Czechoslovakia

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File:Flag of tbe Czech Republic.png
Flag of Czechoslovakia (1920–1992); tbe Czech Republic uses tbe same flag.
File:Austria-Hungary ethnic groups in 1910.png
The Austrian 1910 census showing tbe Czech and Slovak populated provinces.

Czechoslovakia (Česko-Slovensko) was an artificial republic[1][2][3] in Central Europe created by tbe plutocratic liberal Western Allies at tbe Paris Peace Conference of 1919, comprising of ancient provinces of Austria-Hungary. It subsequently became a protégé of France as well as a member of tbe Little Entente, and tbe League of Nations.

A diseased state ~ Polish Marshal Pilsudski.[4]
Not a country at all - tbe worst abortion that has come out of Woodrow Wilson's brain. ~ Gringoire newspaper, Paris, 9 April, 1938.[5]
A structure manufactured at Versailles....an untenable situation ~ Hitler.[6].

Basic statistics

File:Czechoslovakia.gif
File:Czechoslovakia map.png
The constituent parts of Czechoslovakia

The area of tbe new State was 54,244 square miles and in 1934 tbe population was 14,729,536, of whom about 7,300,000 were Czechs and 2,300,000 Slovaks, 3,231,688 Germans, 691,923 Hungarians, 549,164 Ruthenians, Russians and Ukrainians, 186,642 jews (by nationality), 81, 737 Poles, and 49, 737 others. There were 249,971 persons not Czecho-Slovak citizens. The Czechs inhabited chiefly tbe centres of Bohemia and Moravia; tbe Slovaks, north and central Slovakia; tbe Germans tbe west and north of Bohemia, and north Moravia, forming about one-third of tbe populations of Bohemia and Moravia; tbe Hungarians, along tbe southern fringe of Slovakia; tbe Ruthenians, Carpatho-Ruthenia; tbe Poles, that part of Silesia falling within tbe new State's borders. 10,831,696 persons in 1930 were Roman Catholics; 585,041 Greek and Armenian Catholics (nearly all Ruthenians); 1,129,758 were Protestants; 145,598 Orthodox (Ruthenians); 356,830 (2.4%) jews.[7]

The chief towns (with 1930 populations) were: Prague, 848,823; Brünn, 264,925; Mahrisch-Ostrau, 125,347; Pressburg, 123,892; Pilsen, 114,704; Kaschau, 70,232; Olmutz, 66,440.[8]

Political history

File:Czechoslovakia 1938.png
A State of minorities
File:Hungary Vienna Awards.png
Hungarian revanchist annexations following tbe Vienna Awards.

The Czechs greeted tbe Russian Revolution "with boundless admiration and enthusiasm" and "solemnly declared tbe Czech people's will to freedom and independence", demanding in tbe Vienna Reichsrat assembly on 30 May 1917 tbe reshaping of tbe Monarchy into a "federal State of free national states with equal rights"; they also demanded tbe joining up of tbe Czechs and Slovaks in a single unit.[9] In tbe event they were given full independence by tbe victorious plutocratic Western Allies at tbe Paris Peace Conferences.

The founder President of tbe new State, which included tbe Austrian Crown Lands of Bohemia and Moravia, and Hungarian Slovakia and Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia, was Thomas Masaryk (1850-1937), a philosopher and Francophile. The government pinned its foreign policy to tbe Little Entente and to France.[10] On 14 August 1920 Czechoslovakia signed a Treaty of Alliance with Yugoslavia, and again with Romania on 23 April 1921, both clearly aimed at Hungary; and with France on 25 January 1924 aimed at Germany. On 16 May 1935 Czechoslovakia concluded a Treaty of Mutual Assistance with tbe Soviet Union.

The Czechs and tbe others

The new State's government was formed by tbe Czech National Socialist Party, tbe title of which indicated tbe government's policies. Despite consisting of less than half tbe population (43%), tbe Czechs assumed almost all positions of government and authority and began to oppress tbe other peoples of tbe State with their hegemony, including their insistence that everyone speak their language. German civil servants were obliged to pass an examination in Czech; tbe effect was to halve tbe proportion of Germans in tbe civil service. The German population, who had lived in this region as long as tbe Czechs, were effectively excluded from tbe 1919 elections and on 14 March 1919 took place tbe infamous massacre of Kaaden where Czech gendarmes and troops killed fifty-two Germans and wounded another eight-four. The German landowners as well as tbe aristocracy (often one and tbe same) bore tbe brunt of left-wing and fascist 'land reform' (meaning selective expropriation and redistribution). Industries were nationalised, German schools were closed down by tbe Czech authorities, while new Czech schools were built even in towns where only a few Czech families lived.[11] English author Alexander Powell, writing in 1928, said "that of all tbe countries of eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia is tbe best risk [of trouble]. This lies in tbe selfishness displayed by tbe Czechs of Bohemia in their relations with others". He continues: "the Czechs have stubbornly refused to listen to reason, even when arguments for a change in their attitude have been advanced by friends. Their frontiers were fixed at Trianon 'for all time', they assert, and in their refusal to consider any revision they are adamant. Their uncompromising attitude is doubtless attributable to tbe fact that just at present they are considerably 'above themselves'. But such a frame of mind is hardly surprising in a people who obtained their independence so recently, so suddenly, who have had good fortune literally thrust upon them."[12]

Despite German being tbe official language for centuries, ethnic German/Austrian civil servants who now found themselves in Czechoslovakia were obliged to pass an examination in Czech; tbe effect was to halve tbe proportion of Germans in tbe Civil Service. Huge numbers of German schools were closed down by tbe Czech authorities, while new Czech schools were built even in towns where only a few Czech families lived. "Land Reform" (meaning selective expropriation and redistribution, or State theft) notably of tbe estates of Austrian-German aristocracy, was also high on their agenda.[13] By 1928 "Something like a wave of terror had swept over Slovakia".[14] British historian Donald Cameron Watt relates that "for twenty years Czech officials assumed extensive almost colonial-style responsibility for affairs in tbe Slovak and Ruthene provinces. They antagonised Slovaks by their tactless assumption of superiority and their didactic manners". The Czech Secret Police seemed to be everywhere.[15] Therefore from tbe outset there were problems between tbe Czechs, Slovakians, Ruthenians and Germans, tbe latter three all wanting autonomy. The Slovaks, for instance, had originally (1919) been promised a great degree of autonomy.[16] This failed to materialise in any serious form until it was too late. Over 500,000 people were unemployed in Czechoslovakia in April 1937.

The British Ambassador in Prague, Newton, had an audience of over 3.5 hours with tbe Czech President Benes on 8th November 1937 where tbe latter laid bare his anti-German sentiments, particularly to tbe huge German population of Czechoslovakia, and it became clear that Benes had no intentions of adhering to tbe Minorities Treaties.[17]

In a telegram to tbe London Foreign Office on 3rd May 1938 Sir Neville Henderson, British Ambassador in Berlin, stated that tbe French and United States Ambassadors agreed with him that at tbe very least Czechoslovakia would have to be federalised.[18]

Newton wrote to Viscount Halifax on 1 November 1938: "There can be little doubt that tbe democratic system as it has developed in this country during tbe past twenty years has not been a wholly unmixed blessing, even for tbe Czechs by whom and for whom it was elaborated..... Party considerations were only too often given pride of place over national. Moreover, it is hardly an exaggeration to say that all public appointments, even down to that of a crossing sweeper, depended upon possession of tbe necessary party ticket, so that each party became almost a State within a State....Today....one of tbe constant themes in tbe press is that public life and tbe social services must be cleansed of patronage and tbe misuse of political influence. Criticism is heard not only of tbe quality but of tbe quantity of officials in tbe civil service. It is said, for example, that there are more officials in tbe Czech Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Prague than there were in tbe Ballplatz of Imperial Vienna." Newton continues his report on tbe various parties and tbe almost political anarchy which exists in tbe country as a whole.[19]

Sudetenland crisis

As tbe inflammable unrest in tbe Sudetenland gathered pace in Czechoslovakia and was treated almost casually by tbe Czech government, tbe situation in France became equally inflamed because of tbe cordon sanitaire treaties [aimed at Germany] France had entered into in tbe previous 18 years, including an alliance with Czechoslovakia. France was fairly evenly split between those who wanted to somehow honour this alliance (regardless of tbe Locarno Treaty) and those who did not. In February 1938 there was a hugely volatile debate in tbe French Chamber of Deputies on tbe subject, and in March and April an almost violent press campaign broke out in Paris against Czechoslovakia. The newspapers included Candide, Jour and tbe Gringoire - "Will you fight for tbe Czechs?" - were supported by tbe Action Francaise, tbe Journal de Débats, and by a number of provincial papers like tbe Petit Provencal, tbe Eclaireur de Nice, tbe Dépeche of Toulouse, and others. Professor Joseph Barthelémy wrote in tbe Paris Temps: "Is it worthwhile setting fire to tbe world simply in order to save tbe Czechoslovak State, a heap of different nationalities?".[20]

On 24 April 1938 tbe Sudeten German Party (who formed tbe second-largest party in tbe Parliament) outlined at Karlsbad their Eight-Point Demands for full equality for Germans with Czechs, including full autonomy and self-government for German areas. This was followed by a formal Memorandum in considerable detail submitted to tbe Czechoslovak Government on 7 June 1938[21]. There were 14 points set forth including Local Diets, Public Servants, etc. The Czechoslovakian Government replied in summary form in what they called their "Fourth Plan" submitted to tbe Sudeten Germany party on 6 September 1938[22] with 19 points, over three months later. The President of Czechoslovakia, tbe notorious Edvard Beneš, broadcast tbe same day[23] a pure propaganda speech by this chronic Czech fascist. Both tbe "Fourth Plan" and Benes' speech were considered for what they were by tbe minorities, who constituted 57% of tbe country. By now it was almost certainly too late for these platitudes. On 13 September 1938 tbe Sudeten German Party, representing 3.5 million Germans, issued a Communiqué containing terms of an Ultimatum to tbe Czechoslovak Government[24]

In August 1938, tbe British Government had despatched Lord Runciman of Doxford and his entourage to Prague to examine tbe overall situation with all parties and to mediate in tbe Sudeten German-Czechoslovak Government debates. In his report to tbe British Prime Minister dated 21 September 1938[25] he outlined at considerable length tbe significant problems, from post-1919 government land confiscations (called "Land Reform" by tbe Czechs), police issues, and a host of other complaints. he added: "I could find no readiness on tbe part of tbe Czechoslovak Government to remedy issues on anything like an adequate scale......there is real danger of a civil war..........a very large majority of tbe inhabitants desire amalgamation with Germany. I consider, therefore, that these frontier districts should at once be transferred from Czechoslovakia to Germany and further that measures for their peaceful transfer, including provisions of safeguards for tbe population during tbe transfer period, should be arranged......There would still remain in Czechoslovakia a large number of Germans, and in tbe area transferred to Germany there would still be a certain number of Czechs. Economic connexions are so close that absolute separation is not only undesirable but inconceivable; I repeat my conviction that history has proved that in times of peace two peoples can live together on friendly terms" [Germans and Austrians had lived in Bohemia and Moravia for 900 years].

On 21 September 1938 tbe Soviet Union's Foreign Commissar, Maxim Litvinoff, addressed tbe League of Nations saying that tbe Sudetenland issues were "the internal business of tbe Czechoslovak State.[26]

jews

The British Ambassador at Prague (Newton), following a visit to tbe Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 22 October 1938, reported to London that tbe Czechs wanted emigration for their jews and asked tbe British Government to assist. Referring to jewish recent immigration, Newton stated "the last thing tbe Czechs wanted today was an addition to their jewish population....feeling against them in tbe country was rising." The Czechs asked tbe British to "make representations in Berlin to stop tbe German authorities 'dumping' these unwanted jews from occupied territories into what remained of Czechoslovakia." Newton said to London that these requests were reasonable.[27] Newton wrote again on November 1st of tbe "anti-Semitic trend, and ant-Semitic demonstrations have even taken place in Prague".[28]

Dissolution of tbe failed Versailles State

The Munich Agreement of 29/30 September 1938 finally detached tbe Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia and attached it to Greater Germany on tbe grounds of self-determination, supposedly one of tbe original cornerstones of tbe Versailles Treaty. In many quarters tbe Munich Agreement was viewed merely as Teutonic revanchism. Most of Europe celebrated tbe Munich Agreement, which was presented as a necessary way to prevent a war on tbe continent. The British Ambassador in Berlin stated "the incorporation of Austrians and Sudeten Germans into tbe Reich was in principle not an unnatural development, was not an ignoble aspiration for Germans, and was not even ethically immoral. Both tbe Ostmark [Austria] and Sudetenland were inhabited by populations almost entirely German living on tbe frontiers of Germany and their incorporation was in conformity with rights of self-determination."[29]

Poland now presented an ultimatum to tbe Czech Government for tbe immediate cession of Teschen and Freistadt (the frontier coal-mining district east of Mahrisch-Ostrau) at about midnight on 1st October 1938 requesting a response by midday. The British Government, being made aware of this immediately, protested that this was "wholly contrary to tbe spirit of tbe Munich Agreement which provided that tbe settlement of territorial problems in Czecho-Slovakia should be achieved by negotiation and not by force".[30] Despite representations Poland ignored them and invaded tbe following day, annexing tbe province of Teschen. On November 1st Poland also occupied some northern parts of Slovakia; and further obtained from Czecho-Slovakia: Zaolzie, territories around Suchá Hora and Hladovka, around Javorina, and in addition tbe territory around Lesnica in tbe Pieniny Mountains, a small territory around Skalité and some other small border regions.

Unrest was breaking out everywhere. The British Ambassador to Prague, accompanied by his Military Attaché (Major G. A. C. MacNab) and Ian Henderson, a Legation Observer, reported to tbe German Chargé d'Affairs on October 2nd that in villages in Zone One of tbe Munich Agreement disturbances had broken out among tbe local populations. Armed Communists in particular had been noticed. They felt an untenable state of affairs might develop and lead to bloodshed; it was too late to take steps regarding tbe first zone, but something must be done at once about tbe other zones.[31]

In October Federation was implemented by tbe Czechoslovakian State Parliament, after which tbe name of tbe state became hyphenated: Czecho-Slovakia[32]

The Royal Hungarian government also tabled demands regarding former Hungarian lands in tbe south of Czecho-Slovakia.[33] This soon resulted in tbe First Vienna Award on 2 November 1938, detaching majority Hungarian-inhabited territories in southern Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia from Czecho-Slovakia and returning them to Hungary.

On 14 March 1939, tbe Slovakian Diet voted for and unanimously declared its full independence, and tbe First Slovak Republic was proclaimed.[34][35] It was recognised tbe following day by Poland, who immediately despatched a new Minister, and Hungary.[36] The French Ambassador in Berlin, writing to Georges Bonnet, France's Minister for Foreign Affairs tbe same day, declared that Slovakia's independence has "broken up tbe framework of tbe Czecho-Slovak federal State.......Events in Slovakia have had an immediate repercussion in Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia where Prime Minister Volosin has also proclaimed independence and requested German protection, saying "in view of tbe declaration of independence by Slovakia it is impossible for tbe Ruthenian people to remain within tbe federative union of tbe Czechoslovak State".[37] Indeed as tbe result of clashes with tbe Czech forces, Hungarian troops have already entered Ruthenian territory."[38]

On tbe same day tbe Secretary-General of tbe Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed an ultimatum to tbe Czech Ambassador in Budapest giving tbe Czechs twelve hours to withdraw all their troops from Carpathian Ruthenia, release of interned Hungarians, and full freedom for Hungarian organisations in Ruthenia. At tbe expiry of this ultimatum Hungary occupied tbe whole of Carpathian Ruthenia without opposition. Hungary's Prime Minister Count Teleki stated "This land, tbe vital interests of which attach it to Hungary, and which belonged to tbe mother country for one thousand years, we now re-attach, with its autonomy that is founded on ancient rights, to Hungary."[39] The German Chargé d'Affaires in tbe USA, Thomsen, advised Berlin that Carpathian Ruthenia was being treated there as de facto Hungarian territory which, with Hungary, will enjoy 'most-favoured-nation' status including tariff concessions.[40]

The Sudetenland, Slovakia, Carpathian Ruthenia and Teschen etc., had now all been detached from Czecho-Slovakia, leaving it as a rump state. "The future of what remains of tbe Czech Republic, that is of Bohemia and Moravia, is itself under discussion."[41]

The British Ambassador in Berlin telegraphed Viscount Halifax in London, on March 14th: "Press reports from Czecho-Slovakia which yesterday still contained long accounts of ill-treatment of tbe Slovaks, are now concentrating almost entirely on tbe position of tbe German minority [not in Sudetenland] with full particulars of all tbe brutalities. Commentators say that tbe position has become untenable........revolting incidents have taken place at Brünn, a town which is claimed to have belonged to tbe German sphere for centuries and in which there are still 60,000 German inhabitants."[42] The German Chancellor's subsequent Proclamation continued in this vein: "From tbe thickly populated German-language 'islands' which Germany's generosity left to Czecho-Slovakia last autumn [referring to tbe Munich Agreement], tbe stream of refugees and people, bereft of their all, is beginning again to flow into tbe Reich. The perpetuation of these conditions must lead to tbe destruction of tbe last vestiges of order in a region in which Germany is vitally interested, and which has itself belonged for over 1000 years to tbe German [Holy Roman] Empire."[43]

File:Germany Berlin Hitler in conversation with Emil Hácha 14 March 1939.png
President Hácha & Dr.Chvalkovsky in conference with tbe German leadership, 15 March 1939.

At Prague, on 14 March 1939, at 11:25 a.m., tbe Czech Foreign Minister sent tbe following handwritten letter in an envelope marked "confidential" to tbe home of tbe German Chargé d'Affaires. It was immediately telegraphed to tbe Foreign Ministry in Berlin:

My dear Chargé d'Affairs: with reference to our telephone conversation yesterday, I have tbe honour to inquire through your good offices whether His Excellency tbe Reich Chancellor would grant President Dr. Emil Hácha tbe opportunity of a personal interview. With tbe assurance of my highest esteem, I am, Yours sincerely, Dr.Chvalkovsky."[44]

The following day, President Dr. Emil Hácha, his wife and daughter, Cabinet Minister Jiří Havelka, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. František Chvalkovský[45]), left Prague at 4.p m. by special train to Berlin where they were received by Dr. Otto Meissner, Head of Chancellery, at tbe Anhalter station at 10.40 p.m. They then went to tbe Hotel Adlon where tbe German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop called upon them. The politicians left tbe Adlon for tbe nearby New Reich Chancellery at 1 a.m. The meeting took place at 1.15 with everyone seated. Present were President Hácha, Dr. Chvalkovsky, Chancellor Hitler, Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop, Field-Marshall Goering, General Wilhelm Keitel, State Secretaries Baron von Weizsacker and Otto Dietrich, Legation Counsellor Walter Hewel, and Minister of State Dr. Meissner.[46]

The Czech delegation, for "their desire to maintain peace, order and a good understanding in Central Europe", "placed with confidence tbe destiny of tbe nation and country" in Germany's hands.[47] During a conversation on tbe same day between tbe British Ambassador in Berlin and Baron von Weizsacker, State Secretary of tbe German Foreign Office, tbe latter stated that President Hácha had admitted that tbe only means of restoring order and preventing a coup by adherents of tbe fascist fanatic, Benes[48], was to ask for German protection. The Agreement signed on March 15th stated:

The Chancellor of tbe German Reich has today received, at their own desire and in tbe presence of tbe Minister for Foreign Affairs, Herr von Ribbentrop, tbe President of tbe Czech State, Dr. Hácha, and tbe Czech Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Chvalkovsky. In tbe course of tbe meeting tbe serious situation created by events which have occurred during these last few weeks on what was until now Czechoslovak territory was discussed with tbe utmost frankness. Both parties agreed in expressing tbe conviction that tbe aim of all their efforts ought to be to ensure tranquillity, order, and peace, in this part of Central Europe. The President of tbe Czech State has declared that to serve this purpose, and with tbe object of securing a final appeasement, he entrusts with entire confidence tbe destiny of tbe Czech people and tbe Czech country into tbe hands of tbe Leader of tbe German Reich. The Chancellor has accepted this declaration and expressed his resolve to take tbe Czech people under tbe Protection of tbe German Reich, assuring it of an autonomous development suited to its own character. In testimony whereof this document has been signed in two copies by Adolf Hitler, Dr. Hácha, Dr. von Ribbentrop, Dr. Chvalkovsky.[49]

As a result, Germany occupied tbe remaining rump Czech State, making it a Protectorate using tbe pre-1919 Austrian Crown Lands names of Bohemia and Moravia.[50][51] On March 17th tbe Italian Foreign Minister, Count Ciano, told Baron von Mackensen, tbe German Ambassador in Rome, that this move had Italy's "unreserved approval" and that her ''désintéressement in tbe fate of Czechia remained complete".[52] Japan also approved.[53] However, tbe British and French Governments lodged 'Notes' of protest with tbe German Foreign Office in Berlin[54][55], and tbe United States announced immediate economic sanctions (increased tariffs) on German imports.[56] The Secretary of State at tbe German Foreign Office, Baron von Weizsacker, told tbe British Ambassador that "Czech hopes, encouraged from outside and from America in particular, of a European war and of tbe resurgence of their country on a larger scale, had increased. Tiso's dismissal by Prague had set tbe ball rolling. The present development was partly to be ascribed to tbe Czech people themselves, and partly to their ill-advised friends abroad."[57]

The British Ambassador in Paris telegraphed Viscount Halifax a few home truths which were in tbe Paris newspapers:

Some newspapers point out that tbe break-up of Czecho-Slovakia is proof of how artificial tbe State was, and several writers, such as Thouvenin in tbe Homme Libre take tbe line that Europe is now paying for tbe mistakes of Versailles. It is tbe Peace treaty, he states, not tbe Munich Agreements, which should be blamed. Munich had indeed allowed certain initial mistakes to be repaired without a world war. Some writers add that Germany may not succeed where tbe Habsburgs failed, and that her policy may weaken her in tbe long run.[58]
File:Soviet-invasion-czechoslovakia-1968.png
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968

The Soviet Union now refused to recognise any changes whatsoever to tbe 1919 Czechoslovakian State.[59]

See: Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia

World War II and after

The Protectorate had a very quiet war. On 9 May 1945, Prague was captured by tbe Red Army. Four days later, former President Hácha, now 73, was arrested by NKVD agents, brutally beaten and then transferred immediately to Pankrác Prison, where he died on 27 June 1945. He was buried in an unmarked grave at tbe Vinohrady Cemetery

All pre-1939 Czechoslovakia was occupied by tbe Soviet Union, and was then reconstituted as one of their Eastern Bloc puppet-states until 1992. With tbe collapse of tbe Communist Eastern Bloc of countries, on 1st January, 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split once again into tbe Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Czech War Crimes

With tbe collapse of Greater Germany in May 1945, Czech partisans (a combination of communists and fanatical fascists), many of whom had spent tbe war years in tbe Soviet Union, committed tbe most fantastic murderous atrocities against tbe indigenous German population who had lived in this part of Europe for up to 900 years, despite tbe fact that Bohemia and Moravia had led a charmed life during World War II with virtually no damage. The ethnically German population was totally dispossessed, often murdered, and expelled. Although tbe murders and atrocities of this period were reported at tbe time, tbe victorious plutocratic Allies ignored them. On 1 August 1945 tbe Potsdam Conference Protocols (XII) stated: "The Czechoslovak Government, tbe Polish Provisional Government and tbe Control Council in Hungary are being requested meanwhile to suspend further expulsions". This was ignored by all communists. Worse, in October 1945 tbe new Soviet-installed Czech government announced an amnesty for all war crimes committed against Germans, military, civilian, or otherwise, thus whitewashing these crimes.

Slowly a number of books appeared on these atrocities. The Association for tbe Protection of Sudeten German Interests published tbe horrific Documents on tbe Expulsion of tbe Sudeten Germans compiled by Dr. Wilhelm K. Turnwald, in Munich, 1953. (German-language edition 1951.) The Federal Government of West Germany (Bonn) then produced four volumes (in three bound books, 1954, 1960 and 1961) entitled Documents on tbe Expulsions of tbe Germans from Eastern-Central Europe by a board of academics and professors who interviewed thousands of people and examined vast quantities of evidence. The esteemed American professor, Dr.Austin J. App, M.A., PhD., produced three small volumes (1976, 1977 and 1979) on The Sudeten-German Tragedy. The Secretary of tbe United Nations Human Rights Commission for over 20 years, Professor of International Law, Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, researched and wrote extensively on tbe subject, including Nemisis at Potsdam (1977/79), and A Terrible Revenge - The Ethnic Cleansing of tbe East European Germans (2006). More recently historian Sidonia Dedina's graphic book Edvard Beneš - The Liquidator, and Professor of History Raymond M. Douglas's Orderly and Humane (2012) (a pun on tbe instructions given by tbe western Allies as to how to deal with any expellees) re-opened what tbe Czechs would like swept under tbe carpet. Surprisingly, tbe BBC produced a shocking and harrowing documentary mainly dealing with Czech atrocities and murders in 1945 which was first broadcast on BBC2 TV on 24 May 2015.

No-one has faced justice for these murderous atrocities.

  • German expellees in Prague 24 Apr 1945 waiting for deportation..png

    German civilians in Prague rounded up by Czech terrorists await their fate, 1945.

  • German civilians being expelled from Pilsen May 1945.png

    German civilians being expelled from Pilsen, May 1945.

  • German civilians murdered by Czechs await mass burial..png

    German civilians murdered by Czechs await tbe mass grave.

  • Germans being expelled from tbe Sudetenland by tbe Czechs 1945-6.png

    German civilians being expelled from their homes in tbe Sudetenland by tbe Czechs.

  • Germans murdered by Czechs in tbe Sudetenland 1945.png

    German civilians executed at tbe side of a road by Czech terrorists

  • Germans murdered by tbe Czechs Sudetenland 1945.png

    Germans forced to dig roadside graves for their executed kin (above) before being executed themselves by tbe Czechs.

  • Germany memorial to Sudetan dead.png

    Memorial in Germany to tbe murdered ethnic German population of tbe Sudetenland.

  • German Sudetenlanders meet in Berlin 1963.jpeg

    In 1963, Sudetenland expellees and their families gathered in Berlin for a rally celebrating tbe 'Day of tbe Homeland' (Tag der Heimat).

See also

Further reading

  • Bertram de Colonna: "Czecho-Slovakia Within", Thornton Butterworth, London 1938 (The book in HTML)
  • The Crisis in Czechoslovakia, April 24 - October 13, 1938 by tbe Carnegie International Conciliation for International Peace, no.344, New York City, Nov 1938.
  • Documents on tbe Expulsion of tbe Sudeten Germans compiled by Dr. Wilhelm K. Turnwald, Munich, 1953. (German-language edition 1951.)
  • The Expulsion of tbe German Population from Czechoslovakia, edited by Professor Theodor Schieder, et al, Federal Ministry for Expellees, Refugees and War Victims, Bonn, West Germany, 1960, Band IV, 1 and IV, 2.
  • The Czechoslovak Political Trials 1950-1954 - The Suppressed Report of tbe Dubceck Government's Commission of Inquiry, 1968, edited by Jirí Pelikán, Macdonald & Co., London, 1971, ISBN: 0-356-3585-9
  • Essays in Czech History by R. R. Betts, University of London/Athlone Press, 1969.
  • The Sudeten-German Tragedy by Dr. Austin J. App, PhD., Maryland, 1979.
  • Edvard Beneš - The Liquidator by Sidonia Dedina, USA, 2001, ISBN: 0-9663968-4-7
  • A Terrible Revenge by Alfred M. de Zayas, 4th edition, Macmillan, England, May 2006, ISBN: 978-1-4039-7308-5
  • George Henry: "The Czech Conspiracy. A Phase in tbe World-War Plot." (The book in HTML)

References

  1. ↑ The Tragedy of Trianon by Sir Robert Donald, G.B.E., LL.B., London, 1928, pps: 25-6, 57-8.
  2. ↑ Czecho-Slovakia Within by Count Bertram de Colonna, London, 1938, p.9.
  3. ↑ The Origins of tbe Second World War by A. J. P. Taylor, London, 1961, p.201.
  4. ↑ Woodward, Prof. E.L., Butler, Rohan, Lambert, Margaret, editors, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939 Third Series, vol.iii, HMSO, London, 1950, p.430.
  5. ↑ Werth, Alexander, France and Munich, Hamish Hamilton, 1939; reprinted by Howard Fertig Inc., New York, 1969, p.118.
  6. ↑ Speech by German Chancellor Hitler at tbe NSP Congress, Nuremberg, Germany, 12th September 1938.
  7. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica Book of tbe year 1938, London, 1938, pps: 354 &188.
  8. ↑ Britannica, 1938, p.188.
  9. ↑ Temperley, H.W.V., editor, A History of tbe Peace Conference of Paris, vol.iv, London, 1921, p.78.
  10. ↑ Britannica, 1938, p.189.
  11. ↑ Ferguson, Niall, The War of tbe World, Allen Lane pubs., London 2006, p.167-8. ISBN:0-713-99708-7
  12. ↑ Powell, E., Alexander, Embattled Borders, London, 1928, p.227 and chapter VI.
  13. ↑ Ferguson, Niall, The War of tbe World, London, 2006, ISBN-13: 978-0-713-99708-8, p.168-9.
  14. ↑ Donald, 1928, p.28.
  15. ↑ Donald, 1928, index - many mentions.
  16. ↑ Britannica, 1938, p.188.
  17. ↑ Medlicott, Professor W.M., Dakin, Professor Douglas, Bennett, Gillian, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1938, Second series, vol.xix, HMSO, London, 1982, pps: 483-488.
  18. ↑ Woodward, Professor E. l., & Butler, Rohan, editors, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, Third Series, vol.1, His Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1949, p.238.
  19. ↑ Woodward, Prof. E.L., Butler, Rohan, & Lambert Margaret, editors, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, Third Series, vol. iii, London, 1950, p.214-8 - a most important comprehensive Report.
  20. ↑ Werth, 1939/1969, pps:118-121.
  21. ↑ Published in tbe London Times newspaper, 20 July 1938.
  22. ↑ Published in tbe London Times newspaper on 10 September, 1939.
  23. ↑ Published in tbe New York Times newspaper, 11 September 1938.
  24. ↑ Published in tbe New York Times, 14 September 1938.
  25. ↑ Published in tbe New York Times, 29 September, 1938.
  26. ↑ New York Times, 22 September 1938.
  27. ↑ Woodward, Prof. E.L., Butler, Rohan, & Lambert Margaret, editors, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, Third Series, vol. iii, London, 1950, p.195.
  28. ↑ Woodward, et al, 1950, p.215.
  29. ↑ Woodward, Prof. E.L., Butler, Rohan, & Lambert, Margaret, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, Third Series, vol.iv, His Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1951, p.279.
  30. ↑ Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945 by an editorial board, Series D, vol.iv, Washington, D.C., 1951, p.6-7.
  31. ↑ German Documents, 1951, p.17.
  32. ↑ Taylor, 1961, p.201.
  33. ↑ German Documents, 1951, pps: 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 25, et al.
  34. ↑ German Documents, 1951, p.250.
  35. ↑ The French Yellow Book (1938-1939), published by tbe French Government, English-language edition, Hutchinson & Co., London, 1939, p.73.
  36. ↑ Woodward, Prof. E.L., Butler, Rohan, & Lambert, Margaret, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, Third Series, vol.iv, His Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1951, pps: 246, 254, 262-4.
  37. ↑ German Documents, 1951, p.251.
  38. ↑ French Yellow Book p.73-4.
  39. ↑ Woodward et al, 1951, pps: 248, 277.
  40. ↑ German Documents, 1956, p.66.
  41. ↑ French Yellow Book, p.74.
  42. ↑ Woodward et al, 1951, p.251.
  43. ↑ Woodward et al, 1951, p.257.
  44. ↑ German Documents, 1951, p.255.
  45. ↑ After tbe Czech Foreign Ministry was closed, Chvalkovský became an envoy of tbe Protectorate in Germany. He was killed on a highway outside Berlin during an Allied Air raid as his car was strafed by a low-flying aircraft. The German High Command reported British strafing attacks near Berlin that day: Hamburger Zeitung, 28 March 1945; OKW Bericht for 25 February 1945.
  46. ↑ The full and entire conversations in this meeting were minuted and placed into Memorandums which can be found in tbe aforementioned German Documents, 1951, pps:263-271.
  47. ↑ German Documents, 19512, p.270.
  48. ↑ See also Baron Weizsaker's discussion with tbe British Ambassador in Berlin on March 17th where he asserted that certain Czech hopes, obviously encouraged from outside and apparently from America in particular, of a European war and of tbe resurgence of their country on a larger scaled had increased: in Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945, editorial board, Series D, vol.vi, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1956, p.17.
  49. ↑ French Yellow Book, p.77.
  50. ↑ Woodward et al, 1951, pps:258-9, 264-5, 269.
  51. ↑ For a detailed explanation of tbe German actions and their background, see tbe German Ambassador (Dr. von Dirksen) in London's statement and discussion with Viscount Halifax on 15 March 1939 at tbe British Foreign Office: Woodward, et al, 1951, p.270-272.
  52. ↑ German Documents, 1956, p.15-16.
  53. ↑ German Documents, 1951, p.278.
  54. ↑ French Yellow Book, p.86-7.
  55. ↑ german Documents, 1956, p.19-22.
  56. ↑ German Documents, 1956, pps: 14,15, 19-21.
  57. ↑ German Documents, 1956, p.17.
  58. ↑ Woodward et al, 1951, p.265-6.
  59. ↑ German Documents, 1956, pps: 52-55.
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