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 05/24/2015
Views: 27
Preparation for the mission - codenamed Operation Anthropoid (
visit link) , whose aim was the assassination of the Reich Protector of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Reinhard Heydrich, had begun on the second of October 1941. On December 28th, at 22.00 the airplane Handley - Page Halifax (
visit link) took off from Tangmere Airport. Due to poor visibility (major landmarks were covered with a thick layer of snow) a navigation error occured, and the crew mistook Prague for Pilsen. So, instead of Pilsen, the group of paratroopers were dropped at 02.24 on December 29th, 1941 into the village of Nehvizdy - east of Prague. After the landing Jan Kubis and Jozef Gabcik, hid their equipment and the sabotage material in the gardener’s, shed of Antonin Sedlacek, where they spent their first night in the Protectorate. In the morning, at the local parsonage, they found out that there had been a navigation error, and the priest Frantisek Samek recommended that he speak to a member of the local Sokol, Frantisek Kroutil, and other contacts in the area. Subsequently, a network of collaborators from the local resistance forces was created that helped to carry out Anthropoid. This was indispensable to the success of their mission. In accordance with their original instructions the paratroopers went to Pilsen, where they searched for further contacts in the local resistance forces. With the help of Bretislav Bauman, a local miller from Horousany, they contacted the resistance organisation, which provided them with illegal apartments in Prague and all the assistance they needed. They both returned to Nehvizdy for the hidden supplies, which they gradually moved to other shelters in Prague and its surroundings. This turned out to be a crucial factor in the success of Operation Anthropoid.
The memorial is located at place of parachute drop.