In 2016, the government of the Czech Republic declared that Czechia is the country’s short name in English. Yes, Czech Republic remains the country’s official name and yes, Czech Republic is somewhat clumsy, but Czechia? The government claims that Czechia used in English in 1841 and 1856 and commonly used in between 1918 and 1960 in US press articles to describe the western parts of Czechoslovakia; that said, I had not run seen this term in my history readings … until recently.
In his 1946 book After Hitler Stalin?, Robert Ingram discusses his views of European politics from the Congress of Vienna through World War II. His makes different arguments and interpretations on the cause/effect that led to the two world wars. And suddenly I saw it:
It was most unfortunate that Danzig became the immediate cause of the explosion. It was a stroke of luck for Hitler because every German loathed the Corridor. Yet the British could not wait for the next occasion. Danzig would have become for Poland what the Sudentenland had been for Czechia. Not Danzig, Poland was at stake.
It immaterial if you remember your World War II history and understand the context of this paragraph; what surprised me was seeing the term Czechia. The usage here appears to be consistent with the government’s explanation, as Sudentenland is in the Czech portion of Czechoslovakia. And it’s definitely shorter than saying …what the Sudentenland had been for the Czech portions of Czechoslovakia. Still, a surprise to see it.
The government announcement does come off as defensive in justifying the term, saying that it’s similarity to Chechnya is not an issue:
One of the problems raised in this context is the risk of confusing “Czechia” with “Chechnya”. However, poor geographical knowledge cannot be a reason for not using a country’s name.
Directed at the many geographically-challenged Americans, I assume. Anyone ready to discuss Türkiye?
