Sudetenland, << `soo` DAYT uhn `land,` >> is a mountainous and forested region in what is now the Czech Republic. It stretches from the southern part of the Moravia region; around the southern, western, and northern edges of Bohemia; and back to northern Moravia. The Sudetenland was named after the Sudeten Mountains, which line much of the northern part of the region.
During the A.D. 800’s, Bohemia—a Czech-speaking kingdom that included most of the Sudetenland—came under control of the Premyslid dynasty, which ruled for nearly 500 years. In the mid-1200’s, German speakers began migrating into Bohemia. In 1526, Austria’s Habsburg family began ruling the region and made German the official language. In 1867, the Austrian Empire became Austria-Hungary. After Austria-Hungary’s defeat in World War I (1914-1918), the Sudetenland became part of Czechoslovakia, a new country that was formed from Austria-Hungary’s territory. Because nearly 3 million Germans lived in the Sudetenland, tension developed between Czechoslovakia and Germany,
In 1938, the German dictator Adolf Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland become part of Germany. That year, in an attempt to avoid war, British and French leaders signed the Munich Agreement, which forced Czechoslovakia to surrender the region to Germany (see Munich Agreement ). Nevertheless, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Several months later, World War II (1939-1945) began. Following Germany’s defeat in the war, Czechoslovakia was restored, and most Germans were expelled from the Sudetenland. In 1993, Czechoslovakia broke apart into the independent nations of the Czech Republic—which includes the Sudetenland—and Slovakia.
See also Czechoslovakia (The formation of Czechoslovakia) .
