Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia was a European country surrounded by Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, and Romania.  The country was a functioning parliamentary democracy with a diverse population, 50% Czech, 22.3% German, 16% Slovak, 3.79% Ukrainian, and 1.29% (356,830) Jewish, from its formation in 1918 until the Munich crises in 1938.  During this time, all of the different ethnic groups lived in peace with one another.  After the crisis, Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia was handed over to Germany in 1938.  The image shows both the great architecture of a city in Czechoslovakia and the German soldiers in the country.  In 1939, Germany began to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia, beginning with the provinces Bohemia and Moravia.  263,000 of the 356,830 Jews in Czechoslovakia were killed by Germany and their collaborators during the war.