What is the Sudetenland and how does it relate to World War II?

The Sudetenland was a hotly contested region of Czechoslovakia during the conflicts that led to World War II. The region was annexed by Germany through the Munich Agreement.

The Sudetenland encompasses parts of northern Moravia as well as parts of northern and western Bohemia, which are in the region of the Sudeten mountain range and boarder Germany. The region was incorporated into Czechoslovakia during the 1918-1919 border determination.

The citizens of Sudetenland were primarily German, and many came to embrace the ideals set forth by Konrad Henlein, then-leader of the Sudeten-German Party in the 1930s. The Munich Pact, signed in 1938, confirmed the annexation of Sudetenland by Germany.