Gau Southern Hanover–Brunswick (German: ''Gau Südhannover–Braunschweig'') was a ''de facto'' administrative division of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

from 1933 to 1945 in the

Free State of Brunswick The Free State of Brunswick () was a Administrative divisions of Weimar Germany, state of the German Reich in the time of the Weimar Republic. It was formed after the abolition of the Duchy of Brunswick in the course of the German revolution of ...

and part of the

Free State of Prussia The Free State of Prussia (, ) was one of the States of the Weimar Republic, constituent states of Weimar Republic, Germany from 1918 to 1947. The successor to the Kingdom of Prussia after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, it cont ...

. 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 Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

History

The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in a

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

conference on 22 May 1926, in order to improve administration of the party structure. From 1933 onward, after the

Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

, the ''Gaue'' increasingly replaced the German states as administrative subdivisions in Germany. At the head of each Gau stood a

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

, a position which became increasingly more powerful, especially after the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...

and the defense of the Gau. The position of Gauleiter in Southern Hanover-Brunswick was initially held by Bernhard Rust from October 1928 until November 1940 and then by Hartmann Lauterbacher until the end of the war.

References

External links

Illustrated list of Gauleiter
{{Coord missing, Lower Saxony History of Brunswick 1933 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Southern Hanover-Brunswick