Heydrich s Names Came from the World of Music

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was born on March 7, 1904 at 10:30 AM (yes, his time of birth is important) in the city of Halle an der Saale (Halle on the River Saale) – now in the German state (land) of Saxony-Anhalt.

Halle has been known by many names throughout its history. From the 15th to the 17th century, it was called Hall in Sachsen (Hall in Saxony). From then until the beginning of the 20th century, the name Halle an der Saale was used (it still remains a more formal name for the city).

Halle’s early history is connected with the harvesting of salt. The name of the river Saale contains the Germanic root for salt, and salt-harvesting has taken place in Halle since at least the Bronze Age. In 1815 Halle became part of the Prussian Province of Saxony.

His names reflected the musical background and interests of his family: his father, Bruno Heydrich, was a composer and opera singer of some distinction who had earned nationwide recognition as the founding director of the Halle Conservatory, where his wife, Elisabeth, worked as a piano instructor.

In naming their first-born son, they took inspiration from the world of music that surrounded them: ‘Reinhard’ was the name of the tragic hero of Bruno’s first opera, Amen, which had premiered in 1895.

‘Tristan’ paid tribute to Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde; and ‘Eugen’ was the name of his late maternal grandfather, Professor Eugen Krantz, the director of one of Germany’s most acclaimed musical academies, the Royal Dresden Conservatory.

The Heydrich family was… no, they were not outcasts, of course – just religiously different. They were Roman Catholics (Elisabeth converted her husband from Protestantism) in a thoroughly Protestant environment.

Halle became a center for Pietism (Pietistic Lutheranism) – a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life.

All this made a profound influence on young Reinhard: he felt… different from a very young age and the Pietist influence made a significant contribution to his subsequent perfectionism – both at work and at home.