<P> Czechoslovakia was created in 1918 following the collapse of the Austro - Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I . The Treaty of Versailles recognized the independence of Czechoslovakia with a population that included three million German - speaking people , 24 percent of the total population of the country . The Germans lived mostly in an area called Sudetenland bordering on Germany and the newly created country of Austria . The Sudeten Germans were not consulted about whether they wished to be citizens of Czechoslovakia . Although the constitution guaranteed equality for all citizens , there was a tendency among political leaders to transform the country `` into an instrument of Czech and Slovak nationalism '' . Although some progress was made to integrate the Germans and other minorities , they continued to be under - represented in the government and the army . Moreover , the Great Depression beginning in 1929 impacted the highly industrialized and export - oriented Sudeten Germans more than it did the Czech and Slovak populations . By 1936 , 60 percent of the unemployed people in Czechoslovakia were Germans . </P>
the sudeten question which led to the calling of the munich conference of 1938 centered on
Sudeten Germans