Gau Westphalia-North
Gau Westphalia-North | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gau of Nazi Germany | |||||||||||||
1931–1945 | |||||||||||||
Gaue and Reichsgaue) | |||||||||||||
Capital | Münster | ||||||||||||
Government | |||||||||||||
Gauleiter | |||||||||||||
• 1931–1945 | Alfred Meyer | ||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||
• Disestablishment | 8 May 1945 | ||||||||||||
|
The Gau Westphalia-North (German: Gau Westfalen-Nord) was an
History
The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in a
At the head of each Gau stood a
The position of Gauleiter in Westphalia-North was held by Alfred Meyer from its formation until his suicide on 11 April 1945.[3][4] nine days after the Gau's capital, Münster, was captured.[5] Meyer's Deputy Gauleiter was Peter Stangier, the sole holder of this post, who was appointed in August 1931 and remained in office until the collapse of the regime in May 1945.[6]
Allied invasion and occupation
Near the end of World War II, the Gau was invaded by the western allies, who would gradually capture its territory until the end of the war. The timeline of the allied advance is detailed in the table below.
Date of capture | Location | Ref |
---|---|---|
28 March 1945 | Raesfeld | [7] |
28 March 1945 | Borken | [8] |
28 March 1945 | Haltern am See | [9] |
30 March 1945 | Bocholt | [10] |
30 March 1945 | Ahaus | [11] |
30 March 1945 | Gescher | |
30 March 1945 | Rhede | |
30 March 1945 | Coesfeld | [12] |
30 March 1945 | Lager Herbstwald | |
30 March 1945 | Buldern
|
[13] |
31 March 1945 | Vreden | [14] |
31 March 1945 | Burgsteinfurt
|
|
1-3 April 1945 | Ochtrup | [15] |
1 April 1945 | Lüdinghausen | [16] |
2 April 1945 | Gronau | [17] |
2 April 1945 | Datteln | [18] |
2 April 1945 | Münster | [5] |
References
- ^ Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- The Nizkor Project. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Übersicht der NSDAP-Gaue, der Gauleiter und der Stellvertretenden Gauleiter zwischen 1933 und 1945" [Overview of Nazi Gaue, the Gauleiter and assistant Gauleiter from 1933 to 1945]. zukunft-braucht-erinnerung.de (in German). Zukunft braucht Erinnerung. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ "Gau Westfalen-Nord". verwaltungsgeschichte.de (in German). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Münster 1945 – 75 Jahre Ende Zweiter Weltkrieg". magazin.stadtmuseum-muenster.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ISBN 978-1-932-97021-0.
- ^ ""Die Ereignisse überschlugen sich"". BZ (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ "Gedenken an das Kriegsende im Frühjahr 1945". BZ (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ "17. Stausee Insel – Stadtrundgang – Haltern am See" (in German). 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ "Vor 70 Jahren: Britische Besatzer in Bocholt". BBV (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ Ahaus, Stadt. "Heute vor 75 Jahren in Ahaus". Stadt Ahaus (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ Hendrik M. Lange (2015). "1945–2015: 70 Jahre Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges" (PDF). stadtarchiv.coesfeld.de. Stadtarchiv Coesfeld. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
- ^ "verwehte-spuren - Dülmen-Buldern". verwehte-spuren.de.tl. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ "Geschichte der Stadt Vreden". Stadt Vreden (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ wn. "Was der Krieg in Ochtrup anrichtete". www.wn.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ Werth, Peter. "Ein Toter unter der Holzbrücke". www.wn.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ wn. ""Plötzlich wurde alles stockdunkel"". www.dzonline.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ "Dattelner Morgenpost: Ein Tag der Befreiung". www.heimatverein-datteln.de. Retrieved 2023-09-10.