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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. 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. Emergence of the term 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. Changes after World War I After World War I the Habsburg Monarchy 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 the German Reich. 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. Within the Czechoslovak Republic (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. Sudeten Crisis and German annexation
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, 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 totalled 3 million of the 3.2 million Germans of Czechoslovakia. 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 related to the expulsion (incl. 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 Czechoslovakia according to the Beneš decrees. A 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, generally closely linked to its Nazi past. There are various organisations which represent Sudeten people, most notably the Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft, the Munich-based Verband der Sudetendeutschen (Sudeten-German Federation) and the Christian Ackermann-Gemeinde. Notes See also | |||||||||||
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