World War II Private Tour

Explore one of the most important chapters of modern Czech history on a private World War II tour in Prague. The three-hour route focuses on the Nazi occupation of the Czech lands, Reinhard Heydrich, Operation Anthropoid, the Czechoslovak resistance and the reprisals that followed the attack on Heydrich in May 1942.

With a private guide and vehicle, you can connect locations that are spread across the city, including the area in Prague-Libeň where Josef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš attacked Heydrich’s car and the Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius in New Town, where seven Czechoslovak paratroopers made their final stand. The tour can be adapted to your interests and can also place these events within the wider story of occupation, resistance and post-war Czechoslovakia.

Operation Anthropoid and occupied Prague

Nazi Germany occupied the Czech lands in March 1939 and established the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. In September 1941, Reinhard Heydrich arrived as Acting Reich Protector. Heydrich was a senior SS and police official, head of the Reich Security Main Office and one of the principal architects of the Holocaust. He also chaired the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, where senior Nazi officials coordinated the implementation of the so-called „Final Solution“.

Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the mission to attack Heydrich. Czechoslovak soldiers Josef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, trained in Britain and sent into occupied Czechoslovakia, carried out the attack on 27 May 1942 at a sharp bend near Vychovatelna in Prague-Libeň. Gabčík’s Sten gun failed at the critical moment, but Kubiš threw a specially modified bomb at Heydrich’s car. Heydrich was seriously wounded and died on 4 June 1942.

Rather than describing the attack simply as an isolated assassination, the tour explains the planning behind the operation, the Czechoslovak resistance network that supported the paratroopers and the severe Nazi reprisals that followed. For visitors who want to read more before or after the tour, the Military History Institute Prague provides a detailed account of Operation Anthropoid.

The church and crypt in Resslova Street

After the attack, seven Czechoslovak paratroopers eventually found refuge in the Orthodox Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius on Resslova Street. Their hiding place was discovered, and German forces surrounded the church on 18 June 1942. A battle followed in the church and crypt. All seven men died during or shortly after the fighting.

Today the crypt houses the National Monument to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror. Its exhibition explains the Munich Agreement, the Protectorate, Operation Anthropoid, the resistance networks that supported the paratroopers and the final battle at the church. The crypt itself is a place of remembrance, so the visit is approached with the respect appropriate to a memorial site. Current visitor information is available from the official Prague City Tourism page.

Suggested World War II tour itinerary

All Top Travel Prague tours can be customised. The exact route can vary according to your interests, traffic, current access and the time available.

Lidice and the reprisals after Heydrich’s death

The Nazi response to Operation Anthropoid included mass arrests, executions and the destruction of Lidice and Ležáky. On 10 June 1942, German forces destroyed Lidice. The men were shot, the women were deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp, and most of the village’s children were later murdered. The original village was razed to the ground.

The Lidice Memorial, administered by the Czech Ministry of Culture, preserves the memory of the village and its inhabitants. It is outside Prague and is therefore different logistically from the standard city route.

What is included

Admissions and access: the current Top Travel Prague product listing specifies the private guide and vehicle as included services but does not list other admission fees. Access to memorial interiors can also change for operational or commemorative reasons. Confirm the planned route and any ticket arrangements when booking.

Why take this tour with a private guide?

The surviving locations connected with Operation Anthropoid are spread across Prague, and the events themselves involve military planning, resistance networks, Nazi occupation policy and civilian reprisals. A private guide can connect these places into a coherent timeline and adjust the discussion according to how deeply you want to explore military history, Czech resistance, the Holocaust or the post-war context.

If you are planning several days in the city, you can also browse Top Travel Prague’s private Prague tours. For this World War II route, tell us which aspects of the period interest you most so the itinerary can be tailored appropriately.

Frequently asked questions