Parachute Fountain, Leamington Spa

This fountain looks a little bizarre. Have you ever seen a parachute fountain before? It commemorates 8 Czechs who all died in 1942 in a series of events that started with a parachute drop and an assassination and ended with a couple of villages being wiped off the face of the earth.

In the early 1940s SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich was the Nazi in command of Czechoslovakia. He was extremely ruthless (he had been appointed to crush the Czech Resistance). His nickname "The Butcher of Prague" leaves little to the imagination. However plans were afoot in London to assassinate him. (The exiled Czech government were based in London.). Four parachutists, Lieutenant Adolf Opalka (who led the mission), Seargeants Josef Valcik, Jan Kubis and Sgt Josef Gabchik were flown and dropped over Czechoslovakia in 1941. Once in Prague, they managed to attack Heydrich's open top car as his chauffeur drove him through the outskirts of Prague at Holesovice on May 27th 1942 . They waited at a very tight bend in the road where the car had to slow down, and then attempted to shoot him. However the gun jammed. Heydrich was furious and ordered his chauffeur to stop so he could shoot back. The backup plan of handgrenades blew bits of car into Heydrich who died in hospital 10 days later. Himmler even sent his personal physician to try and save him. The Nazi reprisals were terrible, they found the paratroopers hidden in a church crypt and killed them all, as well as the bishop who gave the shelter. They then proceeded to wipe out two whole villages (randomly selected) killing most of the population and bulldozing the buildings.

Text taken from HERE