High-ranking Nazi’s grave opened up in mysterious circumstances

Police are investigating but have identified no suspects or motive

Reinhard Heydrich was known by Hitler as "the man with the iron heart" (Creative Commons/German Federal Archives)

The grave of a high-ranking Nazi official has been mysteriously dug up in Berlin, police in Germany have said.

Detectives are investigating who may have prised open the unmarked grave of Reinhard Heydrich, an SS officer who was one of the architects of the Holocaust.

A worker at Invalids’ Cemetery discovered on Thursday morning that the grave had been disturbed, police told German media.

No bones had been removed.

Heydrich, dubbed “the man with the iron heart” by Adolf Hitler, chaired the 1942 Wannsee Conference where the Nazis planned the “final solution” genocide of all Jews in German-occupied Europe.

Heydrich was killed later that year by Czech and Slovak resistance fighters in Prague.

He was buried with great fanfare in Berlin at the time but after the war the grave’s markings were removed to prevent it becoming a rallying point for neo-Nazis.

The grave of Reinhard Heydrich in Invalids' Cemetery, Berlin (AFP via Getty Images)

Police could not be reached for comment on Monday but told German media outlets there were not yet any suspects.

Those responsible could be charged with grave defilement if traced.

In 2000, a group of anti-fascists claimed to have opened up the grave of Nazi stormtrooper Horst Wessel in Berlin and thrown his skull into the nearby Spree river after neo-Nazis started gathering at the site. But police later said no remains had been removed.