The Hangman and His Wife: The Life and Death of Reinhard Heydrich

Prior to her death in 2013, Dougherty had almost completed an unusual project, a biography of high-ranking Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich (1904–42) as told through the eyes of his widow Lina (d. 1985). The finished product details the complex relationship between Reinhard Heydrich’s personal story—along with some fascinating speculation on his personality—with the history of the Nazi state. Dougherty is adept at dissecting Lina Heydrich’s attempts to exonerate her husband from the label of “the Hangman,” and gets to the essence of what it was like to enjoy the privileges of living so close to the center of Nazi power. Dougherty periodically moves beyond the Heydriches’ story to go into great detail on some events, such as Kristallnacht; here she risks losing her focus. She is, however, extremely dexterous in demonstrating Reinhard Heydrich’s role in policy making and implementation in Nazi Germany. Dougherty also deconstructs the internal dynamics of the Nazi party, in which Heydrich excelled. Of particular interest in this biography is its discussion of the postwar experiences of Lina Heydrich and her children, and what they reveal about the families of high-ranking Nazi officials.