He was called ‘The Man with the Iron Heart’ because he had an iron heart: Reinhard Heydrich was cold, uncaring, the machine. He didn’t hate those he was ordered or tasked to destroy, no, he simply lacked any feeling about them. Heydrich was a man who could put a million men in a line, kill each with his bare hands, and think more about his bloodied uniform than the act he had just committed.
Wannsee
However, it was at the Wannsee Conference in January 1942 that Heydrich’s chilling legacy was cemented. There he presented the Final Solution - a systematic plan for the genocide of all European Jews. The plan was chillingly pragmatic, coldly efficient, and it bore Heydrich's signature traits of cold, detached cruelty and obsession with order and efficiency.
Subsequently, Heydrich was appointed the Reich-Protector of Bohemia and Moravia (now the Czech Republic) where his reign was marked by cruel repression. He ruled with an iron fist. His calculating disposition, total disregard for human life, and punishment for any form of rebellion made him one of the most feared Nazis, earning him the nickname "The Butcher of Prague".
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