After the German takeover of what remained of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Henlein served one month as head of the civil administration of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, nominally making him the number-two man in the Protectorate behind Reichsprotektor Konstantin von Neurath. Henlein welcomed the creation of the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia as restoring "natural Czech subservience" to the Germans, saying that the Bohemia and Moravia were "German lands" that unfortunately ended up being "occupied" by the Czechs, who now to serve as a "demographic and economic resources" to be exploited by Germany. However, most of the power ended up in the hands of his long-time rival Karl Hermann Frank. On 1 May 1939, Henlein was named "Reichsstatthalter" (Reich Governor) of "Reichsgau Sudetenland", thereby uniting under his control the highest party and governmental offices in his jurisdiction. On 16 November 1942, he was named Reich Defense Commissioner for the "Reichsgau". He continued to hold those positions until the end of the war.