Memorial to victims connected to Operation Anthropoid, Memorial in Nové Město, Prague, Czech Republic

The memorial occupies the crypt of the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Resslova Street, Prague. Seven Czechoslovak parachutists from Operation Anthropoid died here on 18 June 1942 after German forces besieged the underground space. The crypt preserves bullet marks and shrapnel damage on its walls, and an exhibition displays photographs, documents and personal items related to the attack on Reinhard Heydrich.

Operation Anthropoid was mounted by Czechoslovak paratroopers sent from Britain. On 27 May 1942 Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš attacked Reinhard Heydrich in Prague; he died on 4 June. The seven parachutists, joined by others, hid in the crypt of Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral. On 18 June 1942 German forces stormed the church after a siege; all died, the last four by their own hand.

The memorial in the crypt of Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral is tied to the Orthodox Church, whose clergy sheltered the paratroopers. In 1942 the church was raided and its leaders executed. Today the crypt holds a permanent exhibition with photographs, documents and personal items, and a memorial plaque lists the seven dead fighters.

The crypt is entered from Resslova Street through the cathedral's lower level, and the rooms are cramped, with low doorways and narrow passages between the exhibition panels. Groups are small, so expect to wait at busy times. The memorial is not step-free throughout, and the underground air is cool even in summer.

The crypt's small ventilation window in the south wall became the fighters' last contact with the outside: a fireman's hose was pushed through it in an attempt to flood the chamber, and the men inside cut the hose before the water could rise. The window still sits low in the wall, a detail most visitors walk past.