Created in the 1930s, this German newsreel shows the "expansion of Germany" under Adolf Hitler including the seizure of the Sudentenland. German troops are shown being welcomed into the area, along with Hitler himself who arrives in a large open car to a hero's welcome. Also shown is Mahren also known as Moravia. Following the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Moravia became part of Czechoslovakia. As one of the five lands of Czechoslovakia, it had restricted autonomy. In 1928 Moravia ceased to exist as a territorial unity and was merged with Czech Silesia into the Moravian-Silesian Land. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II, Moravia was divided – part was made an administrative unit within the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the area with more ethnic Germans was absorbed by the German Third Reich. The newsreel concludes with footage of the newly-ascendant German Navy -- the Kriegsmarine -- on maneuvers and parades by the Wehrmacht. The Sudetenland (Czech and Slovak: Sudety, Polish: Kraj Sudetów) is the German name (used in English in the first half of the 20th century) to refer to those northern, southwest, and western areas of Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by German speakers, specifically the border districts of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia located within Czechoslovakia. The word Sudetenland only came into existence in the early 20th century, and only came to prominence after the First World War, when the German-dominated Austria-Hungary was dismembered and the Sudeten Germans found themselves living in the new country of Czechoslovakia. The Sudeten crisis of 1938 was provoked by the demands of Nazi Germany that the Sudetenland be annexed to Germany, which in fact took place after the later infamous Munich Agreement. When Czechoslovakia was reconstituted after the Second World War, the Sudeten Germans were largely expelled, and the region today is inhabited primarily by Czech speakers. Parts of the current Czech regions of Karlovy Vary, Liberec, Olomouc, Moravia-Silesia, and Ústí nad Labem are situated within the former Sudetenland. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference." This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com

• published: 18 Jun 2015
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