Prague - The Prague 8 municipal authorities are going to announce a public bid next week for a memorial of the Second World War Operation Anthropoid.
The monument is supposed to be aimed not only at commemorating the operation that resulted in the assassination of the Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia Reinhard Heydrich, but also at serving as a reminder of military honor in general.
The memorial is expected to be located at the spot where the tyrannicide - or the assassination of a tyrant - took place. And this is going to be in spite of the road curve in Kobylisy where Heydrich was slain no longer exists.
Heydrich was killed by Jan Kubiš and Josef Gabčík, Czech émigrés trained as paratroopers by the British army and sent back to the protectorate to complete their mission.
Even though the operation was marked by many misfortunes, the Reichsprotektor was wounded by a bomb thrown at him by Kubiš and eventually died in a hospital. The occupation forces responded with terror, killing thousands of innocent people.
The foundation stone of the monument is to be officially presented on 27 May despite the fact it won't be clear yet what the monument will ook like. However, it should be completed in one year, costing roughly 200 thousand euro, as informed the Prague 8 officials.
"Nothing monstrous"
"No more than one year ago, and for the first time in the history of our state, we have initiated a serious discussion about the issue of a memorial," assured the mayor of Prague 8 Josef Nosek.
"For the first time, the questions of where it will be located, what it will look like, what message it will carry and of course, who will bear the expenses has been discussed in a serious manner," added the mayor.
The Prague 8 municipality clarified that the space available needs to be respected, thus a memorial of gigantic proportions cannot be expected.
The monument proposals can be filed until 26 May. The winner will have his or her proposal implemented. The second and third best will be rewarded financially.
So far, a few memorials have been already constructed - without formal approval. The authorities call them derogative.
Reinhard Heydrich was an important member of the Nazi elite. He chaired the Wannsee Conference in 1942, during which the extermination of all European Jews, referred to now as Holocaust, was prepared. Adolf Hitler considered Heydrich a possible successor.
