The Sudetenland

The Sudetenland was a region of Czechoslovakia that was inhabited by a majority of ethnic Germans. In the 1930s, the Nazi Party in Germany began to demand that the Sudetenland be annexed to Germany. This led to the Munich Agreement of 1938, in which the British and French governments agreed to allow Germany to annex the Sudetenland. This decision was later seen as a major appeasement of Nazi Germany and contributed to the outbreak of World War II.

Summary

• The Sudetenland was a region of Czechoslovakia that was inhabited by a majority of ethnic Germans.
• The Nazi Party in Germany demanded that the Sudetenland be annexed to Germany.
• The British and French governments agreed to allow Germany to annex the Sudetenland in the Munich Agreement of 1938.
• The Munich Agreement was seen as a major appeasement of Nazi Germany and contributed to the outbreak of World War II.

Questions

• What was the Sudetenland?
• Who were the ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland?
• What was the Munich Agreement?
• How did the Munich Agreement contribute to the outbreak of World War II?

Answers

• The Sudetenland was a region of Czechoslovakia that was inhabited by a majority of ethnic Germans.
• The ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland were a minority group in Czechoslovakia, but they were a significant minority. They made up about 30% of the population of the Sudetenland.
• The Munich Agreement was an agreement between the British, French, and German governments that allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland. The agreement was signed on September 30, 1938.
• The Munich Agreement contributed to the outbreak of World War II because it showed that the British and French governments were willing to appease Nazi Germany. This emboldened Hitler and led him to believe that he could get away with further aggression.