The Poles wasted no time, occupying Teschen and Freistadt the following day. In Germany’s new Gaue the Jews were now at great risk. There were 27,000 Jews and non-Aryan Christians in the Sudetenland. In the summer there had been antisemitic riots in Eger, Asch, and Karlsbad, and Jewish shops had been ransacked. Famous spas like Carlsbad and Marienbad had been immensely popular with rich Jews. Der Stürmer reckoned that 80 percent of Carlsbad’s customers were Jewish, noting maliciously that although Jews had lost the choice to regain their health at Carlsbad, they could keep fit by running. The doctors who treated them were also likely to be Jews. There were other powerful Jewish clans in the region; the hop merchants of Saaz, for example, were largely Jewish. The message was clear, and thousands fled. Although the Munich Agreement had laid down a provision for citizens to “opt” for Germany or Czechoslovakia, the Czechs refused protection to Jews who feared for their safety under the Nazis and forcibly returned as many as they could find to the German occupied areas.
