DějinyGeschichteDejiny

When Wehrmacht soldiers crossed the German-Czechoslovak border on October 1, 1938, the majority of Sudeten Germans hailed their arrival as "liberation" from Czechoslovak rule. The "Reichsgau Sudetenland" was formed from most of their settlement area, which remained part of the Nazi state until 1945. What National Socialist rule there looked like in detail and whether the jubilation of the people gave way to a more differentiated view over time was unknown for a long time. The book fills this gap and analyzes the politics and mood of the population in this region on the basis of source material from Czech and German archives. Using a variety of topics, such as Gleichschaltung, economics, treatment of the Czech minority, and resistance, an overall picture is pieced together that comprehensively portrays Nazi rule over the Bohemian-Moravian fringes. Tensions between local Nazi officials and the SS Security Service are examined, as are the social and economic consequences of incorporation, the competencies and staffing of various authorities, and the impact of the war on popular sentiment.