Reichsgau

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with the
NSDAP
(Nazi Party).
NSDAP administrative units, 1944
Map of Nazi Germany with Reichsgaue highlighted

A Reichsgau (plural Reichsgaue) was an administrative subdivision created in a number of areas annexed by Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945.

Overview

Propaganda postcard of Nazi Germany depicting the Gaue of the Reich (October 1939)

The term was formed from the words

Old Reich" (German: Altreich), which meant Germany in its borders of 1937 before the annexation of other territories like Austria, the Sudetenland
, and Bohemia, and the Reichsgau scheme was therefore implemented only in newly-acquired territories.

There were several Reichsgaue:

The East March was subsequently subdivided into seven smaller Reichsgaue, generally coterminous with the former Austrian Länder (federal provinces).

List of Reichsgaue

Reichsgaue in Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia established in 1938

Gau name German name Capital Established Notes
Carinthia Kärnten Klagenfurt 1938 Formed from the former Austrian federal state of
Carinthia and Eastern Tyrol, included from 1941 on parts of Slovenia
.
Lower Danube Niederdonau Krems (see note) 1938 Formed from the former Austrian federal state of
Bohemia and the two Bratislava boroughs of Devín and Petržalka. In 1943, Hitler toured Reichsgau Niederdonau and assured Gauleiter Hugo Jury that the capital would be Brünn (Brno) in the near future.[1]
Salzburg Salzburg Salzburg 1938 Formed from the former Austrian federal state of
Salzburg
.
Styria Steiermark Graz 1938 Formed from the former Austrian federal state of Styria and southern part of Burgenland; included from 1941 on parts of Slovenia.
Sudetenland Sudetenland Reichenberg 1938 Formed from the predominantly German-speaking parts of Czechoslovakia that were ceded to Germany after the Munich Agreement.
Tirol-Vorarlberg Tirol-Vorarlberg Innsbruck 1938 Formed from the former Austrian federal state of
Tyrol; Kleinwalsertal became part of the Gau Swabia
.
Upper Danube Oberdonau Linz 1938 Formed from the former Austrian federal state of Upper Austria and Ausseerland, a part of Styria; included from 1939 on parts of southern Bohemia.
Vienna Wien Vienna (Wien) 1938 Formed from the former Austrian federal state of Vienna and surrounding parts of former Lower Austria.

Reichsgaue established during the Second World War

Gau name German name Capital Established Notes
Danzig-West Prussia Danzig-Westpreußen
Danzig
 		1939 Formed in the
Pomeranian Voivodeship
, which were both occupied by Germany in 1939.
Flanders
 Flandern Antwerp (Antwerpen) 1944 Formed in the
Brabant (the present-day province of Flemish Brabant
).
Wallonia
 Wallonien Liège (Lüttich) 1944 Formed in the
Brabant (now part of the separate province of Walloon Brabant
).
Wartheland Wartheland Poznań (Posen) 1939 Formed primarily in the Polish region of the
Łódź Voivodeship
after the German occupation of Poland.

Reichsgaue (partly) formed out of pre-existing Gaue

Gau name German name Capital Notes
Baden Baden Strasbourg (Straßburg) Formed out of the Gaue of
Alsace-Lorraine
.
Moselland Moselland Koblenz Formed out of the pre-war Gau Koblenz-Trier and Luxembourg.
West March Westmark Saarbrücken Formed out of the Bavarian
Alsace-Lorraine
.

Planned Reichsgaue that were never established

Gau name German name Capital Notes
Banat/Prince-Eugene-Land
 Banat / Prinz-Eugen-Land Belgrade (Belgrad, or to be renamed to Prinz-Eugen-Stadt) To be formed out of the
Baranya. To be named for Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), Austrian general who had a famous victory at the Siege of Belgrade (1688)
.
Beskidland Beskidenland Kraków (Krakau) To be formed out of the southern parts of conquered Poland between the area west of Kraków to the San river in the east. It was to substantially correspond to the upper Vistula river basin. It was to be almost identical in size to Weichselland and Galizien. Named for the Beskids mountain range.
Brabant Brabant Not specified. To be formed out of central parts of Belgium.
Burgundy
 Burgund Nancy (Nanzig) or
Geneva (Genf)[2] or
Dijon[3] 		To be formed out of the territories of eastern
Alsace-Lorraine and Nord-Pas-de-Calais) that were to be annexed into Germany after the war. Also to be included to the Reichsgau were parts of Western Switzerland
.
Galicia Galizien Lviv (Lemberg) Corresponding to the Podolian plain. It was to be almost identical in size to Beskidenland and Weichselland.
Gothland Gotenland Simferopol (to be renamed to Gotenburg) To be formed out of the
Crimean peninsula and large parts of mainland Ukraine. Named for the Goths
.
North March
 Nordmark Not specified. To be formed out of Denmark.
Vandalland Vandalenland Not specified, probably
Litzmannstadt
(Łódź). 		To be formed out of part or all of the area of the General Government. Named for the Vandals.
Vistulaland Weichselland Warsaw (Warschau) To be formed out of the middle Vistula river basin. It was to be almost identical in size to Beskidenland and Galizien.
Westland/Holland Westland / Holland Not specified. To be formed out of the Netherlands after its intended annexation into Germany.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ISBN 0-674-02451-6
    , p. 125
  2. ISBN 3-274-00003-5
    .
  3. ISBN 0-85989-474-6
    .

Sources

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