El juego se sitúa justo después de junio de 1942, momento en el que el implacable jerarca nazi Reinhard Heydrich (conocido como “El carnicero de Praga” y protector del Reich en Bohemia y Moravia) sufre un atentado mortal a manos de la resistencia checa (la famosa Operación Antropoide). La respuesta de Adolf Hitler y las fuerzas de ocupación fue una brutal oleada de represalias, ejecuciones masivas y terror en todo el país.
Reinhard Heydrich was one of the darkest, most ruthless, and powerful figures within the Nazi regime.
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The Architect of Terror: He was the head of the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA), which included the Gestapo, and was the direct lieutenant of Heinrich Himmler.
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The Final Solution: In January 1942, Heydrich chaired the infamous Wannsee Conference, where the systematic logistics for the extermination of European Jews (the Holocaust) were officially planned and launched.
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Protector of Bohemia and Moravia: Sent to Prague in 1941 to crush Czech resistance, his brutal methods of public executions and mass arrests earned him nicknames like “The Butcher of Prague”, “The Hangman”, and “The Blond Beast”. He was so confident in his total control and fear tactics that he regularly drove through the streets of Prague in an open-top, unarmored green Mercedes with no military escort.
The Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London, led by President Edvard Beneš, felt immense pressure to prove to the Allies that the Czech people were actively resisting Nazi occupation. Alongside the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), they planned Operation Anthropoid—the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.
Two soldiers were chosen and trained for the suicide mission: Jozef Gabčík (Slovak) and Jan Kubiš (Czech).
In December 1941, they were parachuted into the dark, snow-covered landscape of Bohemia. For months, they hid in Prague with the help of brave local resistance families, scouting Heydrich’s daily routines.
On the morning of May 27th, 1942, Heydrich was commuting from his villa to his office in Prague Castle. Gabčík and Kubiš waited for him at a sharp, narrow hairpin turn in the Libeň neighborhood, which forced Heydrich’s driver to slow the Mercedes down to a crawl.
As the car slowed down, Gabčík stepped in front of it and pulled the trigger of his Sten submachine gun. The gun jammed.
Heydrich stood up and drew his pistol to shoot back. Kubiš quickly threw a modified anti-tank grenade at the rear of the car.
The bomb exploded, shattering the vehicle. While Heydrich wasn’t killed instantly by the blast, fragments of the car seat upholstery, metal, and wire were driven deep into his body. He died a painful death a week later on June 4 from severe blood poisoning (sepsis).
Adolf Hitler was furious. Heydrich was the highest-ranking Nazi official assassinated during the entire war, and the regime responded with a terrifying wave of collective punishment:
Based on false Gestapo reports linking the village to the resistance, the mining village of Lidice was completely wiped off the map. All 173 adult men were executed, the women were sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, and the children were either gassed or sent to SS families for “Germanization.” The village of Ležáky suffered a similar fate.
The Final Stand at the Church: Gabčík, Kubiš, and five other paratroopers were betrayed by Karel Čurda a fellow resistance member for a massive financial reward.
They were cornered inside the Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague. After a fierce, hours-long battle against 750 SS soldiers who flooded the crypt, the remaining paratroopers used their final bullets to commit suicide.
Attentat 1942 is a 2017 historical, text-driven adventure game developed by Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences that explores World War II and the Nazi occupation of Prague.
The Nazi occupation of Prague during World War II
The assassination of Reinhard Heydrich during Operation Anthropoid, utilizing full-motion video interviews, interactive comics, and historical mini-games instead of traditional combat.