The Liberty Lamp: Libertarian News & Editorials

Reinhard Heydrich is not a well known figure in the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. His reputation for debauchery and death has been greatly overshadowed by the legacies of other, more prominent personalities within the Nazi regime, like Hitler and Eichmann. However, this level of relitave obscurity is exactly the status the "Butcher of Prague" sought for himself as head of the Nazi police/inteligence aparatus, and as primary architect of the Final Solution.

What is most disturbing about Heydrich's character is that he, unlike his peers, did not at any time (even once) show remorse or guilt in regards to his actions. The essay I have written, entitled Reinhard Heydrich: The Man Without Concience explores the personal history of this psychopathic, uncaring killer. In juxtaposition men like Hitler, Himmler, and others, all psychoanalysis and historical research indicate that Reinhard ofHeydrich was from a relitavely normal and caring family. He had no known psychotraumatic episodes, nor any obvious characteristics of character that would lend themselves to the supposition that he suffered any kind of overt mental disorder.

In short, he was disturbingly aware of his deliberate and calculated actions to destroy the 'non-Aryan' peoples of the world, as well as any and all of his political enemies. If he lived today, he could very well be your next door neighbor, your pet groomer, your doctor, or even your best friend; there would be no indication of wrongdoing whatsoever, which begs the uneasy question: Is the enlightenment assumption that all men are inherently good (at least by default) false? In fact, is it possible that "evil geniuses" have and do exist? Is it possible, even, that you yourself might be capable of such indiscriminate slaughter and destruction if you had the opportunity? Read the essay and decide for yourself!