The Reichsgau Sudetenland was an
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
from 1939 to 1945. It comprised the northern part of the ''
Sudetenland'' territory, which was annexed from
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
according to the 30 September 1938
Munich Agreement. The ''
Reichsgau'' was headed by the former
Sudeten German Party leader, now
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
functionary
Konrad Henlein
Konrad Ernst Eduard Henlein (6 May 1898 – 10 May 1945) was a leading Sudeten German politician in Czechoslovakia. Upon the German occupation in October 1938 he joined the Nazi Party as well as the '' SS'' and was appointed ''Gauleiter'' of t ...
as ''
Gauleiter'' and ''
Reichsstatthalter''. From October 1938 to May 1939, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area, also under Henlein's leadership. The administrative capital was
Reichenberg (Liberec).
History
In the course of the
German occupation of Czechoslovakia, on 30 September 1938 the Heads of Government of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, and Germany signed the Munich Agreement, which enforced the cession of the ''Sudetenland'' to Germany. Czechoslovak representatives were not invited. On 1 October, invading
Wehrmacht forces occupied the territory. The new Czechoslovak-German borders were officially fixed in a treaty on 21 November 1938. In consequence, the Czechoslovak Republic lost about one third of its population, its most important industrial area, and also its extended
border fortifications.
Initially, the
German Army (''Heer'') established a civil administration under occupational law. On 30 October 1938, Konrad Henlein was appointed ''
Gauleiter'' and ''
Reichskommissar'' of
Sudetenland.
The
Sudeten German Party was merged into the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
, all other political parties were banned. The
Czech population had to accept German citizenship or were expelled and forcibly relocated to the Czechoslovak rump state, which itself from 15 March 1939 was occupied by Germany and incorporated as the "
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia".
After the proclamation of the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the ''Reichsgau'' was formally established by law on 25 March 1939, in effect from 15 April, borders were adjusted and the administrative structure was fixed on May 1.
Konrad Henlein
Konrad Ernst Eduard Henlein (6 May 1898 – 10 May 1945) was a leading Sudeten German politician in Czechoslovakia. Upon the German occupation in October 1938 he joined the Nazi Party as well as the '' SS'' and was appointed ''Gauleiter'' of t ...
was named ''
Reichsstatthalter''.
[.Michael D. Miller and Andreas Schulz. Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925-1945, Vol. 1. R. James Bender Publishing. p. 474. .] The administrative capital was
Reichenberg (Liberec). Smaller areas in the east, such as the
Hlučín Region, were ceded to the Prussian
Province of Silesia, while the western and southern ''
Sudetenland'' territories were attached to the Bavarian
Gau Bayreuth as well as to the Austrian ''Reichsgaue'' ''
Oberdonau'' and ''
Niederdonau''.
After Germany's defeat in World War II, the Czechoslovak state was re-established and the Sudeten German population was
expelled.
The
Theresienstadt concentration camp was located in the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, near the border to the Reichsgau Sudetenland. It was designed to concentrate the Jewish population from the Protectorate and gradually move them to extermination camps and also held Western European and German Jews. While not an extermination camp itself the harsh and unhygienic conditions still resulted in the death of 33,000 of the 140,000 Jews brought to the camp while a further 88,000 were sent to extermination camps and only 19,000 survived.
Gauleiter
*
Konrad Henlein
Konrad Ernst Eduard Henlein (6 May 1898 – 10 May 1945) was a leading Sudeten German politician in Czechoslovakia. Upon the German occupation in October 1938 he joined the Nazi Party as well as the '' SS'' and was appointed ''Gauleiter'' of t ...
: 30 October 1938 to 8 May 1945
Administration
The ''Reichsgau Sudetenland'' was divided into three ''
Regierungsbezirke''. These were subdivided into 58
districts (''Kreise''), largely corresponding to the former Czechoslovak ''
okresy'':
'' Regierungsbezirk Aussig''
President:
*1939–1945:
Hans Krebs
Urban districts
#
Aussig
#
Reichenberg
Rural districts
#
Aussig
#
Bilin
#
Böhmisch Leipa
#
Braunau
#
Brüx
#
Dauba
#
Deutsch Gabel
#
Dux
#
Friedland (Isergebirge)
#
Gablonz an der Neiße
#
Hohenelbe
#
Komotau
#
Leitmeritz
#
Reichenberg
#
Rumburg
#
Schluckenau
#
Teplitz-Schönau
Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The his ...
#
Tetschen-Bodenbach
#
Trautenau
#
Warnsdorf
'' Regierungsbezirk Eger''
President:
*1939–1940:
Wilhelm Sebekovsky
*1940–1945:
Karl Müller
Urban districts
#
Eger
#
Karlsbad
Rural districts
#
Asch
#
Bischofteinitz
#
Eger
#
Elbogen
#
Falkenau an der Eger
#
Graslitz
#
Kaaden
#
Karlsbad
#
Luditz
#
Marienbad
#
Mies
#
Neudek
#
Podersam
#
Preßnitz
#
Saaz
#
Sankt Joachimsthal
#
Tachau
Tachov (; german: Tachau) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Mže River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument ...
#
Tepl
'' Regierungsbezirk Troppau''
President:
*1939–1943: Friedrich Zippelius
*1943–1945: Karl Ferdinand Edler von der Planitz
Urban districts
#
Troppau
Rural districts
#
Bärn
#
Freiwaldau
#
Freudenthal Freudenthal is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Axel Olof Freudenthal (1836–1911), Finland-Swedish philologist and politician
* Dave Freudenthal (born 1950), American politician
* Franz Freudenthal, Bolivian physician k ...
#
Grulich
#
Hohenstadt
Hohenstadt is a municipality in the Göppingen district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Hohenstadt was sold in 1483 by the County of Helfenstein to the Lords of Westerstetten, who would in 1485 cede half of the township to the County ...
#
Jägerndorf
Krnov (; german: Jägerndorf, pl, Karniów or ''Krnów'') is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
The town is made up of town parts of Pod Bezru ...
#
Landskron
#
Mährisch Schönberg
#
Mährisch Trübau
#
Neu Titschein
#
Römerstadt
#
Sternberg
#
Troppau
#
Wagstadt
#
Zwittau
See also
*
Gauliga Sudetenland, the highest association football league in the Gau from 1938 to 1945
*
The Holocaust in the Sudetenland
The Holocaust in the Sudetenland resulted in the flight, dispossession, deportation and ultimately death of many of the 24,505 Jews living in the Reichsgau Sudetenland, a Nazi German administrative region established from former Czechoslovak t ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Illustrated list of Gauleiter
{{Coord missing, Czech Republic
Sudetenland
1939 establishments in Germany
1945 disestablishments in Germany
Sudetenland
Holocaust locations in Czechoslovakia