Figure 1.--Hitler encouraged the Hungarians to seize Ruthenia, the eastern-most province of Czechoslovakia. Here ethnic Hungarians in Ruthenia wave flags as Hungarians soldiers enter their village. Note the Hungarian flags. At the same time German soldiers were moving into Prague. |
Czechoslovakia's neighbors took the opportunity to make their own demands. Czechoslovakia is a nation that had never before existed. It was created out of
several different national groups. The Germans in the Sudetenland were just one of those groups. Besides the Czechs and Slovaks tkere were Hungarians, Poles,
and Ukranians. These other nationalities were useful to Hitler because they helped to provide some cover for the destruction of Czechoslovakia. This was needed
because a German move on Czechoslovakia meant a violation of the Munich agreement. The Poles in October demanded Teschen. The Hungarians in November
demanded a strip of territory with over 1 million people. Poland and Hungary seized much of the Czech territory they coveted. The Czechs also had to grant
autonomy to Slovakia and Ruthenia, which was renamed "Carpatho-Ukraine". he NAZIs for a time promoted pan-Ukrainian agitation in Ruthenia, until the
signinging of the NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact temporarily changed the direction of German foreign policy.
Czechoslovakia is a nation that had never before existed. It was created out of
several different national and ethnic groups after World War I. It had been part of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Germans in the Sudetenland were just one of those groups. Besides the Czechs and Slovaks there were Hungarians, Poles,
and Ukranians. The Czechs and the Slovaks were the majority, but the country was largely run by the Czechs. Czechoslovakia was the only country in Eastern Europe that approached democracy in the Western sence. Bur even in Czechoslovakia the Czechs cintrolled the government to the extent that there was considerable oposition among the ethnic minorities and not just the Germans.
These other nationalities were useful to Hitler because they helped to provide some cover for the destruction of Czechoslovakia. This was needed
because a German move on Czechoslovakia meant a violation of the Munich agreement. The Poles in October demanded Teschen.
The eastern-most province of Czechoslovakia was Ruthenia. It had been claimed by Hungary. The post-World War I peace settlement had awarded most of Ruthenia to Hungary, but this northern area was awarded to Czechoslovakia. Yhis was formalized in the Treaty of Trianon (1920). The population included large numbers of ethnic Hungarians along with Ukranians. The Hungarians after thec Munich Conference renewed their own demands for the rest of Ruthenia (November 1938). They demanded demanded a strip of territory with over 1 million people and the remainder of Ruthenia, which was renamed "Carpatho-Ukraine". This all fit in with Hitler's plans to destroy the remainder of Czechodslovakia that was left after the seizure of the Sudetenland. Hitler offered the remainder of Rutenia to met with Admiral Miklós Horthy, the Regant of Hungary. A frontier incidentwas staged (March 15) and as German troops moved into Prague, Hungarian troops moved into Rutenia. There was no resistance from the Czechs, although some of the Ukranians resisted, trying to set up a sepsarte state. Problems developed, howver, when the Hungarians kept going into Slovakia. Hitler had to order the Hungarians to stop. After World War II, northern Ruthenia (Carpato-Ruthenia) was annexed by the Soiviet Union and assigned to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. After the disolution of the Soviet Union , the Ukraine along with Carpato-Ruthenia became indeopendent (1991).
Poland and Hungary seized much of the Czech territory they coveted.
The Czechs also had to grant autonomy to Slovakia. Slovakia became a NAZI protectoratev nominally independent. It became a an enthusiastic participant in the Holocacaust.
The NAZIs for a time promoted pan-Ukrainian agitation in Ruthenia. Soviet supression of the Ukranians, especially the Ukranian Famine (1932-33) is one of the great attrocities oif the 20th century. There was as a result considerable anti-Soviet feeling among Ukranians, especislly in the western Ukrsine. The signing of the NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact temporarily changed the anti-Soviet direction of German foreign policy. The same was true of Soviet foreign policy, which shifted the anti-Fascist foreign polivy and saw to it that Communist partoies around the world did the same
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