• The shaded areas of Czechoslovakia were mainly inhabited by German speaking people.
• Before 1918 the whole area had been part of the Austrian empire. These German areas became part of Czechoslovakia in the peace treaties at the end of the First World War.
• The dates on the map show when the transfer from Czech to German rule should take place.
• The shaded areas contained vital supplies of raw materials for Czechoslovakia, as well as important rail links.
• The areas also contained border defence posts. Losing them made Czechoslovakia vulnerable to attack.
• The areas also contained important industries. The most important was the Skoda arms factory. This plant supplied many of the tanks which Hitler used to attack Poland in 1939 and the USSR in 1941.