German Bohemians, later known as the
Sudeten Germans, were
ethnic Germans living in the
Lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part of the state of
Czechoslovakia. Before 1945, Czechoslovakia was inhabited by over three million such German Bohemians, comprising about 23 percent of the population of the whole republic and about 29.5 percent of the population of Bohemia and Moravia. Ethnic Germans had lived in
Bohemia, a part of the
Holy Roman Empire, since the 14th century (and in some areas from the 12th century or earlier), mostly in the border regions of the
Sudetenland. They became known as the Sudeten Germans after the fall of the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy, which was a consequence of the
First World War. After 1945, most ethnic Germans
were expelled from Czechoslovakia, and sent to Germany and Austria.