The Reichsgau Tyrol-Vorarlberg (German: ''Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg'') was an

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

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 ...

consisting of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

and

North Tyrol North Tyrol, rarely North Tirol (), is the main part of the Austrian federal state Tyrol, located in the western part of the country. The other part of the federal state is East Tyrol, which also belongs to Austria, but doesn't share a border wi ...

(both in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

). It existed from 1938 to 1945. It did not include

East Tyrol East Tyrol, occasionally East Tirol (), is an exclave of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, separated from North Tyrol by parts of Salzburg State and parts of Italian South Tyrol (''Südtirol'', ). It is coterminous with the administrative ...

(Lienz), which was instead part of Reichsgau Carinthia. After the Italian Armistice with the Allies the Italian provinces of

Belluno Belluno (; ; ) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the Capital (political), capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region. W ...

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

and

Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...

were placed under direct German control as the

Operational Zone of the Alpine Foothills The Operational Zone of the Alpine Foothills ( (OZAV); ) was a Nazi German occupation zone in the sub-Alpine area in Italy during World War II. Origin and geography OZAV was established on 10 September 1943 by the occupying German Wehrmacht, ...

(''Operationszone Alpenvorland'', OZAV), which was ''de facto'' annexed and administered as part of Tyrol-Vorarlberg.

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 onwards, 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. On 12 March 1938 Nazi Germany

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

Austria and on 24 May the Austrian provinces were reorganized and replaced by seven Nazi party ''Gaue.''"Administration of Austria," ''The Times'' (London) 25 May 1938, page 15. Under the Ostmarkgesetz law of 14 April 1939 with effect of 1 May, the Austrian ''Gaue'' were raised to the status of ''

Reichsgau A (plural ) was an administrative subdivision created in a number of areas annexed by Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945. Overview The term was formed from the words (realm, empire) and , the latter a deliberately medieval-sounding word wi ...

e'' and their

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 ...

s were subsequently also named ''

Reichsstatthalter The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Reich lieutenant'') was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany. ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918) The office of ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (otherwise known as ''Reichsstatthalter'' ...

s''. At the head of each Gau stood a

, 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 ...

. Local Gauleiters were in charge of propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onwards, 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 defence of the Gau. The position of Gauleiter in Tyrol-Vorarlberg was held by

Franz Hofer Franz Hofer (November 27, 1902 – February 18, 1975) was an Austrian Nazi politician. He was Gauleiter (party leader) in Tyrol and Vorarlberg and, during the Third Reich, the most powerful figure in the region. Hofer dealt directly with A ...

throughout the Reichsgau's history from 1938 to 1945. At the end of the Second World War, Tyrol-Vorarlberg became the French occupation zone in Austria.

References

External links

Illustrated list of Gauleiter
{{coord missing, Austria

Tyrol-Vorarlberg The Reichsgau Tyrol-Vorarlberg (German: ''Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany consisting of Vorarlberg and North Tyrol (both in Austria). It existed from 1938 to 1945. It did not include East Tyrol (Lienz), ...

History of Tyrol (region) History of Vorarlberg 1939 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Austria