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Sudetenland (-German; Czech: Sudety) was the name used from 1938–45 for the region inhabited mostly by Sudeten Germans (German: Sudetendeutsche, Czech: Sudetští Němci) in the various places of Bohemia, Moravia, and parts of Silesia. (The region was only partly confined to the Sudeten mountains). In 1918–38 and after 1945, the region was part of Czechoslovakia (since 1993 in the Czech Republic).

History of Sudetenland

Early Origins and part of Austria

Sudetenland is a 20th century name and not a historical region and it is thus difficult to describe a distinct consistent history of the Sudetenland. The history of Sudetenland basically followed the history of Bohemia and Moravia until the 20th century.; small parts of Sudetenland were also situated in the historical region of Silesia.

The regions later called Sudetenland were part of the Slavic state known as Great Moravia for five years (888/890 to 894/895). When the lands of Bohemia became the Czech Kingdom, ruled by the dynasty of Premysl it was part of the Holy Roman Empire. After the extinction of Premyslides it was ruled by the Luxemburgs, later the Jagiellonians, until the Habsburg rulers inherited the land of Bohemia and it therefore was incorporated into the Austrian monarchy. Already from the 13th century onwards the border regions of Bohemia and Moravia, called Sudetenland in the 20th century, were settled by Germans.

For centuries Bohemia and with it Sudentenland was part of the Austrian Empire until the modern concepts of nation and nationalism gained power in the 19th century and conflicts between Czech nationalists and Germans emerged (for instance the Revolution of 1848). By the beginning of the 20th century around 3.5 million native German-speakers lived in the area called Sudetenland and it was only then that in the wake of growing nationalism the name Sudeten Germans emerged. After World War I the Habsburg Monarchy broke apart. The Treaty of Saint-Germain that finalized the split-up of Austria-Hungary in 1919 affirmed that the lands of Bohemia and Moravia should be part of the new state of Czechoslovakia and with them the German speaking Sudetenland.

Sudetenland becomes part of the Third Reich

The controversies between the Czechs and the Germans intensified in the 1930s and the German minority (which was actually a majority in the border regions, for which the term Sudetenland was coined), led by the Nazi politician Konrad Henlein, was gradually escalating its demands. See Germans in Czechoslovakia (1918-1938).

Conflict over the Sudetenland began immediately after the Anschluss of Austria into the Third Reich in March 1938. This led to the Czechoslovak Crisis. The Nazis - together with their Sudeten German allies - claimed throughout the year that the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia were being mistreated and oppressed by the Czech government, and demanded incorporation of the region into Nazi Germany. The Western powers urged the Czechs to comply with Germany believing that they could prevent a general war by appeasing Hitler. Neville Chamberlain met with Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden, on September 15, and agreed to the cession of the Sudetenland, as did Edouard Daladier and Georges Bonnet three days later. The Czechs themselves were not included in these discussions. Chamberlain met Hitler in Godesberg on September 22 to confirm the agreements. The discussions here fell through, however, as Hitler made new demands that Chamberlain was not able to defend in parliament.

Hitler agreed to meet representatives from France, the United Kingdom, and Italy at the conference in Munich (September 29) where all four leaders signed the Munich Agreement ceding the Sudetenland to Germany. The Sudetenland was occupied by Germany between October 1 and October 10. This unification with the Third Reich was followed by the flight and forcible expulsion of the region's Czech population to the remaining parts of Czechoslovakia, which were subsequently invaded and annexed by Germany in March 1939.

Aftermath of World War II

After the end of World War II, the Potsdam conference in 1945 determined that Sudeten Germans unable to prove that they were anti-Nazi would have to leave Czechoslovakia (see Expulsion of Germans after World War II). However, as a consequences of immense hostility against all Germans that had grown within Czechoslovakia since its occupation in 1939 more or less all Germans (no matter if they were affiliated with Nazism or not) were expelled and forced to march toward the Austrian and German borders. The number of expelled Germans totalled 3 million of the 3.2 million Germans of Sudetenland. These expulsions and forced resettlements were partly associated with excesses and even murders of Germans; there were 20,000 known deaths resulting from the expulsion. 62,000 people were reported missing by relatives but their deaths could not be verified. The property of pratically all Sudeten Germans was confiscated by the newly formed state of Czechoslovakia according to the Beneš decrees.

There are various organisations which represent Sudeten people, most notably the Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft and the Munich-based Verband der Sudetendeutschen (Sudeten-German Federation).

Czechoslovakia – From creation to dissolution – Overview

See also

• Sudetes
• Germans in Czechoslovakia (1918-1938)
• Role of Sudeten Germans before Munich agreement
• Expulsion of Germans after World War II
• Pursuit of Nazi collaborators in Czechoslovakia

External links

• Czech-German Declaration
• Facing history — The evolution of Czech-German relations in the Czech provinces, 1848–1948: historical publication sponsored by Czech government; series of PDF files
• Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft
• Sudetendeutsches Archiv
• Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft Bayern

Resources

• Bell, P.M.H. The Origins of the Second World War in Europe. Addison Wesley Longman Ltd: London, 1997.

• Czechoslovakia
• Germany