HHhH

HHhH

by Laurent Binet

276 pages

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About
We are in Prague, in 1942. Two men have been enlisted to kill the head of the Gestapo. This is Operation Anthropoid: two Czechoslovakian parachutists sent by London plan to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich—head of the Nazi secret services, 'the hangman of Prague', 'the blond beast', 'the most dangerous man in the Third Reich'.

Heydrich works for Hitler's most powerful henchman, Heinrich Himmler, but in the SS they say 'HHhH': 'Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich'—Himmler's brain is called Heydrich.

All the characters in HHhH existed then or still exist now. All the events depicted are true. But alongside the nerve-shredding story of the preparations for the attack runs another story: when you are writing about real people, how do you resist the temptation to make things up?

HHhH is a panorama of the Third Reich told through the life of one outstandingly brutal man, a story of unbearable heroism and loyalty, revenge and betrayal. It is improbably entertaining and electrifyingly modern. It is a moving, tense, and shattering work of fiction.

Discussion questions for HHhH

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  1. 1

    Binet consistently breaks the fourth wall, reflecting on the challenges of writing history. How did these authorial interjections impact your connection to the historical narrative and the characters?

  2. 2

    The book explicitly grapples with the "temptation to make things up" when recounting true events. Where do you believe the line should be drawn between historical accuracy and narrative storytelling, and how successfully does Binet navigate this tension?

  3. 3

    Reinhard Heydrich is referred to as "Himmler's brain" and "the most dangerous man in the Third Reich." How does Binet's portrayal of Heydrich contribute to our understanding of the nature of evil, power, and the psychological makeup of such a figure?

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