12/5/1919 Bad news for the Sudeten Germans as the Allies agree Czechoslovakia’s borders with Germany and Austria

The German peace treaty is the main preoccupation of the Paris Conference, but it is still managing to find time to settle other matters. One of these is the problematic question of the border between the newly emergent state of Czechoslovakia and the rump Austria left behind by the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The difficulty here is that large numbers of German speakers live in the territories claimed by Czechoslovakia. These people, known as the Sudeten Germans, do not want to be part of a Slavic country and instead wish to be incorporated into either Germany or Austria. They mostly live along the borders with these two countries, so the Czechoslovak border could be redrawn to their benefit, which would accord with Wilson‘s ideas of national self-determination. However, a border of that kind would leave Czechoslovakia vulnerable to invasion from its neighbours.

The Czechoslovaks offer various concessions…