, short for ( "Supreme Commander of All German Forces in the East"), was both a high-ranking position in the
armed forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
of the
German Empire
The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...
as well as the name given to the occupied territories on the German section of the
Eastern Front of World War I
The Eastern Front or Eastern Theater of World War I (german: Ostfront; ro, Frontul de răsărit; russian: Восточный фронт, Vostochny front) was a theater of operations that encompassed at its greatest extent the entire frontie ...
, with the exception of Poland. It encompassed the former
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
* Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
governorates of
Courland
Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...
,
Grodno,
Vilna,
Kovno and
Suwałki. It was governed in succession by
Paul von Hindenburg and
Prince Leopold of Bavaria
Prince Leopold of Bavaria (Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf; 9 February 1846 – 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912) and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825–1864). H ...
, and collapsed by the end of
World War I.
Extension
was set up by Kaiser
Wilhelm II in November 1914, initially came under the command of
Paul von Hindenburg, a
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n general who had come out of retirement to achieve the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
victory of the
Battle of Tannenberg
The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 26 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Ru ...
in August 1914 and became a national hero. When the
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States)
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Af ...
Erich von Falkenhayn
General Erich Georg Sebastian Anton von Falkenhayn (11 September 1861 – 8 April 1922) was the second Chief of the German General Staff of the First World War from September 1914 until 29 August 1916. He was removed on 29 August 1916 after ...
was dismissed from office by the Kaiser in August 1916, Hindenburg took over at the General Staff, and
Prince Leopold of Bavaria
Prince Leopold of Bavaria (Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf; 9 February 1846 – 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912) and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825–1864). H ...
took control of the .
By October 1915, the
Imperial German Army had advanced so far to the east that central
Poland could be put under a civil administration. Accordingly, the German Empire established the
Government General of Warsaw
The General Government of Warsaw (german: Generalgouvernement Warschau) was an administrative civil district created by the German Empire in World War I.Liulevicius, Vejas G. (2000). ''War Land on the Eastern Front: Culture, Identity, and Germ ...
and the
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
Empire set up the
Government General of Lublin. The military ''Ober Ost'' government from then on controlled only the conquered areas east and north of central Poland.
After the signing of the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers ( Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russi ...
of March 1918, the
German Empire
The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...
effectively controlled
Lithuania,
Latvia,
Belarus, parts of
Poland, and
Courland
Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...
, all of which had been part of the
Russian Empire. itself controlled present-day Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Poland, and Courland.
Policies
ruled the land in a very strict and often cruel way. The movement policy or , divided the land without regard to the existing social and ethnic organization and patterns. One was not allowed to move between the districts, which destroyed the livelihood of many merchants and prevented indigenous people from visiting friends and relatives in neighboring districts.
They also tried to "civilize" the people in the ''Ober Ost''-controlled land, attempting to integrate German ideals and institutions
with existing cultures. They constructed railroads but only Germans were allowed to ride them and schools were taught by German instructors, since they lacked trained Lithuanians.
In 1915, when large territories came under ''Ober Ost''s administration as a result of military successes on the Eastern Front,
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914 ...
, von Hindenburg's second in command, set up a system of managing the large area now under its jurisdiction. Although von Hindenburg was technically in command, Ludendorff had actual control of the administration. There were ten staff members, each with a specialty (finance, agriculture, etc.). The area was divided into the
Courland District, the
Lithuania District
Lithuania District (german: Verwaltungsbezirk Litauen) was an administrative division of German-controlled territory of Ober-Ost during World War I. It was bordered by the Bialystok-Grodno District to the south and the Courland District to the n ...
and the
Bialystok-Grodno District
Bialystok-Grodno District (german: link=no, Verwaltungbezirk Bialystok-Grodno) was an administrative division of German-controlled territory of Ober-Ost during World War I (after the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive). It was bordered by the Lithuan ...
, each overseen by a district commander. Ludendorff's plan was to make ''Ober Ost'' a colonial territory for the settlement of his troops after the war and to provide a haven for German refugees from inner Russia.
Ludendorff quickly organized ''Ober Ost'' so that it was a self-sustaining region, growing all its own food and even exporting surpluses to Berlin. The largest resource was one that Ludendorff was unable to exploit effectively: the local population had no interest in helping obtain a German victory, as they had no say in their government and was subject to increasing requisitions and taxes.
Communication with locals
There were many problems with communication with local persons within the . Among the upper-class locals, the soldiers could get by with
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
or
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, and in large villages, the Jewish population would speak German or
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
, "which the Germans would somehow comprehend".
In the rural areas and amongst
peasant populations soldiers had to rely on interpreters who spoke
Lithuanian
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Lithuanians
* Lithuanian language
* The country of Lithuania
* Grand Duchy of Lithuania
* Culture of Lithuania
* Lithuanian cuisine
* Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
,
Latvian or
Polish.
The language problems were not helped by the thinly-stretched administrations, which would sometimes number 100 men in areas as large as
Rhode Island.
The
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
at times had to be relied upon to spread messages to the masses since that was an effective way of spreading a message to people who speak a different language.
A young officer-administrator named related that he listened (through a translator) to a sermon by a
priest who told his congregation to stay off highways after nightfall, hand in firearms and not to have anything to do with
Bolshevist
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
agents, exactly as had told him to do earlier.
Russian Revolution
The uncertain situation caused by the Russian
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
in 1917 and the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers ( Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russi ...
in March 1918 made some indigenes elect
Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg
Duke Adolf Friedrich Albrecht Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin ( German: ''Adolf Friedrich Albrecht Heinrich, Herzog zu Mecklenburg-Schwerin''; 10 October 1873 – 5 August 1969), was a German explorer in Africa, a colonial politician, the el ...
as head of the
United Baltic Duchy and the
second duke of Urach as king of Lithuania, but those plans collapsed in November 1918.
Administrative divisions
The was divided into three (administrative territories): , , and . Each was, like Germany proper, subdivided into (districts); (rural districts) and (urban districts). In 1917 the following districts existed:
The total area was , containing a population of 2,909,935 (by the end of 1916).
Main military units in 1919
* the
10th Army ( or ), Commanding Officer ,
Grodno
* the
Army Group Mackensen ()
Aftermath
With the end of the war and collapse of the empire, the Germans started to withdraw, sometimes in a piecemeal and disorganized way, from around late 1918 and early 1919.
In the vacuum left by their retreat, conflicts arose as various former occupied nations declared independence, clashing with the various factions of the
Russian Revolution and subsequent
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
, and with each other. For details, see:
*
Soviet westward offensive of 1918–19
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, part of the
Polish–Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921)
* russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...
(the largest of the resulting conflicts)
*
Ukrainian–Soviet War and
Polish–Ukrainian War
*
Estonian War of Independence
*
Latvian War of Independence
The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaim ...
*
Lithuanian Wars of Independence
The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles ( lt, Laisvės kovos), refer to three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik forces (December 1918 – August 1919), Ber ...
Parallels with Nazi German policy
The Lithuanian historian Vėjas Gabrielius Liulevičius postulates in his book ''War Land on the Eastern Front: Culture, National Identity, and German Occupation in World War I'', that a line can be traced from s policies and assumptions to
Nazi Germany's plans and attitudes towards Eastern Europe. His main argument is that "German troops developed a revulsion towards the 'East' and came to think of it as a timeless region beset by chaos, disease and barbarism", instead of what it really was, a region suffering from the ravages of warfare.
He claims that the encounter with the East formed an idea of "spaces and races", which needed to be "cleared and cleansed". Although he has garnered a great deal of evidence for his thesis including government documents, letters and diaries in German and Lithuanian, there are still problems with his work. For example, he does not say much about the reception of German policies by native populations.
Also, he "makes almost no attempt to relate wartime occupation policies and practice in to those in Germany's
colonial territories overseas".
See also
*
*
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
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German Empire in World War I
1910s in Lithuania
Poland in World War I
1910s in Belarus
1914 establishments in Europe
1919 disestablishments in Europe
States and territories established in 1914
States and territories disestablished in 1919
Military occupation