History of Europe

What is and how did this apply to the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia?

The Sudetenland was a region in Czechoslovakia that was predominantly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The term "Sudetenland" was coined in the 19th century to refer to the northern and western parts of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia that were inhabited by Sudeten Germans. The term was used to promote the idea of a unified German-speaking state in the region.

The Sudetenland was a source of tension between Czechoslovakia and Germany in the interwar period. The Sudeten German Party (SdP), led by Konrad Henlein, advocated for greater autonomy and eventually the secession of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. The SdP received support from Nazi Germany, which saw the Sudetenland as part of its Lebensraum ("living space") and used the issue to pressure Czechoslovakia.

In 1938, the Sudetenland crisis led to the Munich Agreement, in which Czechoslovakia was forced to cede the Sudetenland to Germany. The Munich Agreement was widely seen as a failure of the policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany. The annexation of the Sudetenland paved the way for the further dismemberment of Czechoslovakia and the eventual outbreak of World War II.