Sudetenland

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Sudetenland (German; Sudety in Czech and Polish) was the name used in the first half of the 20th century for the regions inhabited mostly by Germans in the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia.

The name is derived from the Sudeten mountains, though the Sudetenland extended beyond these mountains. The German inhabitants were called Sudeten Germans (German: Sudetendeutsche, Czech: Sudetští Němci, Polish: Niemcy Sudeccy).

Politically, the territories belonged to the Austrian Empire until 1918, from 1918 to 1938 to Czechoslovakia, from 1938 to 1945 to Germany, from 1945 until 1993 again to Czechoslovakia and since 1993 to the Czech Republic. The term however has since fallen out of use subsequent to the expulsion of nearly the entire German population from Czechoslovakia in 1946.

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[edit] History of Sudetenland

Historically, the parts later known as Sudetenland, belonged to the regions of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Since they did not form a single historical region, except in that they were united under the Bohemian crown, it is difficult to describe a distinct history of the Sudetenland apart from that of Bohemia and Moravia in general, until the advent of nationalism and the coining of the term in the 19th century.

[edit] Early origins and part of Austria

The regions later called Sudetenland were situated on the borders of the Kingdom of Bohemia, which also consisted of Moravia (and later Silesia) and was in turn part of the Holy Roman Empire. After the extinction of the Czech Přemyslid dynasty, the kingdom was ruled by the Luxemburgs, later the Jagiellonians and finally the Habsburgs. Already from the 13th century onwards the border regions of Bohemia and Moravia, called Sudetenland in the 20th century, were settled by Germans, who were invited by the originally Slavic Bohemian nobility.

The Habsburgs integrated the Kingdom of Bohemia and Moravia into their monarchy, of which it remained a part until the modern nationalism gained power in the 19th century: conflicts between Czech and German nationalists emerged, for instance in the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas: while the German-speaking population wanted to participate in the building of a German nation state, the Czech-speaking population insisted on keeping Bohemia out of such plans.

[edit] Emergence of the term

Ethnic distribution in Austrian Empire (1911): regions with a German majority are depicted in pink, those with Czech majorites in blue.
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Ethnic distribution in Austrian Empire (1911): regions with a German majority are depicted in pink, those with Czech majorites in blue.

In the wake of growing nationalism the name "Sudetendeutsche" (Sudeten Germans) emerged by the beginning of the 20th century, originally as part of a classification of three large groupings of Germans within the Austrian Empire, the "Alpendeutsche" (Alpine Germans) of what later became the Republic of Austria and the "Balkandeutsche" (Balkan Germans) in Hungary and the regions east of it. Of these three terms, only the term "Sudetendeutsche" survived because of the ethnical conflict within Bohemia.

[edit] Changes after World War I

After World War I, Austria-Hungary broke apart. Late in 1918, an independent Czechoslovakian state, consisting of the lands of the Bohemian kingdom, was proclaimed. However, the German deputies of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia in the Imperial Parliament (Reichsrat) refused to adhere to the new state. Instead they proclaimed the union of the German-speaking territories with the new Republic of German Austria, which itself aimed at joining Germany.

Four regional governmental units were established:

These four units were all extinguished by the Czechoslovak troops the same year.

Several German minorities in Moravia, including German populations in Brno, Jihlava, and Olomouc also attempted to proclaim their union with German Austria but failed.

The Treaty of Saint-Germain in 1919 affirmed the new state including the German-speaking territories.

[edit] Within the Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938)

Main article: Germans in Czechoslovakia (1918-1938)

According to the February 1921 census 3,123,000 Germans lived in all Czechoslovakia - 23.4% of the total population.

The controversies between the Czechs and the Germans minority (which was actually a majority in the Sudetenland) lingered on throughout the 1920s and intensified in the 1930s.

In the years of Great Depression the mostly highland-like regions populated by german minority - together with other peripheral regions in Czechoslovakia - were hurt by economic depression more than the inland. Unlike the underdeveloped regions (Ruthenia, Wallachia...) it was because of high concentration of industry dependent on export (such as glass works, textile industry) and thus very vulnerable in the periode of global depression.

The high unemployment made people more open to the populist and extremist movements (communism, fascism). In this years, the parties of german nationalists and later Sudetendeutsche Party (SdP) with it's radical demands gained immense popularity among Germans in Czechoslovakia.

[edit] Sudeten Crisis and German annexation

After 1933, the Sudeten-German party (SdP) pursued a policy of escalation. Party leader Konrad Henlein had secretly formed a pact with the Nazi Party now ruling in Germany and would gradually increase his demands so that Hitler could reap the fruits of the conflict.

Immediately after the Anschluss of Austria into the Third Reich in March 1938, Hitler made himself the advocate of ethnic Germans living in Czechoslovakia, triggering the "Sudeten Crisis".

The Nazis, together with their Sudeten German allies, demanded incorporation of the region into Nazi Germany to escape oppression. While the Czechoslovakian government mobilized their troops, the Western powers urged it to comply with Germany believing that they could prevent or postpone a general war by appeasing Hitler.

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden on September 15 and agreed to the cession of the Sudetenland. Three days later, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier did the same. No Czechoslovak representative was invited to these discussions.

Cropped image of what first appeared in the Nazi party 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 cropped image with other interpretations.
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Cropped image of what first appeared in the Nazi party 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 cropped image with other interpretations.

Chamberlain met Hitler in Godesberg on September 22 to confirm the agreements. Hitler however, aiming at using the crisis as a pretext for war, now demanded not only the annexation of the Sudetenland but the immediate military occupation of the territories, giving the Czechoslovakian army no time to adapt their defense measures to the new borders. To achieve a solution, Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini suggested a conference of the major powers in Munich and on September 29, Hitler, Daladier and Chamberlain met and agreed to Mussolini's proposal (actually prepared by Hermann Göring) and signed the Munich Agreement accepting the immediate occupation of the Sudetenland. The Czechoslovak government, though not party to the talks, promised to abide by the agreement on September 30.

The Sudetenland was occupied by Germany between October 1 and October 10, 1938. This unification with the Third Reich was followed by the flight or expulsion of most of the region's Czech population to areas remaining within Czechoslovakia.

The remaining parts of Czechoslovakia were subsequently invaded and annexed by Germany in March 1939.

[edit] Sudetenland as the part of Nazi Germany

The Sudetenland was initially put under military administration, with General Wilhelm Keitel as Military governor. On 21 October 1938, the annexed territories were divided, with the southern parts being incorporated into the neighbouring Reichsgaue Oberdonau and Niederdonau.

The German Wehrmacht is welcomed by the population of Kratzau.
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The German Wehrmacht is welcomed by the population of Kratzau.

The northern and western parts were reorganized as the Reichsgau Sudetenland, with the city of Reichenberg (present-day Liberec) established as its capital. Konrad Henlein (now openly a NSDAP member) administered the district first as Reichskommissar (until 1 May 1939) and then as Reichsstatthalter (1 May 1939–4 May 1945). Sudetenland consisted of three political districts: Eger (with Karlsbad as capital), Aussig (Aussig) and Troppau (Troppau).

Map of the Sudetenland Gau.
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Map of the Sudetenland Gau.

Shortly after the annexation, the Jews living in the Sudetenland were widely persecuted. Only a few weeks after, the great pogrom called "Kristallnacht" occurred. Like elsewhere in Germany, many synagogues were set on fire and many Jews were sent to concentration camps. In later years, the Nazis transported up to 300.000 Czechoslovakian Jews to concentration camps.[1] where 90% of them were killed or died. Jews and Czechs were not the only afflicted peoples; German Socialists, communists and pacifists were widely persecuted as well. The "Gleichschaltung" would damage permamently the community in the Sudetenland.

Despite this, on 4 December 1938 there were elections in Reichsgau Sudetenland, in which 97.32% of the adult population voted for NSDAP. About half million Sudeten Germans joined the Nazi Party which was 17.34% of the German population in Sudetenland (the average NSDAP participation in Nazi Germany was 7.85%). This means, the Sudetenland was the most "pro-Nazi" region in the Third Reich.[2] Because of their knowledge of the Czech language, many Sudeten Germans were employed in administration of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia as well as in Nazi oppressive machinery (Gestapo, etc.). The most notable was Karl Hermann Frank: the SS and Police general and Secretary of State in the Protectorate.

[edit] Expulsions after World War II

After the end of World War II, the Potsdam Conference in 1945 determined that Sudeten Germans would have to leave Czechoslovakia (see Expulsion of Germans after World War II). As a consequence of the immense hostility against all Germans that had grown within Czechoslovakia due to Nazi behaviour, the overwhelming majority of Germans were expelled (while the relevant Czechoslovak legislation provided for the remaining of those Germans that were able to prove their anti-Nazi affiliation, in many instances these provisions were not respected). The number of expelled Germans totaled 3 million of the 3.2 million Germans of Czechoslovakia[citation needed]. The expulsions and forced resettlements were associated with excesses and even murders of Germans, e.g. during the Brno death march ("Brünner Todesmarsch", the forced march of some 20,000 German inhabitants of Brno toward the Austrian borders in the end of May 1945); there were circa 24,000 known deaths directly related to the expulsion. More than 62,000 German people were reported missing by relatives, but their deaths could not be verified. The property of practically all Sudeten Germans, claimed to be part of war reparations, was confiscated by Czechoslovakia pursuant to the Beneš decrees.

Many Germans who stayed in Czechoslovakia later emigrated into West Germany. In the 2001 census, only approximately 40,000 people in the Czech Republic claimed German ethnicity. The term Sudetenland has now only historical meaning, generally closely linked to its Nazi past.

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

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Wheeler, Charles (2002-12-03). Czechs' hidden revenge against Germans (HTML, Blog). BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-09-26.
  2. ^ Zimmermann, Volker. Die Sudetendeutschen im NS-Staat. Politik und Stimmung der Bevölkerung im Reichsgau Sudetenland (1938-1945). Essen 1999.

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources and references

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