|
A crisis
erupted in Czechoslovakia in the middle of March, and with the
Germans’ encouragement, Jozef Tiso, prime minister of autonomous
Slovakia, proclaimed his country’s independence. Germany occupied
the Czech zone the next day (March 15), thus liquidating the second
Czechoslovak Republic, which had lasted for only a few months. The
first Czech Republic had been established after World War One, after
the disintegration of the Ausrtro-Hungarian monarchy. The second
Czech Republic, was created in the wake of the Munich Conference
(September 28-29, 1938).
On March
16, Hitler proclaimed a German “protectorate” in the Czech
region. Practically speaking, this area became part of the Reich.
Baron Konstantin von Neurath was appointed Reich Protector; Karl
Hermann Frank, leader of the Sudeten German Party, was named
secretary of state; and all major governmental posts were staffed
with Reich appointees. Only in the formal sense did the government
of the “autonomous” Czech zone remain intact.
An
operation code-named Aktion Gitter, launched immediately after the
onset of the occupation, led to the arrest of emigrants from Germany
and Czech and Jewish public figures. Anti-Jewish incitement and
persecution became vocal. Anti-Jewish actions began; synagogues were
torched and Jews were assaulted in the streets. The lead was taken
in this “operation” by the most extreme of fascist orginizations,
Vlajka (The Flag), which was especially active in Moravia.
|
