Victims, Plural

I would conclude that there are multiple victims: those Czechs that were rounded up following the assassination of Heydrich and used as hostages to draw out the assassin. Although there are other characters that could be considered victims, the hostages were victims of random violence. Their capture was not a response to anything the hostages did; rather, it was the result of Dr. Franticek Svoboda’s (aka Karel Vanek’s) murder of “The Hangmen”.

I think it is easiest to point to the Czech’s held hostage as victims once other characters have been eliminated as possible victims. Svoboda is one character who suffered under Heydrich; however, Svoboda seemed relatively passive about preventing the deaths of the hostages. Although a victim at one time, Svoboda can no longer be classified as such following recklessness with the lives of others.

Another character who could be considered a victim is Emil Czaka, who is framed by the Czech public for the assassination of Heydrich. It is difficult to label Czaka as a victim, however, because of his role as a traitor for the Nazis. Rather than support his Czech comrades, Czaka turns on the citizens and provides names of those to be taken hostage. He is not deserving of the audience’s sympathy and thus cannot be considered a victim.