Editing Sudetenland (section)

===Sudetenland as part of Germany===
The Sudetenland was initially put under military administration, with General [[Wilhelm Keitel]] as military governor. On 14 April 1939, the annexed territories were divided, with the southern parts being incorporated into the neighbouring Reichsgaue of ''[[Reichsgau Niederdonau|Niederdonau]]'', ''[[Reichsgau Oberdonau|Oberdonau]]'' and ''[[Gau Bayreuth|Bayerische Ostmark]]''.

[[File:Volební fraška v Sudetech.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Election ballot, Reichsgau Sudetenland, December 1938]]
The northern and the western parts were reorganised as the ''[[Reichsgau Sudetenland]]'', with the city of Reichenberg (present-day [[Liberec]]) established as its capital. [[Konrad Henlein]] (now openly an [[NSDAP]] member) administered the district first as ''[[Reichskommissar]]'' (until 1 May 1939) and then as ''[[Reichsstatthalter]]'' (1 May 1939{{snd}}4 May 1945). The Sudetenland consisted of three administrative districts (''[[Regierungsbezirk]]e''): [[Egerland|Eger]] (with [[Karlovy Vary|Karlsbad]] as capital), [[Ústí nad Labem Region|Aussig]] ([[Ústí nad Labem|Aussig]]) and [[Opava District|Troppau]] ([[Opava|Troppau]]).

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 121-0008, Sudetenland, Besuch Wilhelm Frick (cropped Konrad Henlein).jpg|thumb|''Sudetenland'' was administered by Konrad Henlein for the duration of the war.]]
Before the occupation, Jews in the area had become targeted during the [[Holocaust in the Sudetenland]]. Only a few weeks later, the [[Kristallnacht]] occurred. As elsewhere in Germany, many synagogues were set on fire and numerous leading Jews were sent to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]]. Jews and Czechs were not the only afflicted peoples since German socialists, communists and pacifists were widely persecuted as well. Some of the German socialists fled the Sudetenland via Prague and London to other countries. The ''[[Gleichschaltung]]'' would permanently alter the community in the Sudetenland.

However, on 4 December 1938, there were elections in Reichsgau Sudetenland in which 97.32% of the adult population voted for the [[NSDAP]]. About a half million Sudeten Germans joined the [[Nazi Party]], 17.34% of the total German population in the Sudetenland (the average NSDAP membership participation in Germany was merely 7.85% in 1944). That means the Sudetenland was one of the most pro-Nazi regions of Nazi Germany.<ref>Zimmermann, Volker: Die Sudetendeutschen im NS-Staat. Politik und Stimmung der Bevölkerung im Reichsgau Sudetenland (1938–1945). Essen 1999. ({{ISBN|3-88474-770-3}})</ref> Because of their knowledge of the [[Czech language]], many Sudeten Germans were employed in the administration of the [[Czech people|ethnic Czech]] [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]] as well as in Nazi organizations (Gestapo etc.). The most notable one was [[Karl Hermann Frank]], the SS and police general and Secretary of State in the Protectorate.

Nazi Germany occupied Sudetenland from 1938 to 1945.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Glassheim |first=Eagle |date=2006 |title=Ethnic Cleansing, Communism, and Environmental Devastation in Czechoslovakia's Borderlands, 1945–1989 |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1086/499795 |journal=The Journal of Modern History |volume=78 |issue=1|pages=65–92 |doi=10.1086/499795 |s2cid=142647561 }}</ref>

[[File:Sudetenland Reichsgau 1944.png|thumb|center|upright=2.05|Administrative Divisions of Reichsgau Sudetenland]]
{{Clear}}