Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
| Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia | ||||||||||
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Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren Protektorát Čechy a Morava |
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| Autonomous Protectorate of Germany | ||||||||||
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Anthem Kde domov můj? / Wo ist mein Heim? "Where is my home?" |
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.svg) The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia in 1942.
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| Capital | Prague | |||||||||
| Languages | Czech, German | |||||||||
| Political structure | Autonomous Protectorate | |||||||||
| Reich Protector | ||||||||||
| • | 1939–1943 | Konstantin von Neurath | ||||||||
| • | 1941–1942 | Reinhard Heydrich (acting) | ||||||||
| • | 1942–1943 | Kurt Daluege (acting) | ||||||||
| • | 1943–1945 | Wilhelm Frick | ||||||||
| State President | ||||||||||
| • | 1939–1945 | Emil Hácha | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | ||||||||||
| • | 1939 | Rudolf Beran (acting) | ||||||||
| • | 1939–1941 | Alois Eliáš | ||||||||
| • | 1942–1945 | Jaroslav Krejčí | ||||||||
| • | 1945 | Richard Bienert | ||||||||
| Historical era | World War II | |||||||||
| • | German occupation | 15 March 1939 | ||||||||
| • | Liberation of Prague | 11 May 1945 | ||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • | 1939 | 49,363 km² (19,059 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||
| • | 1939 est. | 7,380,000 | ||||||||
| Density | 149.5 /km² (387.2 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Currency | Protectorate Koruna | |||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Czech Republic
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The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German: Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren; Czech: Protektorát Čechy a Morava) was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate of Nazi Germany established following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia by annexing Sudetenland territory of Czech Lands as a Reichsgau. Following the establishment of the independent Slovak Republic on 14 March 1939, and the German occupation of the Czech rump state the next day, the protectorate was established on 16 March 1939 by a proclamation of Adolf Hitler from Prague Castle.
The German government justified its intervention by claiming that Czechoslovakia was descending into chaos as the country was breaking apart on ethnic lines, and that the German military was seeking to restore order in the region. Czechoslovakia at the time under President Emil Hácha had pursued a pro-German foreign policy; however, upon meeting with German Führer Adolf Hitler, Hácha submitted to Germany's demands and issued a declaration stating that in light of events he accepted that the fate of the Czech people would be decided by Germany; Hitler accepted Hácha's declaration and declared that Germany would provide the Czech people with an autonomous protectorate governed by ethnic Czechs. Hácha was appointed president of the protectorate the same day.
The Protectorate was an autonomous Nazi-administered territory which the German government considered part of the Greater German Reich. The state's existence came to an end with the surrender of Germany to the Allies in 1945.
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