Sudetenland
Sudetenland (
German:
Sudetenland;
Czech:
Sudety,
Polish:
Sudety) was the name used from
1938–
45 for the region inhabited mostly by Sudeten Germans (German:
Sudetendeutsche, Czech:
Sudetštà Němci, Polish:
Niemcy Sudeccy) 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) and
Poland.
Early origins and part of Austria
|
Austrian German population distribution (in rose) in western Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1911. The Czech population is shown in blue. |
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
Přemyslid dynasty, it was part of the
Holy Roman Empire. After the extinction of Přemyslids 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 Sudetenland 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, against the wishes of its inhabitants.
1918 short-lived union with Austria
When Czechoslovak independence was proclaimed in 1918, the German deputies of the above mentioned regions to the
Imperial Council refused to adhere to the new state. Instead they proclaimed the union of the territories with the new German Austrian State and established four regional governmental units, all extinguished by the Czech troops the same year:
-
Böhmerwaldgau 'Bohemian Forrest region' = the region
Bohemian Forest/
South Bohemia; proclaimed a District (
Kreis) of the existing Austrian Land
Oberösterreich; administered by
Kreishauptmann 'district captain' Friedrich Wichtl (b. 1872 - d. 1922) from
30 October 1918-
Deutschböhmen 'German Bohemia' = the regions
North- and
West Bohemia; proclaimed a constitutive
Land of the new German Austrian State, administered by two consecutive
Landeshauptleute (singular -hauptmann, again - captain):
29 October -
6 November 1918 Rafael Pacher (b. 1857 - d. 1936) and
6 November -
16 December 1918 (until Czech conquest of the last principal city,
Liberec) Rudolf
Ritter von Lodgman von Auen (b. 1877 - d. 1962) (continued in exile first at Zittau in Saxony, then in Vienna to
24 September 1919)
-
Sudetenland proper = the regions
North Moravia and Austrian
Silesia; proclaimed a constituent
Land of the new German Austrian State, also governed by a
Landeshauptmann 30 October -
18 December 1918 (Czech conquest of the principal city,
Opava) Robert Freissler (b. 1877 - d. 1950)
-
Deutschsüdmähren 'German Southern Moravia' = the region of the same name; proclaimed a District (
Kreis) of the existing Austrian land
Niederösterreich, administered by a
Kreishauptmann from
30 October 1918 Oskar Teufel (b. 1880 - d. 1946)
Several German minorities in Moravia, including German populations in
Brno,
Jihlava, and
Olomouc also attempted to proclaim their union with German Austria but failed.
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).
 |
Image first appearing in the Nazi propaganda newspaper Völkischer Beobachter, ostensibly depicting a Sudeten German woman in Asch crying tears of joy when Hitler crossed the border in 1938. Allied propaganda later used the image with other interpretations. |
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. Three days later,
Édouard Daladier and
Georges Bonnet did the same. 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.
On
September 29, Hitler met Daladier, Chamberlain and
Mussolini in
Munich where all four leaders signed the
Munich Agreement ceding the Sudetenland to Germany. The Czechoslovak government capitulated
September 30 and agreed to abide by the agreement. The Sudetenland was occupied by Germany between
October 1 and
October 10, 1938. 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. Allegedly, the occupants transported up to 300,000 Jews to concentration camps.
The Nazi-German administration was consecutively led by:
*Military governor
Wilhelm Keitel (
1 October 1938â€"
20 October 1938)
Reichskommissar Konrad Henlein SdP/
NSDAP (
21 October 1938â€"
1 May 1939)
Reichsstatthalter Konrad Henlein NSDAP (
1 May 1939â€"
4 May 1945)
Aftermath of World War II
|
Expulsion of Germans from the Sudetenland after 1945. In Aussig an der Elbe, massacres of German cilivians and officials took place by Czech nationalist and communist militias. |
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 consequence of the 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, e.g. during the
Brno death march ("Brünner Todesmarsch", the collective expulsion of the German inhabitants of Brno); there were 20,000 known deaths resulting from the expulsion (murder, suicide, disease, age, etc.). 62,000 people were reported missing by relatives but their deaths could not be verified. The property of practically all Sudeten Germans was confiscated by the newly formed state of
Czechoslovakia according to the
Beneš decrees.
A large number of Germans were detained and forced to remain in Czechoslovakia, mainly skilled workers. Many Germans who stayed in Czechoslovakia later emigrated into
West Germany. In the 2001 census, approximately 40,000 people in the Czech Republic claimed German ethnicity. Among Czechs the term Sudetenland has now only historical meaning.
There are various organisations which represent Sudeten people, most notably the
Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft, the
Munich-based
Verband der Sudetendeutschen (Sudeten-German Federation) and Ackermann-Gemeinde.
*
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
*
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*
sudetengermans.com*
Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft Bayern*
Ackermann-Gemeinde* Bell, P.M.H.
The Origins of the Second World War in Europe. Addison Wesley Longman Ltd: London, 1997.
* Westermann,
Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte*
WorldStatesmen - Czech Republic*
Description of the explulsion, published by the group of expeless, 1951*
- BBC Article About Sudeten Germans
