Many great questions, Tim! The more we get into this, we seem to come up with more questions, and fewer answers. 😊 Most likely we will never know what exactly happened there, but it is interesting to speculate…
Let me just make a few quick comments here.
I seem to remember reading / hearing in another interview with the Cvancara/Stehlik duo that the original plan that Kubis and Gabic were trained for in Britain was indeed a practically simultaneous assault by the two. The “ideal” scenario was that a first grenade would be thrown at the engine to stop the car, with a second grenade to go in the car to kill Heydrich and the driver. Gabcik would then fire the sten gun to finish the crew off in case they would survive the grenade attack. They also say that it was the plan from the beginning (i.e. their training in Britain) to attack in a sharp curve, where the car would have to slow down considerably. They considered several locations in Prague and even in Panenske Brezany (the village outside of Prague where Heydrich's residence was) before they settled on the intersection in Kobylisy.
In another article/interview that I came across I remember Mr. Cvancara talking about Kubis being frustrated during the training because he kept missing the car with the grenade. Unlike his British instructors (who all played cricket) who would hit it every single time. My understanding is that Kubis had 2 grenades in his briefcase and the third grenade was in Gabcik’s briefcase, which was left on his bike.
Very good question regarding the bikes. In the interview Cvancara and Svehlik mention that in 1942 the intersection was on the outskirts of Prague with generally little traffic. That may explain why they left the bikes across the intersection thinking that, after the attack, they would easily get to their bikes and ride away. In that sense they were very unlucky since at the moment of the attack three (!!!) trams appeared on the spot at the same time – number 14 arriving from Kobylisy, another #14 arriving from the opposite direction, and #3 arriving from Liben. Especially the #3 tram blocked their way to the bikes plus all of a sudden there was a large number of people who got out of the trams.
Both Cvancara and Svehlik are not impressed with Klein and Heydrich and view their handling of the situation as absolutely contrary to the security protocol, which Heydrich himself wrote. First, they say Klein made a mistake by passing the tram on the left, then the second mistake was Heydrich ordering Klein to stop when they spotted Gabcik with the sten gun and finally Klein abandoning the injured Heydrich at the scene not knowing if more attackers were hiding there. Klein was apparently issued his pistol just two weeks before the assassination, so Cvancara/Stehlik doubt whether he even had a chance to fire it before then.
To me it looks like the 3D model focuses on the movement of the situation, movement of the car, trams and Gabcik and Kubis and not the details, such as the correct traffic signs, etc. Clearly they have used the present-day sign for a main road, not the correct one for the period and many of the other signs, which we have been debating, are missing entirely. However, I think from their point of view that is not the important part. In any case that is just my speculation, I did not read any interview with the actual creators of the 3D model.
Cvancara/Stehlik do seem to be convinced that Valcik was not on the scene. The main reason they mention is the fact that his face was known to the Gestapo, which had gotten a hold of his photograph, and posters with his photo were fairly widely circulated. There is a Czech movie on the subject made in 1964 called Atentat (Assassination) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqZw5VlVRJY, which shows Valcik on the scene. Many people’s view (at least in the Czech Republic) of the events have been influenced by this movie. Even though it is still the best dramatization of the event (I may be biased, but the movie benefited from filming on actual locations, which in some cases – mainly the intersection – have been completely changed since then), there are a few mistakes including Gabcik stepping in front of the car, and possibly the presence of Valcik.
In the interview Cvancara and Stehlik do say that they believe that Gabcik and Kubis probably saw Heydrich’s car at the last moment since their view was blocked by the #14 tram (consisting of 3 cars, so definitely providing a very good cover for Heydrich’s car) arriving at the stop from Kobylisy. Therefore, they only had a few seconds to react and that is why they may have changed the order of the attack with Gabcik trying to shoot first and Kubis throwing the grenade second. All of this is, of course, a speculation.
In the interview (not the transcript, which seems to be a shortened version), Cvancara/Stehlik talk about both Heydrich’s coat being thrown in the air by the explosion and getting entangled in the tram line for a while before falling down and Heydrich picking up and then dropping the sten gun.
I will have to take a close look at the signs you mentioned and get back to you, if I can figure out what exactly they may be.
The lady throwing a watering can under Kubis’s bike is an interesting side story. Same as another lady who he ran over shortly after who allegedly later provided a detailed description of Kubis and his bike to Gestapo. Even though she denied this, she was apparently sentenced to eight years in prison after the war.
Great discussion! Signing out for now but ready for more exploration (and more pilsner, or other adult beverages of choice to help us along ).
About b&w images, it’s an incredibly complex procedure (for me) - in the camera’s editing software I have to point the cursor to the Monochrome option and click…
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