Why Gabčík Didn't Shoot

In his book, Lubomír Kubík explores the assassination of the Acting Reich Protector, Reinhard Heydrich, through the lens of a novel. While adhering to all available historical facts about the event, he also offers a new perspective on the inner motivations of its direct participants.

 The main storyline follows the fate of two Czechoslovak paratroopers, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, who were sent to the Protectorate under the code names Zdeněk and Ota. The author traces their journey from their deployment over occupied Bohemia at the end of December 1941 to their unequal battle with the Nazis in June 1942 in the crypt of the Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Right from the start, they must overcome a multitude of obstacles. Instead of landing in the forests near Plzeň, they find themselves 20 kilometres from Prague after their jump and only by chance manage to contact members of the Sokol resistance movement.

 The paratroopers are struck by the despondency of many of their countrymen; they had not expected the conditions in their occupied homeland to be so dire, nor for life to be so crippled.

 Despite initial caution, cooperation with the underground network quickly gets underway. However, a growing circle of their collaborators fears that the operation will cost too many lives and begins to doubt its purpose. Gabčík and Kubiš realise that carrying out the assassination against the will of the resistance would be difficult, yet failing to complete the task assigned by the London government would mean betrayal.

 The initially unshakeable stance of the two long-time friends slowly begins to change. Each of them reacts a little differently to the pressure from those around them…