Demonstration of the Sudeten Germans on March 4, 1919

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On Tuesday, March 4, 1919 there were demonstrations by the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia . The Sudeten Germans demanded annexation to German Austria instead of incorporating the Sudetenland into the territory of the Czechoslovak State Association.

prehistory

The last members of the Reichsrat in these German-speaking regions that were part of Czechoslovakia had co-founded the Republic of German-Austria in October 1918 as members of the Provisional National Assembly in Vienna, and on November 12, 1918, they voted for the introduction of the republic and the merger with Germany. Nevertheless, the German settlement areas were occupied by Czech troops between November 1, 1918 and January 31, 1919. Fighting occurred here and there, especially on November 27th in Brüx and on December 3rd in Kaplitz / Bohemian Forest , as well as in several places in South Moravia . Civil resistance, on the other hand, was frequent, several cities were only ready to give up after being threatened with artillery shelling (among them Brüx, Eger , Mährisch Schönberg ). On December 3rd, Kaplitz was fired at with several artillery shots. In addition, hostages were briefly taken in several cities to ensure the disarmament of the German population. The number of deaths during this occupation through fighting and attacks was about 20 on the German side, the number of Czech victims is unknown.

On February 16, 1919, the election for the constituent national assembly took place in German Austria .

demonstration

The specific reason for the demonstrations of March 4, 1919 was the opening session of the constituent National Assembly of German Austria, in which the Germans of the disputed areas of Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian Silesia, in contrast to the previous Provisional German-Austrian National Assembly, elected from 1911 Reichsrat members existed, were no longer represented due to the Czech being unable to vote.

Another reason for the rallies was the banknote cancellation , the extensive devaluation of cash , on the same day. The law for this was passed on February 25, 1919 by the Czechoslovak Finance Minister Alois Rašín for the period between March 3 and 9 and also provided for 50% of the value of the old Austrian banknotes to be withheld. The initiative for the demonstrations came from the Sudeten German Social Democracy under Josef Seliger , the leading party of the German Bohemians and German Moravians at the time. All other German parties joined the call that was passed on February 27 and printed the next day in Vorwärts .

The demands of March 4th, which was committed under black, red and gold flags, included first and foremost the right of peoples to self-determination , which US President Woodrow Wilson had proclaimed as the basic principle of the peace settlement . The speakers also called for the withdrawal of the Czech troops and the release of the food and coal supplies that were being held back.

The rallies were bloodily suppressed shortly after noon in several cities at the same time by gunshots into the crowd. 54 people were killed on the part of the Sudeten German demonstrators; 25 in Kaaden , 16 in Sternberg , 6 in Karlsbad , 2 in Arnau , 2 in Eger , 2 in Mies and 1 in Aussig . Among the dead were 20 women and girls, an 80-year-old and boys aged 14, 13 and 11 years.

There were already two deaths on March 3rd in Eger and two more on March 5th in Karlsbad . There were also around 200 injured.

The victims of March 4, 1919 received no compensation, the shooters were not identified and punished. For the Sudeten Germans, March 4th became a “day of self-determination” as a day of remembrance, which, following the Munich Agreement in 1938, was captured by the Nazi rulers and abused for propaganda purposes.

See also

literature

  • Karl Braun: On the formation of Sudeten German identity. In: ( Bohemia 37, 1996), pp. 353-380 ( PDF ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jörg Osterloh: National Socialist Persecution of Jews in the Reichsgau Sudetenland 1938–1945. Oldenbourg, Munich 2006, pp. 49, 555.
  2. ^ Leopold Grünwald (ed.): Sudetendeutsche - victims and perpetrators. Violations of the right to self-determination and their consequences 1918–1982. Junius, Vienna 1983², ISBN 3-900370-05-2 , p. 114.
  3. ^ Jörg K. Hoensch: History of the Czechoslovak Republic 1918–1978. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1978², ISBN 3-17-004884-8 , p. 30.
  4. ↑ Tobias Weger : “Volkstumskampf” without end? Sudeten German Organizations, 1945–1955 (=  The Germans and Eastern Europe. Studies and Sources. Volume 2). Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-631-57104-0 , p. 367ff.