Jozef Gabčík: Slovak Resistance Hero Who Helped Assassinate Reinhard Heydrich

Jozef Gabčík was born on 8 April 1912 in the village of Poluvsie in today’s Slovakia, then part of Austria-Hungary. He was one of 4 children of well-to-do peasants. In October 1932 Gabčík enlisted in the Czechoslovak Army and was assigned to Infantry Regiment 14, stationed in the historic city of Košice. There, among men of diverse backgrounds, he began to learn not only the art of warfare but also the virtues of loyalty and sacrifice. His exemplary conduct and natural leadership soon earned him a place at the non-commissioned officers’ school in Prešov, a city in the East of today’s Slovakia, then part of Czechoslovakia. Gabčík chose his path in army even if it came at the cost of his father’s disapproval. On 14 March 1939, Jozef Tiso - the Slovak politician and Roman Catholic priest - declared independence from Czechoslovakia by an act of the Slovak Assembly.The same day, Tiso became Prime Minister of the new Slovak state and one day later on 15 March, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, in flagrant violation of the Munich Agreement. The outbreak of the Second World War on 1 September 1939, however, dramatically altered the landscape. An agreement between the French Republic and Czechoslovak representatives resulted in the transfer of Czechoslovak soldiers from the Foreign Legion into a reconstituted Czechoslovak Army in exile.This episode is part of the series The Anti-Fascist Heroes.Watch the full documentary and explore hundreds of historical films at:WorldHistory.tv