Gau Franconia | |||||||||
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Gau of Nazi Germany | |||||||||
1929–1945 | |||||||||
![]() Map of Nazi Germany showing its administrative subdivisions ( Gaue and Reichsgaue ). Gau Franken in dark brown. | |||||||||
Capital | Nuremberg | ||||||||
Population | |||||||||
• 17 May 1939 [1] | 1,065,122 | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
Government | |||||||||
Gauleiter | |||||||||
• 1929–1940 | Julius Streicher | ||||||||
• 1940–1942 (acting) | Hans Zimmermann | ||||||||
• 1942–1944 (acting) | Karl Holz | ||||||||
• 1944–1945 | Karl Holz | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
1 March 1929 | |||||||||
8 May 1945 | |||||||||
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Today part of | Germany |
Gau Franconia (German: Gau Franken) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, from 1933 to 1945. Before that, from 1929 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area. Originally formed as Middle Franconia (German: Mittelfranken) in 1929, it was renamed Franconia in 1936.
The Nazi Gau (plural: Gaue) system was originally established in a party conference on 22 May 1926, in order to improve administration of the party structure. From 1933 onward, after the Nazi seizure of power, the Gaue increasingly replaced the German states as administrative subdivisions in Germany. [2]
At the head of each Gau stood a Gauleiter, a position which became increasingly more powerful, especially after the outbreak of the Second World War, with little interference from above. Local Gauleiters often held government positions as well as party ones and were in charge of, among other things, propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onward, the Volkssturm and the defense of the Gau. [2] [3]
The position of Gauleiter in Franconia was originally held by Julius Streicher from 1929 until 1940 when he was removed from the position. Streicher was later tried at the Nuremberg trials and executed for crimes against humanity on 16 October 1946. The position of Gauleiter was not filled again until 1944, with Hans Zimmermann (1940–42) and Karl Holz (1942–44) each serving as acting Gauleiter. Holz officially took up the post in 1944 and held it until his own death in April 1945. [4] [5]
The Gau Main Franconia, formed as Gau Lower Franconia on 1 March 1929 and renamed Gau Main Franconia on 30 July 1935, was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, from 1933 to 1945. Before that, from 1929 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
The Gau March of Brandenburg was formed in March 1933 initially under the name Gau Electoral March in Nazi Germany as a district within the Free State of Prussia. In January 1939, Kurmark was renamed March of Brandenburg. The Gau was dissolved in 1945, following Allied Soviet occupation of the area and Germany's formal surrender. After the war, the territory of the former Gau became part of the state of Brandenburg in East Germany except for areas beyond the Oder-Neisse line, which were given to the Polish People's Republic. Most of its territory is now divided between Germany's State of Brandenburg and Poland's Lubusz Voivodeship.
Gau Eastern Hanover was a regional district of the NSDAP established in 1925 in the north eastern part of the Prussian Province of Hanover, comprising the governorates of Stade and Lüneburg in their then boundaries. Originally called Gau Stade-Lüneburg, it was renamed Gau Ost-Hannover on 1 October 1928. Initially, the Gau was a mere regional Nazi party subsection, but with the growing subjection of all public administration to Nazi party influence after the Machtergreifung, the Gau usurped from 1933 to 1935 more and more the functions of the Provincial government and its superordinate Free State of Prussia. However, after the German constituent states were de facto abolished in 1935, the Gaue replaced them in their responsibilities. Gau East Hannover - like all Nazi party structures - was dismantled after Nazi Germany's defeat in 1945. In 1946 the Control Commission for Germany - British Element (CCG/BE) reconstituted the Province of Hanover as the State of Hanover and later the same year it merged with three smaller neighbouring reconstituted German states to form the new state of Lower Saxony within the British Zone of Occupation. The municipality of Amt Neuhaus was allocated to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Gau East Prussia was an administrative division of Nazi Germany encompassing the province of East Prussia in the Free State of Prussia from 1933 to 1945. Before that, from 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area, having been established at a conference in Königsberg on 6 December 1925. In 1939, Gau East Prussia expanded following the annexation of the Klaipėda Region from Lithuania and the occupation of Poland, while a sliver of territory from the gau was transferred to Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia. After Germany's attack on the USSR, the Belarusian city of Hrodna also became part of the Gau.
Gau Southern Hanover–Brunswick was a de facto administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the Free State of Brunswick and part of the Free State of Prussia. Before that, from its formation on 1 October 1928 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area. Gau Southern Hanover-Brunswick was abolished after Germany's defeat in 1945. The territory after the war became part of Lower Saxony in West Germany.
The Gau Westphalia-North was an administrative division of Nazi Germany encompassing the Free State of Lippe, the Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe and the northern half of the Prussian province of Westphalia between 1933 and 1945. From 1931 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party for these areas.
The Gau Baden, renamed Gau Baden–Alsace in March 1941, was a de facto administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the German state of Baden and, from 1940 onwards, in Alsace. Before that, from 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
The Gau Halle-Merseburg was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the Prussian Province of Saxony. Before that, from 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
The Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern, formed on 8 July 1925, was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the German state of Württemberg and the Prussian province of Hohenzollern. Before that, from 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
The Gau Saxony was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the German state of Saxony. Before that, from 1926 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
The Gau Hesse-Nassau was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. It was formed by the merger of two separate Gaue comprising the People's State of Hesse and the southern parts of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau that were, from 1927 to 1933, the regional subdivisions of the Nazi Party in those areas.
The Gau Electoral Hesse was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, initially known under the name Gau Hesse-Nassau-North, comprising the northern part of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau. Before that, from 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
The Gau Schleswig-Holstein was formed on 26 February 1925. It was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein, parts of the Free State of Oldenburg and, from 1 April 1937, the Free City of Lübeck. Before that, from 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
The Gau Moselland, formed as Gau Koblenz-Trier in June 1931, was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the Prussian Rhine Province. Before that, from 1931 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area. On 24 January 1941, the Gau was renamed Gau Moselland, Mosel being the German name of the river Moselle. Following the 1940 German conquest of Luxembourg, the country was subsequently annexed on 30 August 1942 and made part of Gau Moselland.
The Gau Mecklenburg, was formed as Gau Mecklenburg-Lübeck on 22 March 1925 and renamed Gau Mecklenburg on 31 March 1937 when Lübeck was transferred to Gau Schleswig-Holstein. It was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Before that, from 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
The Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Formed in 1926 as Gau Anhalt-North Saxony Province by the merger of three smaller Gaue it comprised the German state of Anhalt and part of the Prussian province of Saxony. It was renamed Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt on 1 October 1928. From 1926 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
The Gau Westphalia-South was an administrative division of Nazi Germany encompassing the Arnsberg Region in the southern part of the Prussian province of Westphalia between 1933 and 1945. From 1931 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party for these areas.
The Gau Upper Silesia was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945 in the Upper Silesia part of the Prussian Province of Silesia. The Gau was created when the Gau Silesia was split into Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia on 27 January 1941. The Gau included territory annexed by Nazi Germany after the German invasion of Poland.
The Gau Silesia formed on 15 March 1925, was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1941 in the Prussian Province of Silesia. From 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party for this area. The Gau was split into Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia on 27 January 1941. The majority of the former Gau became part of Poland after the Second World War, with small parts in the far west becoming part of the future East Germany.
The Gau Berlin was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the German capital Berlin. Before that, from 1928 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area. From 1926 to 1928 Berlin was part of the Gau Berlin-Brandenburg which was split into two separate Gaue on 1 October 1928.