My mom’s side of the family has a list of what ethnicities we have. Bohemian and Czechoslovakian are both on that list as completely separate ethnicities. Recently someone told me that they’re actually the exact same thing. I found sources confirming that, but I also found sources saying that Bohemia is a part of Czechoslovakia (an “all thumbs are fingers but not all fingers are thumbs” kind of situation). Then my ADHD got me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole before I could find a clear answer as to which is correct, and now my brain hurts too much to keep searching. Please help me.
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Short answer: Yes – Bohemia is the western half of the Czech Republic.
Longer answer: Ethnicity anywhere in the Old World is complex. Borders shift as wars and diplomacy are undergone, but the people usually stay in the same area. Middle Europe has seen a lot of countries come and go even over the last 100 years. Decisive ethnic factors are religion, village, and dialect. ‘Bohunk’ short for Bohemian was common slang used to denote any person of Slavic background in the USA for decades. There are Bohemian Societies spread out throughout the USA, but many middle europeans joined, not just ‘Bohemians’. Maybe these items muddied the waters. Czechoslovakia existed from 1918 to 1992 so I’m guessing your ‘Czechoslovakian’ ancestor immigrated during this time frame. Possibly your ‘Bohemian’ ancestor immigrated earlier when the Austro-Hungarian Empire claimed what is now the Czech Republic and his/her travel papers would’ve read something along the lines of – Nationality: Austro-Hungarian; Ethnicity: Bohemian.
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