The Province of the Sudetenland (german: Provinz Sudetenland) was established on 29 October 1918 by former members of the Cisleithanian Imperial Council, the governing legislature of the crumbling

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. It consisted of German-speaking parts of Moravia, Bohemia and

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...

, and was meant to become an integral part of the newly proclaimed Republic of German Austria. The province was originally established by the provisional government of the so-called "German Moravia", which meant to represent German interests in Moravia. The provisional capital was declared as Troppau (

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital of ...

). It mimicked a similar provincial establishment in Bohemia, where Reichenberg (

Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well prese ...

) became the capital. Along with various other German-speaking parts, these provinces were intended to eventually integrate into Austria, on the basis of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

’s ''

Fourteen Points U.S. President Woodrow Wilson The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms ...

'', which emphasized the right to

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...

of peoples. This would not come to pass, however. Both the provinces of German Bohemia and German Moravia were given to the newly proclaimed

Czechoslovak Republic Czechoslovak Republic (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá republika, ČSR''), was the official name of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1939 and between 1945 and 1960. See: *First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) *Second Czechoslovak Republic ...

. Czechoslovak troops occupied the province by the beginning of 1919, and the position of the said province within Czechoslovakia was confirmed by the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which was signed 10 September 1919. In 1919, about 646,800 ethnic Germans lived within the province, along with about 25,000 ethnic Czechs. The majority of ethnic Germans in all of Czechoslovakia, including what was once this province, were expelled after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

References

* Adrian von Arburg (in German): ''Die Festlegung der Staatsgrenze zwischen der Tschechoslowakei und Deutschland nach dem Münchener Abkommen 1938.'' Grin Verlag, 2008, . * Emil Franzel (in German): ''Sudetendeutsche Geschichte.'' Mannheim 1978, . {{Authority control Establishments in the Republic of German-Austria Sudetenland States and territories disestablished in 1918 States and territories established in 1918 Former provinces 1918 establishments in Europe 1918 disestablishments in Europe

See also

References