Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918 when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1992. From 1939 to 1945 the state did not de facto exist because of its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany but the Czechoslovak government-in-exile nevertheless continued to exist during this period. In 1945 the eastern part of Carpathian Ruthenia was taken over by the Soviet Union.
