Gauleiter

A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to ''Reichsleiter'' and to the ''Führer'' himself. The position was effectively abolished with the fall of the Nazi regime on 8 May 1945.

History and development

Origin and early years

The first use of the term ''Gauleiter'' by the Nazi Party was in 1925 around the time Adolf Hitler re-founded the Party on 27 February, after the lifting of the ban that had been imposed on it in the aftermath of the Beer Hall Putsch of 9 November 1923. The word can be singular or plural in German usage, depending on its context, and derives from the German words '' Gau'' and ''leiter'' (''leader''). The word ''Gau'' is an old term for a region of the German ''Reich'' (Empire). The Frankish Realm and the Holy Roman Empire were both subdivided into ''Gaue'' (the plural form of ''Gau'') which corresponds roughly with the English word "shire." It is still in use today as a generic component in the names of some regions mainly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium. (see: ''Gau'' Legacy).

In its formative years, local political activists organized the Party at the municipal level in their home areas. In effect, they were self-selected or had won out in local struggles for control. Though they were required to be approved by Hitler, this was usually a formality in these early years when he was still banned from speaking throughout most of Germany and had to rely on these home-grown leaders to organize the Party at the grass roots. In fact, it was not uncommon for local branch leaders to be selected by the Party members themselves. This was not officially prohibited by Hitler until 1929. By creating the position of ''Gauleiter'', Hitler provided a means for him to exert more direct control over the local Party organizations. The ''Gauleiter'' was placed in charge of a specified geographical jurisdiction consisting of several ''Ortsgruppe'' (Local Groups).

The ''Gaue'' did not necessarily mirror the existing administrative or electoral divisions within the Weimar Republic. In these early years (1925-1927) it was not unusual for the local and regional organizations to be divided, dissolved, merged and renamed as the Party struggled to develop an improved organizational structure.

The number of ''Gaue'' fluctuated over the years. In 1928 there were 35 and by the end of the Nazi regime there were 43, including the non-territorial '' Gau Auslands-Organisation'' that represented Germans abroad.

The ''Gauleiters'' were appointed by Hitler (though in the earliest years Gregor Strasser had provisionally selected some in Northern Germany who still had to be confirmed in their position by Hitler). They were personally responsible to Hitler, served at his pleasure and were subject to immediate dismissal, but otherwise could not be removed without his consent. They were his personal representatives to the ''Gau'' and were, in effect, his viceroys in Party matters.

The Organization Book of the NSDAP described the ''Gauleiter’s'' relationship to Hitler in this manner:

The ''Gauleiter'' is directly subordinate to the ''Führer''. He is appointed by the ''Führer''. The ''Gauleiter'' bears overall responsibility to the ''Führer'' for the sector of sovereignty entrusted to him. The rights, duties, and jurisdiction of the ''Gauleiter'' result primarily from the mission assigned by the ''Führer'' and, apart from that, from detailed directives.

''Gauleiters'' were the regional heads of the Nazi Party's Political Organization and headed the ''Gauleitung'' (''Gau'' Leadership) office. The responsibility and function of the ''Gauleiter'' was to ensure the authority of the Nazi Party within his area, to coordinate the activities of the Party and all its affiliated organizations, and to enlarge the influence of the Party over people and life in his ''Gau''.

However, ''Gauleiters'' did not have direct supervisory control over the ''Gau'' paramilitary personnel, such as the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) or the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). In addition, subordinate ''Gau'' officials such as the Propaganda Leader, the Agricultural Expert and others owed a dual allegiance to the ''Gauleiter'' in their particular geographic area and to the head of the affiliate organization for their specific policy area at the national level. This made the ''Gauleiter’s '' coordination and control of all Party activities difficult and, at times, conflictive.

The authority of the ''Gauleiter'' extended down through the Party organization to all members through a strict vertical chain of command. The ''Gauleiter'' had direct authority over the ''Kreisleiters'' (County Leaders) who administered some 650 ''Kreise'' in Germany proper (913 at the height of expansion after 1941) and were established as an intermediary level between the ''Gauleiter'' and the local leaders in early 1929. These ''Kreisleiters'' in turn directed the ''Ortsgruppenleiters'' who oversaw towns or villages or part of a larger city, usually 1500 to 3000 households. ''Ortsgruppenleiters'' directed ''Zellenleiters'' (Cell Leaders) responsible for 160 to 480 households. ''Zellenleiters'' supervised the lowest local leaders, ''Blockleiters'' (Block Leaders) each of whom had charge of 40 to 60 households.Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Volume 1, Chapter VI
Retrieved 17 September 2021

As the Party evolved its goal from revolutionary overthrow of the Weimar Republic to obtaining power through constitutional means, tactics for obtaining electoral success became paramount. In 1928, in preparation for more effectively contesting the upcoming '' Reichstag'' election, a major reorganization took place and most ''Gaue'' boundaries were adjusted to correspond with the existing ''Reichstag'' electoral constituencies, though a handful continued to be idiosyncratic. The role of the ''Gauleiters'' also evolved to become more administrative, involved in propaganda, organization and electioneering. Success was measured in terms of increased Party membership and voter turnout.

At the local level, ''Gauleiters'' often were elected as city councilors, as mayors and as deputies to the ''Landtags'' of the German States (Länder) where they headed the Nazi Party parliamentary faction. The first State to install its ''Gauleiter'' as Minister-president was Oldenburg on 16 June 1932, followed by Thuringia on 26 August 1932. Once in office, they proceeded to politicize all aspects of life within their control, and staffed civil service positions solely with candidates previously screened and approved by Party functionaries.

In July 1932, Strasser, now the Party ''Reichsorganisationsleiter'' (National Organization Leader) attempted to impose an additional centralized control over the ''Gauleiters''. Therefore, they were subordinated to ten new officials with the title of '' Landesinspektor'', mainly drawn from among the ''Gauleiter'' corps, each in charge of several ''Gaue'' within a larger geographic area. This intermediate level of bureaucracy limited ''Gauleiters access to Hitler and they chafed under this new arrangement, which they saw as an attempt by Strasser to undermine their special relationship with Hitler.

This reorganization was short-lived and was repealed on 15 December 1932, after Strasser's resignation in a policy dispute with Hitler over whether to join in a national coalition government as a junior partner or to hold out for the Chancellorship. Hitler then reemphasized the special relationship between himself and the ''Gauleiters'' and they resumed their direct access to him.

After the Nazi seizure of power

On 30 January 1933, the Nazi Party took power and established the state of Nazi Germany. At the national government level, Hitler selected two ''Gauleiters'' to also become ''Reichsministers'' of two of the new ministries that he established: the Reich Ministry of Propaganda in March 1933 and the Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture in May 1934.

As for regional governments, the ''Gauleiters'' quickly became the key agents in extending Nazi control over the German States (Länder) and Prussian provincial governments. ''Gauleiters'' soon obtained unquestioned authority in their jurisdiction. Party control over the civil administration became institutionalized when in most (but not all) cases the ''Gauleiter'' was appointed to the supreme civil administrative post in his area. Under the " Second Law on the Coordination of the States with the Reich" of 7 April 1933, the new position of ''Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich Governor) was created. Given broad powers, this official was charged with ensuring State compliance with the policies of the Reich central government, and was described by Hitler as a "viceroy of the Reich." Hitler staffed these posts almost exclusively with ''Gauleiters''. Similarly, in the Prussian provinces, the ''Oberpräsident'' (High President) positions also were largely taken over by ''Gauleiters''. Most ''Gauleiters'' thus united under their control the highest Party and governmental offices in their jurisdictions. However, since all Party ''Gau'' boundaries and State/provincial boundaries still did not necessarily coincide, this arrangement sometimes led to overlapping jurisdictions and added to the administrative conflict typical of Nazi Germany.

On 2 June 1933 Hitler created the new political rank of ''Reichsleiter'' (Reich Leader) in the Nazi Party and conferred it on 16 individuals with areas of broad national policy responsibility (e.g., propaganda, agriculture, the press, youth education). ''Gauleiter'' then became the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, just below ''Reichsleiter''. Importantly, however, the ''Reichsleiters'' were not given direct line authority over the ''Gauleiters'' who continued to have direct access to Hitler and remained his personal agents in the ''Gaue''.

After the ''Anschluss'' with Austria (12 March 1938) and the seizure of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia (30 September 1938) the newly annexed territories were eventually organized into eight ''Reichsgaue'' and placed under the administration of ''Reichsstatthalters,'' all of whom were also the local ''Gauleiters''. As in Germany proper, they controlled, in personal union, Party and State leadership. Several former leaders of the previously outlawed Austrian and Czechoslovak Nazi parties, in recognition of their past services, were accorded the title of ''Gauleiter ehrenhalber'' (honorary ''Gauleiter''), which carried no ''Gaue'' assignments or responsibilities.

The ''Gauleiters'' were responsible for executing all the Party's policies, including its racial discrimination and persecution policies against the Jewish populace. One of the most infamous pogroms of the Nazi era, the ''Kristallnacht'' of 9–10 November 1938, had its origin at a meeting of the Nazi Party hierarchy in Munich commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch. During the meeting, in response to the news of the assassination by a Jew of a German diplomat in Paris, Joseph Goebbels gave such an inflammatory address against the Jews that it sent the assembled ''Gauleiters'' rushing to the telephones to order punitive riots in their ''Gaue''. On their orders, their local Political Organizations, together with SA members, unleashed an orgy of violence, arson, looting and destruction, resulting in deaths, injuries and massive property loss among Germany's Jewish population.

World War II

On the launching of World War II in Europe on 1 September 1939, fifteen ''Gauleiters'' were appointed Reich Defense Commissioners ''(Reichsverteidigungskommissar)'' one in each military district (''Wehrkreis'') of Germany and Austria. They were charged with organizing civil defense and mobilization activities, including air defense and evacuation. They also oversaw wartime rationing measures and efforts to control the black market. Again, due to the additional overlapping and incongruent territorial jurisdictions, this contributed to ongoing jurisdictional squabbles.

After the conquest and annexation of Polish territory in October 1939, the newly added areas were organized into two new ''Reichsgaue'' and subjected to rule by ''Reichsstatthalters'' who were also Nazi Party ''Gauleiters''. Here they were placed in charge of a ruthless policy of Germanization and genocide.

In 1940-1941 as additional military conquests occurred, four ''Gauleiters'' were selected to concurrently administer other occupied lands not directly annexed to the Reich. Granted the title of ''Reichskommissar,'' they ruled vast swaths of territory encompassing Norway, Belgium & Northern France, Ukraine and ”Ostland”. Another six ''Gauleiters'' were named Chief of Civil Administration of areas adjacent to their ''Gaue'' in Alsace, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Lower Styria, Upper Carniola and Bezirk Bialystok.

On 16 November 1942, the jurisdiction of the Reich Defense Commissioners was changed from the ''Wehrkreis'' to the ''Gau'' level, and all 42 territorial ''Gauleiters'' were appointed as Reich Defense Commissioners in their jurisdictions. They were charged with maximizing the mobilization of all internal manpower resources by registering men and women between the ages of sixteen and sixty for war-related work assignments. They were even put in charge of the construction of defensive fortifications with the use of forced labor and the civilian population. This led to further jurisdictional conflict between the military and civil authorities.

As the war progressed and the direction of the war effort consumed most of Hitler's time and attention, he became increasingly inaccessible to the ''Gauleiters''. Almost constantly away at his military headquarters, Hitler decreed that all Party matters should be communicated to him only through Martin Bormann, who headed the Nazi Party Chancellery from May 1941 and was made “Secretary to the ''Führer''” in April 1943. All communications between government ministries and the ''Gauleiters'' also was routed through Bormann.

In an interrogation before the Nuremberg Trials, ''Reichsminister'' of Armaments and War Production Albert Speer described the difficulty ''Reichsministers'' had in dealing with the fiercely independent ''Gauleiters'':

he ''Gauleiters’''general attitude was that they were bound only by orders coming directly from Hitler. They would accept decisions by other agencies only as long as they suited them, but if the ''Gauleiters'' disapproved they simply failed to carry them out. This applied also to directives from the Reich Ministries … fan order or directive did not suit a ''Gauleiter'' he would immediately declare that he was taking orders from Hitler only. Bormann, in order to strengthen this attitude, issued most of his own orders in the name of the ''Führer''.

In October 1944, the Nazi Party mobilized a national militia, the ''Volkssturm''. Each ''Gauleiter'' was charged with the organization, enrollment, training and leadership of the ''Volkssturm'' battalions in their jurisdiction. These units were staffed by conscripting males between the ages of 16 and 60 who were not already serving in the military. The ''Volkssturm'' comprised one of the final components of the total war effort promulgated by Goebbels in his role of Reich Plenipotentiary for Total War.

Towards the end of the war, the ''Gauleiters'', in their capacity as Reich Defense Commissioners, were given a key role in implementing Hitler's scorched earth policy as laid out in the Nero Decree of 19 March 1945. Many ''Gauleiters'', knowing the war was lost, refused to carry out the orders, but several of the most fanatical among them ordered the destruction of bridges, utility plants, factories, and other important infrastructure ahead of the advancing Allied troops.

Background and characteristics

Approximately 125 men held the position of ''Gauleiter''. Many shared a common background. Most of them, particularly during the early years, were drawn from the cadre of " old fighters" that had helped Hitler forge the Party during the Kampfzeit (Time of Struggle). Most had been born in the last decade of the 19th century and came of age during World War I. They had fought in the war, and afterward many served in the paramilitary ''Freikorps'', battling Communists and other left-wing groups. Most had at least a secondary school education and many had some higher education. Many were teachers or commercial clerks. Though advanced degrees were rare, there were some Ph.D.s, lawyers, medical doctors and a dentist among their numbers. Most were middle class, with very few from the proletarian working class. Many experienced interrupted education and careers that were not resumed because of their war service. Drawn to right wing, antisemitic and völkisch organizations, they gravitated to the Nazi Party in the immediate post-war years.

Those that were appointed in later years, particularly after the start of the Second World War, tended to be younger and better educated. Born in the first decade of the twentieth century, most were products of a later phase of the Party's development. They had some experience in the Party bureaucracy, either at the ''Gau'' level or in the Party Chancellery under Bormann, and were trained as administrators.

Though their tenure in office fluctuated, once the geographical re-organizations and personnel instability of the early years had passed, it was not unusual for ''Gauleiters'' to remain in their posts until they died. Though a small number were removed for corruption, cowardice or other malfeasance, a handful also managed to remain in office throughout the entire 20 years from 1925 to 1945.

Most ''Gauleiters'' were members of one or more of the Nazi Party's paramilitary units, the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) or the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK) in which they usually carried the rank of ''Obergruppenführer''.

''Gauleiters'' comprised one-third of the Nazi Party electoral list for the parliamentary election of 1928 and were among the first 12 Nazis elected. After the Nazis came to power, ''Gauleiters'' routinely sat as deputies in the '' Reichstag''. In addition, those whose ''Gaue'' were in Prussia were also made members of the Prussian State Council. This was a revised non-legislative advisory body established by Prussian Minister-president Hermann Göring in July 1933, and which replaced the earlier Prussian State Council, which had been the second chamber of the Prussian legislature.

Fate

Of the 43 ''Gauleiters'' serving at the end of the Nazi regime in May 1945:

* Twelve committed suicide either before being captured or while in Allied custody.
* Two died in battles during the final weeks of the war.
* One was killed while escaping from Czech partisans.
* One went missing, was presumed captured by the Soviets and eventually declared dead by a German court.
* Eight were arrested, tried, convicted and executed as war criminals by the Nuremberg Trials, the Dachau Trials or the governments of the Allied nations.
* Sixteen were arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned by these tribunals or special German denazification courts for war crimes or for their Nazi leadership role. One of these died in a Polish prison while serving a life sentence. The remaining fifteen served their sentences and were released.
* Two, though arrested, escaped from Allied custody, never faced trial and managed to flee to Italy or to Argentina.
* One went underground at the war's end, escaped to Canada and was never apprehended.

In addition, many former ''Gauleiters'' who had been either removed from office or promoted to other positions also committed suicide (four), died in captivity (four), were imprisoned and released (four), or were executed (one).

Insignia

By 1939, the entire Nazi Party paramilitary rank system had been overhauled, introducing completely new insignia consisting of pips, bars, and as many as four miniature oak leaves per collar to represent Nazi Party political rank. The ''Gauleiter'' insignia, however, was considered too well "entrenched" to change and thus was not incorporated into the new insignia system. Instead, the Gauleiter continued to wear the pre-war two oak leaf insignia, with the rank seen as existing outside of the hierarchy, senior to all other Nazi Party ranks, with the exception of ''Reichsleiter''. Both ''Gauleiter'' and ''Reichsleiter'' insignia was modified slightly to display a more pronounced national eagle crest, and both ranks were permitted to wear special party armbands.

Gauleiter also had the right to display a special vehicle flag when traveling, as a status symbol of their position.

Relationship with other insignia

All political leaders working at the ''Gau'' level had rhomboid collar tabs with red facings (not brown), with a dark wine-red (burgundy) colored piping around the outer edges. Reich-level collar tabs had a bright crimson facing, with gold piping; ''Kreis'' level tabs had a dark chocolate brown facing, with white piping, while ''Ort'' level tabs had a light brown facing with light blue piping. The political leader collar-tab system was quite complicated and underwent four changes (complexity increasing with each change); the final (fourth) pattern as described above, was introduced around the end of 1938—by this time, with many more job positions within each level; this made the fourth pattern collar tab rank system by far the most complicated of all. The ''Gauleiter'' had authority over the district leaders (''kreisleiter''), who in turn directed chapter leaders (''Ortsgruppenleiter''). An ''Ortsgruppe'' (chapter) encompassed 1500 households—usually a city suburb or a few villages. Chapter leaders directed cell leaders (''Zellenleiter''), responsible for 160 to 480 households. ''Zellenleiter'' had control over the lowest local leaders, ''Blockleiter'', each of whom had charge of one block consisting of 40 to 60 households. The cell and block leaders at the bottom of the hierarchy gave the party a strong hold on the civilian populace.

The original insignia for a ''Gauleiter'' consisted of Army-styled collar tabs, accompanied by a braided shoulder cord worn on a brown Nazi Party shirt. After 1933, the ''Gauleiter'' adopted a two oak leaf insignia worn on a brown colored collar patch. The ''Stellvertreter-Gauleiter'' (''Deputy-Gauleiter'') wore a single oak leaf.

Deputy Gauleiter

The positional title immediately subordinate to the ''Gauleiter'' was the ''Stellvertreter-Gauleiter'' (Deputy Gau Leader). Between 1933 and 1939, this position was an actual rank, annotated by a single oak leaf collar patch, in contrast to the two used for the ''Gauleiter''. Due to the infighting of Nazi party politics, regulations had been introduced by 1935 to prevent a Deputy Gauleiter from succeeding his own superior, thus discouraging acts of discrediting a ''Gauleiter'' in the hopes that the Deputy would take his place.

The World War II era Nazi ranks incorporated the ''Stellvertreter-Gauleiter'' rank as a positional title, paired with a corresponding Nazi Party paramilitary rank and doing away with the previous single leaf insignia and the actual rank of Deputy Gauleiter. Accordingly, with the single leaf political insignia discontinued, the insignia of ''Gauleiter'' displayed two leaves although a single leaf insignia no longer existed.

See also

* List of Gauleiters

Citations

General and cited references

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External links

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