Operation Daybreak
 

While I am away in Cardiff, you will watch part of the film "Operation Daybreak." The choice made by the British to assassinate Heydrich resulted in the complete rout of the Czech resistance as well as the destruction of the towns of Lidice and Lezaky.

Did the resistance make the right choice, knowing what the reprisals might be? The Prague based resistance clearly warned Kubis and Gabcik about what would happen.

In addition, how do you feel about Curda's decision? Is his choice understandable? Was the sentence passed against him just?

Op. Daybreak
 

Hey
wow Im the first one this time. I never thought that would happen.Anyway

I really like what we saw of Operation Daybreak. I wish we were allowed to watch more of it. I dont think that the resistance did the right thing though, because the whole of Lidice was massacred, just because of their acts. I don't think it was fair of them to do this even after they knew of the consequences, because those Czechs that were killed, werent even aware of exactly why they were being killed. It wasn't even a Czech who had the responsibility of their deaths, it was foreigners. The assisins should have considered more the lives at stake just to kill one person. On the other hand Heydrich wasn't just a "person", he was a high ranking Nazi official who deserved to die. But hundreds for just one, doesn't seem right to me.
I think that Curda's decision was right and wrong. Giving himself up for the protection of his family was right and couragous, but I think it was very low to give up the others. He couldve said that he was the only one, and then saved the others. I mean yeah he had a guilty conscience but that doesnt give him the right to give up his friends and comrades.
Nascle
Nate

Operation Daybreak
 

Hello everybody!
I really enjoyed watching part of Operation Daybreak today in class. It gave me a better sense of what happened with the assassination of Heydrich than the background information handout did (even though some of the movie is inaccurate.)
I think that the assassins were wrong to follow through with their plans to kill Heydrich, especially after being told of the horrific consequences of it. Yes, Heydrich was a feared man and one who you would not want in power, but by killing him and indirectly destroying the towns and families of Lidice and Lezaky they bacame no better than Heydrich himself. They did not think the situation through. Almost 200 people were shot on the spot at Lidice, many were taken to work camps, and the children were taken away to be taught how to be a "model citizen of the Reich." And all this because of the assassins. It doesn’t seem right.
Also, I really didn’t like Curda’s decision. Firstly, I’m not sure how much the police knew about the assassins, or whether they would be discovered in time. If the assassins were in grave danger, I could understand Curda’s actions better. It was a noble and brave thing for him to turn himself in to save his family. That i can understand. However, he didn’t have to turn the others in. They could have gotten away. Moreover, who’s to say the police didn’t kill his family along with him. I wouldn’t trust the police in his situation.
If the assassins could have managed to hide another night and flee the next day, then I don’t think that Curda did the right thing at all. He could have spared more lives (many people died during the raid of the church, including the other assassins.) He had already done enough damage and had no right to turn in the others, especially since he wasn’t as involved in the killing as the others.

Treachery is the worst crime possible.
 

The resistance made the right choices. They sincerely crippled the leadership structure of Nazi Germany by assassinating such a key member of the hierarchy. They did what they could to bring the war to an earlier conclusion, which would save more lives than all those killed by the Nazi retribution. Casualties aside, it was a clear statement for morale. The assassination showed the mortality of the supreme Nazi leaders to the people, both of the Allies and the Axis. It brought a hint of progress in the efforts of the war. It showed that even in central Europe the Axis regime was not engraved upon the rock. It showed that even in central Europe there was resistance to the Nazis. It brought hope. The assassination was the correct choice.
I feel little sympathy for Curda. His choice to report his friends to the SS was a foolish and treacherous act. It was foolish for him to believe in mercy after admitting that he played a significant role in the assassination. It was foolish of him to believe that the SS would give him any. I do not understand how giving himself up would guarantee the safety of his family. Did he really think that after giving his squad to the SS the SS would just leave his family alone and not take advantage of them by using them to pull more information from him? I think that he is selfish in sacrificing his friends for his family. I think that such traitors, those who sacrifice their friends or family to death, cannot be punished enough. I think that his sentence was just. I think that had he received the same sentence from a court in the United Kingdom it would still be just. Treachery is the worst possible crime.
-Carl

Hey! Woohoo im second!

Well I thought "Operation Daybreak" was a great movie that showed great detail the plans for Heydrichs assassination. I think it would have been better if we got to see more of the movie because we finished class at a good part of the film. I agree with Nate when he says that the assassins should have thought of the consequences of the assassination and the well being of the Czech people. The town of Silice was destroyed because of two men’s actions toward Heydrich (which could be a good price to pay for their actions because of Heydrichs ranking with Hitler and the Nazi party.) but risking hundreds of innocent lives to kill one man is not right because of all that is at stake. I would also say that they did get rid of a horrible man that if he had been able to live, he would have probably changed the world for the worse.
I think that Curdas decision to turn him and the other men in was a bad decision. Because he told where Kubis and Gabcik were hiding he should have known what the consequences would be. On the other hand he saved his wife and his baby and if I were put in a situation like that (death to the family or death to others) I would choose to have my family live.

MADz !

The Fall of a Tyrant, the Beginning of a Dictatorship
 

The film Operation Daybreak did an excellent job of showing the feelings of the individual members of both, the assassins and the resistance members. I, personally liked the film.

First of all, I admire the resistance for actually being able to conceal the assassins so well for such a long time and keeping them alive and in excellent condition. Also, the fact that most of the resistance wanted to do everything to save the parachutists was very courageous. I think that their choice was the right one. I am Czech and not only have I studied Heydrich, but my mother told me stories about his rule in the Czech Republic from what she heard. He ruled as the Czechs say with "the sugar and the whip." The decision to assassinate him no matter the consequence or the cost was a brave, yet a needed decision. Heydrich's rule was cruel and if he weren't killed, more people would have died. It is true that the consequences were great, but Heydrich truly was not someone whom the people wanted to rule or to live even. It was a good decision in my eyes...brave and right.

I think that Curda was doing the logically right but morally wrong thing. It makes sense that to save his family he would give himself up and his comrades. I mean, the movie did a great job of showing him walking through the streets and seeing people arrested and beaten. No one wants to see that. And to know that he was one of those who caused it made it harder to cope with it. Obviously, however, he betrayed his comrades and the whole resistance. Never a popular thing among the betrayed. I don't think it was the right thing to do, but I can see the sense in it. Most people would have probably done the same, even though they wouldn't admit it. Shame and guilt and fear create a powerful combination. I believe that his sentence for it was just. The most important part of his sentence, though, I think, is that his comrades were killed because of him. That's the hardest thing to deal with. For what he did, he deserved his sentence. One thing he could have done is he could have lied about how many members there were. Say he was one and then there was another maybe. He could have TRIED to protect his comrades, but...guilt and fear are powerful.

operation daybreak
 

I really enjoyed watching this movie in class and i thought that it was very informing and much more interesting than simpky reading about it in a book. it showed the emotion of people much better and it pulled me into the story much more than what i felt while reading the background sheet. I think that resistance had a very hard decision to make, and they did not have much choice about what to do. i do however feel that maybe it wasnt completely necessary for these people to go and destroy an entire village because few of the members had committed a crime. i think that many people thought that Heydrich was a horrible person and by killing him they would actually end up saving more of their country. Curda turning himself in is a very interesting event. i think that if you did something as horrible as that it would be near to impossible to just live on. giving yourself in is still completely different from also handing in the people who committed this crime with you. it makes me feel that he really was trying to save and help his country. His sentence was fair for what he did, but maybe he could have some how lied to keep some of his partners out of it.

Operation Daybreak
 

Hey!
I think Operation Daybreak was a great movie, I found it really interesting. Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of what happened after Curda confessed to the crime.
I think it is very sad that so many people were killed because of an action that they weren't even involved in.
The fact that Curda decided to turn himself in was brave in order to protect his family but at the same time it was selfish of him to turn in the other guys.
I would really like to see the end of the movie sometime because it was really interesting and I think most of my classmates think so too.
It was also interesting to see how the makers of this movie tried to persuade us, using different kinds of music.

Operation Daybreak
 

I liked the film (finally a war movie without endless battle scenes and lots of blood! hehe) because I thought it did a good job of showing how risky it is to assassinate (or atempt to assassinate in this case) a powerful person.

I thought that the idea in itself to kill Heydrich was a good one. I mean from what I've heard about him so far, he doesn't seem like the type of person who you want in power, but the concequences of assassinating a person as important as him was not worth it. Hundreds of innocent people had to die (for no apperent reason other than to teach the Czechs "an example"). I don't think that's right. The British should have thought about the potential concequences a bit more before carrying out the operation. (From the film you can tell that they were very into the assignment, grabbing at every possible situation in which they can kill him, so it's apparent that they didn't seem to think TOO much about the concequences.)

Curda's decision, in my opinion, is justified - he wanted to save his family, who he obviously loves very much. But I don't necessarily think that it was right of him to sacrifice his friends. I guess he was too overcome with worry for the well being of his family that it overruled his loyalty to his friends and comrades. But on the other hand, he should have know better than to give himself up to the Nazis, who aren't know to be merciful (especially when you're the one who's just been involved in the assassination of a very important person from your government). So I guess you can say that Curda's decision was wrong, even though it was made out of good (and desperate) intentions.

Operation Daybreak
 

Operation Daybreak-Curda the traitor
 

The assassination for Heydrich should have happen only if there weren't going to be any innocent people that were going to die. Since Kubis and Gabcik knew that the people of Lidice and Lezanky will be killed and the towns will be destroyed it wasn't right to assassinate Heydrich. It wasn't right from them to decide the death of thousands of innocent people. The resistance did not make the right choice at all, it is not just because of one man another thousands to die. Even though we could see that the people that assassinated Heydrich were brave because they were fighting until their last breath. However my opinion is that if the resistors wanted to kill Heydrich no matter what, they should have, but after that they should have turned themselves in so they can save two towns and thousands of people. It is not just for innocent people to die because of someone that they don't even know. I see the assassins as brave heroes but I also see them as murderers because of the death of the people from Lidice and Lezaky.
I want to say that I agree with Nathans opinion. Curda's decision was wrong and right. The good decision that he made was that he gave himself up just to save his family. This act was made because of love and because he is brave. I understand that Curda tried to do anything to keep his family safe. However, I strongly disagree that he should have never betrayed his friends no matter what. Basically Curda is the one that murdered his friends because when the Germans surrounded the church they were fighting with the other guys on the top floor and Curda's friends were in the basement. So when they killed the guys on the top floor the Germans brought Curda and they asked him if the dead people were the assassins(his friends) and Curda suprised me very much because he said no. If he said yes his friends were going to be safe and his family.

I wouldn't say the resistence made a good choice, or a bad choice. Perhaps we can say that their assassination did a little good, while at the same time brought worse repulsion. It isn't surprising to see one of a high rank to be assassined, as it could be viewed that a minority wanted to overthrow a tyrant.

In my opinion, it was very brave of Kubis and Gabcik to go into public and just show their guns and faces, even when they were warned of what would happen after. Yet I think that their actions could be viewed righteous because they were brave enough to do something when maybe other people could only wish for it. These two men fulfilled the wishes of some while brought death to others. They were responsible for the deaths of the people of Lidice and Lezaky. The guilt for starting these massacres were the retributions of their actions.

As for Curda's decision, I think it was selfish. His companions waited patiently for him to show up and leave together, saying they came together and will leave together. However Curda instinctively prioritized his love instead of friendship. But his decisions I can somewhat grasp and understand, because if I were to choose between family and friends, I would probably do something that could keep both safe, even though one of them will have to be the sacrafice.

This video was very interesting to watch. Very enjoyable as well!

right vs. wrong
 

I think in some way they made the right decision and in some way it was also wrong. I think assassinating Heydrich was generally a good idea. However, it was wrong that the British decided to do it because; they knew that Czechoslovak citizens would be punished and they would not. Therefore I think that the British should not have assassinated Heydrich, because it worsened the overall situation in Czechoslovakia. I think that the British should have at least had the courage to admit that it was them and no Czech resistance group. That might have prevented the Germans from destroying a whole city.

I think that Curda’s decision is very controversial. I think it was right and courageous that he wanted to save his child and his wife. However, on the other hand it was wrong to sell his friend and comrades to the enemy. I think he should have said that it was him alone who assassinated Heydrich, in order to save his family and his comrades.

"Operation Daybreak"
 

I really enjoyed watching “Operation Daybreak”. I think it is an excellent film and really uses the audience’s emotions. I would have loved to see the rest of it.
Whether the resistance made the right choice I am not entirely sure. I know that the towns of Lidice and Lezaky suffered for the resistances choice. But I think one has to remember that it was war at the time and many people died every day. To kill Heydrich would be a big blow to Germany and would bring the end of the war nearer. That seems a good enough reason. It does make me sad though that more killing had to take place. One scene in the film shows Heydrich hugging his littler girl and I could not help feeling sorry for her. None the less I think that the resistance made the right choice. They were in a foreign country with very specific orders; orders which if they didn’t carry out would probably result in them not being allowed to enter Britain. Assassinating Heydrich was a big victory for Britain. Who knows if Heydrich would have killed more people if he had lived? It was war and to me it seems that these men were very brave. There were bad consequences of there actions but are not they the fault of the Nazis who carried out the orders?
Curda’s decision is understandable. It is very clear that what he is doing is an effort to save his family from any harm. It seems very logical. Yet I did not get the impression that his family was in such great danger. Of cause there were dangers but nothing pointed the finger at them for the assassination of Heydrich. Also I do not understand why he thought the Nazi’s would spare him and his family for information. After they have got what they need from him there is nothing to stop them disposing of him. When you are shown the scenes of the people that Curda betrayed you cannot help but feel disgust and hate for him. I think betrayal like that is disgusting. I personally think he made the wrong decision. I don’t know if he deserved to be punished because there was enough violence at the time without adding to it. Also I think his punishment of guilt; the thoughts that he would have to carry around in his head would be punishment enough for him, for the rest of his life.

Assassination and Betrayal
 

I don't think the resistance made the right choice, but my position on this isn't firm. To assassinate Heydrich was a good idea, but not at the cost of numerous lives. If they knew the consequences of what would happen, if they knew that hundreds of lives would be ended, you would think that they wouldn't go through with it. But we observed just the opposite. They went ahead with it, which is in a way understandable, as Heydrich was a figure worth killing, but it was immoral. They deliberately put so many lives at stake just to complete their mission. If I were in their place, I would choose to save the lives of innocent people as opposed to terminate them. On the other hand, killing Heydrich would have knocked the wind out of Germany and it would have been a factor in bringing the end of the war nearer.

I think Curda's decision is understandable, but obviously he doesn't understand the meaning of loyalty and friendship. I was disgusted with him, for knowingly ending the lives of people whom he called his friends. That is a concept I will never understand, because without friendship and loyalty, existence is meaningless. Also, from watching the film, his family did not seem like they were in any immediate or grave danger, and no one knew that he was involved in the assassination. I want to know what he was thinking when he went to the police. I wonder if any part of him ACTUALLY believed that the Nazis would spare him. But maybe its easier for me to see the outcome, knowing as much as i do now about the Nazis, than it was for him during the time when they were extremely influential. I would not have given up my friends, especially voluntarily with no real motivation except to protect a family that didn't seem to be in that much danger. Everytime i think back on his betrayal, I can't help but feel anything but disgust.

Operation Daybreak
 

Hi!

I thought the movie Operation Daybreak (or at least the part was saw) was really good.
The answer the question, I think that assassins had good intensions (to kill Heydrich, an evil Nazi official) however, their plan wasn't very well thought out, and had very severe consequences. The whole town of Lidice was massacred, just because of their actions.
I don't think it was fair of the Nazis to do this, because those Czechs that were killed weren't even aware why they were being killed. It weren't even Czechs who were responsible for the assasination. The assisins should have thought more about the consequences of their actions. On the other hand, Heydrich was a high ranking Nazi official who, in my opinion, deserved to die. But if he was worth the lives of hundreds of others...? Most likley no.
Also, I absolutly didn’t like Curda’s decision. He knew what he was getting himself into, he should've gone through with it if he was planning to confess! Who knows if they would've even been caught if it wasn't for Curda, maybe they might have escaped. Even though he betrayed his friends by his decision, it was a noble and brave thing for him to do, turn himself in to save his family. That i can understand, but he didn’t have to turn the others in as well, they could have gotten away.
But in general, I think this was a pretty good movie!

Natalie!

When Janek said something along the lines of "The ones who give orders don't have to bear their concequences," I couldn't agree more with him. Back in the days when there was no instantaneous long-distance comunication, generals (ie. Napoleon) had to travel with their troops, and they would bear almost first-hand concequences for their actions.

Nowadays, or even back in the 1900's leaders are safely 2000 km away from where the action is taking place, and there is no threat on their own lives to protect them from not giving enough time to the concequences of their actions. I also think that's why the battles back then were fought in honor, where armies lined up against each other and fought until one surrenderd, today everything is done by guerilla warfare, and the goal is not to win honor but to win the battle. This also means that wars don't end when one side says "I don't want to fight anymore" but when the stronger side is satisfied with their goals.

The movie I thought was interresting but lacked sincerety from all the actors and portrayed the Germans as fools who don't even notice that their leader has been assassinated for half an hour and then did nothing to find the assassins (Which I ofcourse think was not true).

This film described the consequences of resisting fascist Germany, which gave me a better understanding of the reason of only very few resistances fought back the Nazis. The fact is what they could achieve did not worth thousands of innocent lives. The “Anthropoid” should thought more about the consequences of their action. The Prague based resistance warned them, but Kubis and Gbcik didn’t seem to take their advice seriously. In their mind, Reinhard Heydrich was like the symbol of Nazi persecution, what they probably haven’t think of was that there were many people like Heydrich inside Germany, one was killed, they could replace another one. However, innocent lives would be sacrificed for their assassination.

Curda's decision was understandable. He betrayed his comardes under the pressure of the executions and terror. The movie showed how he struggled, while he was holding his son and listening to gunshots. He wanted to save his son and wife, but how could he trust Nazis who were executing the Czech citizens everyday? He even asked the Nazis to give him the reward for betraying his friends, I detested him for accutally thinking of taking the money.

A Reply to Maks
 

Maks,

You wrote:

The movie I thought was interesting but lacked sincerity from all the actors and portrayed the Germans as fools who don't even notice that their leader has been assassinated for half an hour and then did nothing to find the assassins (Which I ofcourse think was not true).

I am a bit confused by this. The fact is that the Germans did respond very slowly to the attempt on Heydrich's life. Remember, he survived the attempt, and was in hospital for almost 48 hours, In addition, the Germans would not allow any Czech to operate on him (on orders of Karel Frank who thought he would be his successor), and surgeons had to come down from Berlin. In the time it took the German government to coordinate its efforts, blood poisoning had set in, and Heydrich's fate was sealed.

As for the German attempt to find the assassins, it is true that they were not able to find them except for the information that they obtained from Curda. This all happened relatively quickly. Within days, the assassins were dead. I would remind you that the Germans did attack Lidice and Lezaky, they arrested over 2000 young people in the city of Prague and sent them to Pankrac prison, and they sent a "memorial transport" from Terezin to Auschwitz for immediate extermination, totalling over 1000 Jews.

I am afraid that you misunderstood what you saw in the film.

Operation Daybreak
 

I really liked the movie and enjoyed watching it.

I think the resistances were brave, though I think they didn't make the right choice. Because of them, lots of innocent people died and the towns and families of Lidice and Lezaky were destroyed. They should have thought more about the assassin and the consequences of it. However, on the other hand, I think the assassin of a Nazi leader was a big deal and they were really brave of doing that.

Curda's decision to betray his comrades and save his family is understandable, but it was selfish. Of course, he would have been worried about his family, but he should of thought of his friends, their friendship. and what would happen to them. His friends also had families, but no one turned anybody else in. If Curda hadn't betrayed them, he and his friends might of all lived. He should have thought about the others a bit more.

The movie was interesting, a welcome change from documentaries. J
I think the resistance made a bad choice in deciding to follow through with the assassination, since it was warned beforehand of the consequences, and I really don’t think it was worth the lives of all those people in those towns just for one man to die.

Curda’s decision I think was one of cowardice and stupidity. Though it is understandable that he wanted to save his family, he went too far by selling out his friends. His family does come first, but his friends are also extremely important, especially in a life-death situation like this.

I did not enjoy watching "Operation Daybreak," because I got really annoyed by the decisions everyone made in this movie.

First of all, I strongly disagree with the decision the assasins made to kill Heydrich, when they know what the consequences will be. It is true that Heydrich was an awful man, and he did deserve to die,but not at the cost of 2000 innocent people. Further, the suffering of the Czechs will still continue after the death of Heydrich, as he will simply be replaced. Therefore, the assasins made a stupid decision to kill Heydrich, and I don't find them heroes at all.

Secondly, I think Curda's decision is selfish and stupid. First of all, he should have realized that he would bring his wife and child in danger before the assassination, and should have never getten involved in it. Instead, he suddenly realizes after the assassination: oops, my wife and child are in danger! And he betrays all of his "friends." Unbelieveable mean.

operation daybreak
 

hallo
it was nice to see a movie acted out by actors and trying to make the scene realistic. carrying out the operation even though they knew there would be consequences was the right choice i think because first of, orders are orders, and even if they had a heart for other people, they still needed to carry out what they came into cz for. also, if heydrich would not have been killed, who knows how many more czechs would have been killed, or how many other people outside of cz would have been killed once they expand from cz.
Curda's decisions were obviously a falure, but as they showed it in the movie before he went to tell the nazi officials, he was nervous and confused and stressed and all that, so that might have interfered with his judgment, but even so, its no exuse for betraying his friends, and in this case, in a way acually killing his friends because he knew what would happen to them.
one thing i dont understand is the scene when heydrich got injured by the explosives, that it took so long for the german officials to come and take care of him, i understand that maybe there wasnt communication, but that he would have to be taken to the hopital by a potatoe wagon???
also the movie showed and did a nice job forshadowing what would happen next (even though we already knew) and all the wrong decisions that were made by the indeviduals. or how evil the germans were..... :o

Operation Daybreak
 

I think that the decision to assassinate Heydrich was the logically right decision to make but it was morally wrong. In retribution to the assassination, the Nazis completely destroyed the village of Lidice taking many lives. The decision was logically the right thing to do. Heydrich was not a man one would have wanted in power. Heydrich, as head of the secret police and secret service, had the right to confine anyone to concentration camps. He would probably have killed more people than those who were killed in Lidice. However it was a morally wrong decision. It was not worth trading one man's life for thousands, no matter who that one person may be.
As for Curda, His decision is understandable yet a foolish one. It was brave of him to sacrifice himself to save his family. However, the Nazis would probably send his family to concentration camps anyway since he had helped kill a prominent Nazi leader. It was also cowardly of him to turn in his friends. If he hadn't gone to the Nazi's in the first place, everyone may have been able to get away.

Operation Daybreak
 

Hello!

I think this movie really made it clear on how the assasination and all the planning happend, because it was a little hard for me to imagine all of this. The decision to kill Heydrich has negative and postivie sides to it, but after all, I think maybe it was better to kill him. Killing him cost thousands of other Czech lives, and wiped a whole village out, but i dont think this was the intention of the assasins. Maybe by killing Heydrich, they did save many other lives, but who knows. Since Gabcik and Kubis came just to assasinate Heydrich, I dont think their plan would change even though many people warned them of the consequences. I think that the death of Heydrich was a success for many people, not just the ones that carried out this mission.

I didnt like the decision made by Curda. Letting his friends get killed for something that he also did is not very understandable. By telling the Germans this, he caused even more deaths. I can understand that he did it to preserve his family and to ensure safety for them, but i dont know why he trusted the Nazi government. Why was he sure that they would save him if he told them this info? If he wanted to save his family, he could have escaped back to Britain with the others. He is not a very loyal friend.

Betrayal is never right...(in my opinion)
 

Hello!
It was really useful watching the “Operation Daybreak” as it gave me a clear understanding of the assassination of Heydrich.

I think the resistance’s goal of assassinating Heydrich was more than right, but their actual choice of doing so wasn’t as right because of the previously known reprisals. It wasn’t worth killing Heydrich over the destruction of Lidice. Innocent Czech people were killed without clearly knowing why this horror was happening to them. The resistance made a choice without thinking it through. The BRITISH “Anthropoid” group of assistance accomplished a successful assassination of Heydrich, but Lidice and its CZECH citizens had to pay the cost with their own death. This doesn’t sound right does it?

I feel Curda made the right decision for his family and himself, but not for his comrades. His choice is understandable as it was for the protection of his family. The “pressure of the daily executions and terror” also pushed him to make such a choice. It was right to protect his family but not right to betray his comrades. He should have stepped out along time before from the group if he knew that his family and he weren’t able to stand such pressure. And if he wanted to be a “hero” for turning himself in out of his own choice, then he should have been a hero till the end.

Being a hero till the end would be like...

Instead of giving information about what his comrades and the rest of the group did, he should have mentioned only about himself. He should have blamed it only on himself since it was only his own choice of confessing. They as a group decided to assassinate Heydrich, so they as a group should decide either to confess or not. Curda has no right to make such a decision by himself. Anyway, he didn’t even participate in the final assasiantion did he? How could it ever be right for HIM to turn EVERYONE in? He has the guts to take the action, but he doesn’t have the guts to bare the consequences of the action...!

Operation Daybreak
 

Although it’s a bit cliché by now, I will start off by saying that I very much enjoyed what we saw of the movie Operation Daybreak. It is a classic Hollywood in that the events are somewhat exaggerated, yet it is able to convey convincingly the feelings of hatred, revenge, and devotion of both sides.
As for the actions of the parachutists, I believe they were the correct ones despite the fact that they were warned about the possible consequences. Jan Kubis described the feeling of the soldiers and the audience by saying that they were soldiers, they were in a war, and this was their job. The two things the soldiers were jeopardizing were their lives and conceivably the village of Lidice. It was a courageous decision to put themselves at risk. And they could not have known what might happen to the town of Lidice, or to its people. Even if we take into account the horrible fate of Lidice, World War II historians agree that had Heydrich not been killed, many more Jews would have been killed, and had he been killed sooner, fewer Jews would have died. Therefore, it was the right, courageous, and well thought out decision to assassinate Heydrich.
Curda’s decision was stupid, naïve, and perfidious. Until Kurda came out, there was no reason to suspect the men. They were safe to leave via the RAF the next day. Curda gave up the lives of the six bravest men in Czech Republic at the time. As I watched the part where he tells the police officer everything, my reaction was somewhere between total disbelief and wanting to choke the guy. :eek: :confused: :mad: The men stood up for Curda time after time. They trusted him with their lives and he betrayed their trust. To me, his choice was irrational. No one had any reason to suspect him, and he, as well as his family, were guaranteed protection by the British government within 24 hours. Nonetheless, he turned in his comrades. What’s even more incomprehensible is that he believed he could walk in and cut a deal with the police chief to save his family by providing only the general information that the assassins were still in Prague.

AJ

Operation Daybreak
 

Hello

The film we watched was really interesting because it was played where I am living and showed Czech patriots' resistance against Germany. I enjoyed the film.

In my opinion, the resistance was brave and suprising but they had to consider about the consequence more. They could think of resistance without assassinating Heydrich. Because of their acting, many people were murdered in the village of Lidice.

The decision made by Curda was understandable but it was so selfish to bring death to his friends. He was not the only one who had family, his friends had too.
Before he confessed he should had thought whether he and his family could survive even if he tell the Germans. Because he had assasinated Heydrich, his family could not be in safe. If he was so nervous and worried about his family he should not had started the assassination.

operation daybreak
 

hi
i liked watching the movie in class because we learnt about the heydrich assassination without having to watch a documentary.
although i agree that something needed to be done to stop heydrich, i think that the resistance didn't make the right choice in assassinating him. in the movie, it showed how when the Prague resistance warned Kubis and Gabcik they waved him off saying the heydrich needed to be killed so they would kill him. they didn't think through the situation they would be in afterwards fully. they seemed to think that once heydrich was dead, everything else would be better after that. however their unawareness of how bad the situation could get after heydrich was dead, meant that the towns of Lidice and Lezaky were purged. We saw Lidice being purged in the movie, and you could see how guilty the resistance group felt. they knew that in a way they had purged these towns, as the towns were purged as punishment for their acts, and, as shobe said, they were no better than heydrich.
i didnt agree with Curda's decision, even though he had good intentions at heart. he went to turn himself in to save his family, which is completely understandable. however turning in the others also was not good. i think he was straining to cope with all the guilt and stress and it became too much for him to handle, so he wasn't thinking clearly. he didn't fully think through if the germans would honor his request that his family remain unharmed. he just killed a leader of theirs, why should they then follow an order from him? the best thing he could have done to protect his family would be to get it out of the Czech protectorate to somewhere safer. [this may not have been possible, but it would have meant they were safe.]

I think that the resistance did make the right choice. In killing Heydrich they saved many lives that he would have been responsible for killing himself. In fact they would have gotten away with it and the destruction of Lidice would not have happened if Curda had not made his irrational decision.

I feel that Curda's decision was irrational and iresponsible. He alone is responsible for the death of his comrades and he takes a big part of the blame for the destruction of Lidice. Although his decision was a bad one he only had the thought of his family and that was why he did it so in a way it is understandable, but it wasn't right.

Operation daybreak
 

In my opinion the British resistance was right and wrong in murdering heydrich, it's really hard to chose a side when you see what happend to lidice. I agree to how the priest sayed" in war you can't blame your self for what your enemies have done." But then after i see what happened to lidice, how the german didn't leave one house standing in that town I kind of side against the operation to assasinate Reinhart Heydrich. But then on the other hand if they didn't kill heydrich he might of murdered even more people thenn were murdered during lidice.

I think that Curda's decision was wrong. Altough he had a familly with a new born baby, i think that his choice was very selfish. He was thinking only ogf his familly and not of his fellow assasins and the people that lived in lidice. On the other hand i don't now how i would think if i was in his position with a nice familly and a new born baby.

Assasination
 

I also enjoyed watching the film, even though we didn't get to see the last part of it. I thought what Kubis and Gubcik did was brave, but like the part where he tried to shoot Heydrich with his gun and the gun did not work, I -speaking honestly- thought was foolish. After planning many things, and then the gun doesn't work.
Two weeks ago, I went to see the city Lidice. It was very shocking, to know how the SS men killed masses of innocent lives. I saw the pictures of the survivors and the dead, and documents, letters etc.
The betrayal of Curda was a total mistake. Not only did the resistance get killed, but he himself got killed. I understand he was afraid of his family getting hurt, and just wanted to protect himself and his family, but I cannot stop thinking that everything might have gone alright for him if he just hadn't betrayed them. If he hadn't gone to the SS, I think they wouldn't have found out about him.

Op. daybreak
 

Although I do not know fully how much of a difference the assasination of Heydrich was able to affect the overall war, generally I think it was a good decision to murder him. I believe that although sometimes you must terrible price, if you are fighting to achieve the greater good, you are usually doing the right thing. The Czech rebels thought that what they were doing would either help defeat the Nazi party or it would help to inspire more resistance. Because I'm not very informed about this subject, I do not know if they achieved either of these things, but if they did, than I think the mission was a success.
I think what Curda did was stupid and I also think he was either a coward or just a fool. I dont see how he could turn in his friends like that, and I also don't believe his family would have been in danger if he hadn't turned in his friends. In fact judging by the way the Nazis treated Curda, I'd say his family was in more danger because of him.
Sorry I was late! I didnt realize this was due! :(
Andrew

In Class Video: Operation Daybreak
 

Hello,

I think that the resistance had the right intention of killing Heydrich, but they did not keep in mind of the possible consequences. For the murder of one high-rank official, an entire town such as a Lidice was burned to ashes and it's inhabitants were send of to the concentration camps. Even though they had a worked out plan, the asassins should have thought of the weapons that they would use to kill them: The main asassin who uses the machine gun to try and kill Heydrich malfunctions. When the driver of the car runs after him, later on the bridge the asassin kills him with a revolver or pistol. Why didn't he use the small hand gun to kill Heydrich in the first place? It is much more compact and it would have been a lot more accurate.

Curda's action of going to the Nazi government building was a foolish act. How could anyone be able to believe that if you give yourself in of killing one of the main government leaders there would be no punishment, and simply walk away? Curda has a family he truly loves and cares for, and he tries to safe them from any suffering or death by giving himself in. Not only does this cause for his family to be murdered, but also the death of en entire town. Bad part on you Mr. Curda...

Hello. I enjoyed the film. It was interesting to watch the sights in Pragut.

I think Kubis and Gubcik were brave to assasinate Heydrich. It was sad that hundreds of people were kiled after the assasination, but i think someone had to resist the Nazis since many Czech people were not satisfied and suffering under the Nazi control.

I understand that Curda wanted to save his family and himself. But his decision of betraying his friends was not right thing to do. Once he decided to be part of the mission, he ought to take the responsibility to keep the secret. Also, it was not understandable to me that he could trust the enemy that he was trying to resist.

The assasination of Heindrich
 

Kubis and Gabcik did not absolutely have to assasinate Heindrich. First of all, they commited to this assasination because they probably felt nationalistic and Prague was a Protectorate of Germany. Along their own hatred towards Heidrich, they received orders from the Czech government in exhile in Berlin to kill Heindrich. Kubis and Gabcik might have guessed that Heidrichs place would be replaced by another nationalistic Nazi. Heidrich's life was not worth so many czech lives, too. Despite the brutal pressure that Nazis put on the population of Prague, Curda had no right to betray the czechs in hiding. It was for his to deside the destiny of the assasinators. He appeared to be a "weak assasinator". This was a mistake of the Czech government in exhile because they should have thought the assasination from head to toe and calculate the abilities of these assasinators. They apparently did not know every detail for sure if the trator was there. No, I do not understand the attitude of Curda. He contributed to the killing, he accepted this position and he should have completed his job. In school, we call it a bad effort. The sentense that was past against him was, in fact, just because he was basicaly responsible for Czech peoples deaths and the destruction at the Cyril and Methodius church. Trators were never welcomed anyone.

Operation Daybreak
 

First of all, I would like to say that the movei was excellent. I think it did an outstanding job in showing how the assasination was planned and how it was an indirect success.
I think that the resistance did not choose to do the most moral thing, to kill an entire population because of a suspicion. It is completley immoral, but that was how the Nazis carried out business. They were willing to do anything to get rid of him at any cost. I don't think that they knew the consequences well enough when the planned the assasination.
I think that what Curda did was correcrt but not completley. I think that he should've turned himself in to save his family but tried to keep quiet in order to save his friends. I understand that in his situation it would be extremley difficult but still...
I don't remember what sentence was passed against him.... :(