Lina Heydrich
Encyclopedia
Lina Heydrich was the wife of assassinated SS
-Obergruppenführer
Reinhard Heydrich
, a central figure in Nazi Germany
.
She was the daughter of a minor German aristocrat who worked as a schoolteacher. Lina met Reinhard Heydrich in December 1930, and was married December 26, 1931. They had four children. She claimed that she knew nothing about Reinhard Heydrich’s crimes committed while he was head of the RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Main Security Office).
in 1929 after attending a speech by Adolf Hitler
; her Party Membership Number was 1201380. Lina was a fervent Nazi and persuaded Heydrich to look into the recently formed Schutzstaffel
or (SS) as a career option after his "dismissal for impropriety" from the Navy. In 1931, SS Leader Heinrich Himmler
began to set up a counter-intelligence
division of the SS. Acting on the advice of his associate Karl von Eberstein
, who was a friend of Lina von Osten, Himmler agreed to interview Heydrich. When Himmler cancelled Heydrich's interview in Munich
due to illness, Lina ignored the message, packed Heydrich's suitcase and sent him on a Munich bound train. Himmler received Heydrich and hired him as the chief of the SS Intelligence Service, the Sicherheitsdienst
or (SD). Lina stated that Reinhard Heydrich never read Adolf Hitler
's book Mein Kampf
.
. There was an immediate attraction and after a handful of dates the couple became engaged on December 18, 1930. Lina von Osten was nineteen at the time. After Heydrich's dismissal from the Navy, they married at a small church in Grossenbrode on December 26, 1931. Lina Heydrich gave birth to two sons, Klaus (born June 17, 1933) and Heider (born December 23, 1934). After serious strain on the marriage that nearly resulted in divorce, the reconciled Heydrich couple had another child, a daughter named Silke (born April 9, 1939). Their fourth child, a daughter named Marte (born July 23, 1942) was born shortly after Reinhard Heydrich's death. Her eldest son, Klaus, died as a result of a traffic accident on October 24, 1943. On that day, Klaus was cycling with his brother Heider Heydrich in the courtyard of the Castle Jungfern-Breschan. Seeing that the gate to the street was open, Klaus rode out onto the street where he was struck by a small truck coming down the road. Klaus died from his injuries later that afternoon.
as a restaurant and inn until it burned down in February 1969. She wrote a memoir, Leben mit einem Kriegsverbrecher (1976) (Life with a War Criminal).
She spoke with several authors, sent in letters of correction to many newspapers, and defended her late husband, Reinhard Heydrich, until her death in Fehmarn at the age of 74 on August 14, 1985.
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
-Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
, a central figure in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
She was the daughter of a minor German aristocrat who worked as a schoolteacher. Lina met Reinhard Heydrich in December 1930, and was married December 26, 1931. They had four children. She claimed that she knew nothing about Reinhard Heydrich’s crimes committed while he was head of the RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Main Security Office).
National Socialist Party Membership
Lina von Osten joined the National Socialist PartyNational Socialist Party
Parties in various contexts have referred to themselves as National Socialist parties. Because there is no clear definition of national socialism, the term has been used to mean very different things...
in 1929 after attending a speech by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
; her Party Membership Number was 1201380. Lina was a fervent Nazi and persuaded Heydrich to look into the recently formed Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
or (SS) as a career option after his "dismissal for impropriety" from the Navy. In 1931, SS Leader Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
began to set up a counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
division of the SS. Acting on the advice of his associate Karl von Eberstein
Karl von Eberstein
Freiherr Freidrich Karl von Eberstein was a member of the German nobility, early member of the Nazi party, the SA, the SS, Reichstag delegate, an HSSPF and SS-Oberabschnitt Führer, head of the Munich Police in World War II, introduced Reinhard Heydrich to Heinrich Himmler, and was a witness at the...
, who was a friend of Lina von Osten, Himmler agreed to interview Heydrich. When Himmler cancelled Heydrich's interview in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
due to illness, Lina ignored the message, packed Heydrich's suitcase and sent him on a Munich bound train. Himmler received Heydrich and hired him as the chief of the SS Intelligence Service, the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
or (SD). Lina stated that Reinhard Heydrich never read Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's book Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
.
Family
Lina von Osten met the then Naval Lieutenant Heydrich on December 6, 1930, at a gala hosted by a local rowing club in KielKiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. There was an immediate attraction and after a handful of dates the couple became engaged on December 18, 1930. Lina von Osten was nineteen at the time. After Heydrich's dismissal from the Navy, they married at a small church in Grossenbrode on December 26, 1931. Lina Heydrich gave birth to two sons, Klaus (born June 17, 1933) and Heider (born December 23, 1934). After serious strain on the marriage that nearly resulted in divorce, the reconciled Heydrich couple had another child, a daughter named Silke (born April 9, 1939). Their fourth child, a daughter named Marte (born July 23, 1942) was born shortly after Reinhard Heydrich's death. Her eldest son, Klaus, died as a result of a traffic accident on October 24, 1943. On that day, Klaus was cycling with his brother Heider Heydrich in the courtyard of the Castle Jungfern-Breschan. Seeing that the gate to the street was open, Klaus rode out onto the street where he was struck by a small truck coming down the road. Klaus died from his injuries later that afternoon.
Post World War II
In 1965 she met Finnish theatre director Mauno Manninen while she was on a holiday trip to Finland. Eventually they married for the purpose of changing her last name. She received a German state pension and ran Reinhard Heydrich’s former summer house on FehmarnFehmarn
Fehmarn is an island and - since 2003 - a town on this island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and ca. 18 kilometers south of the Danish island of Lolland...
as a restaurant and inn until it burned down in February 1969. She wrote a memoir, Leben mit einem Kriegsverbrecher (1976) (Life with a War Criminal).
She spoke with several authors, sent in letters of correction to many newspapers, and defended her late husband, Reinhard Heydrich, until her death in Fehmarn at the age of 74 on August 14, 1985.