# Talk:Reinhard Heydrich

What is being claimed here: "Many historians regard Heydrich as one of the darkest figures within the Nazi regime."?
"Darkest" seems like a vague and not particularly encyclopedic word. Is this referring to how cruel he was, or something else? LouMichel (talk) 21:33, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

He is known for many things within the Nazi regime, but perhaps most notably, he supervised and helped create the Einsatzgruppen, a faction of the SS that existed specifically to hunt and exterminate Jews in areas the German army had conquered. He also chaired and called for the Wannsee Conference, which was where the Final Solution was created and formalized. Given that, I'd say calling him dark is appropriate, if perhaps, a bit of an understatement. 50.253.236.213 (talk) 20:40, 26 August 2025 (UTC)
Sereny says "arguably the darkest personality on the Nazi firmament" (p.325). Evans 2005 says "perhaps more universally and cordially feared and disliked than any other leading figure in the Nazi regime" (p.53). Gerwarth says "an appalling figure even within the context of the Nazi elite"; "his major share of responsibility for some of the worst atrocities committed in the name of Nazi Germany" (p,xiii) — Diannaa 🍁 (talk) 21:42, 26 August 2025 (UTC)