List of Gauleiters
The following list of Gauleiters enumerates those who have held the Nazi party rank of Gauleiter, a type of regional party leader germane only within Adolf Hitler's system.
Of the 44 former Gauleiter of the NSDAP thirteen committed suicide when Nazi Germany surrendered, eight were executed by the allies after the war, one was executed by the SS and one died in Soviet captivity. By 1954, when Karl Wahl became the first former Gauleiter to publish his memoirs, eight were still missing, three in jail and the remaining ten were free men.[1]
List[]
This is a list of Gaue and Gauleiters, with their time in office in brackets:[2][3][4]
Killed in action | Committed suicide before capture or in captivity | Executed or assassinated | Died in captivity, except suicide or execution | Died of natural causes or through an accident | Imprisoned, later released and died a free man | Eluded capture or escaped from captivity | Fate unknown or unclear |
Gauleiter | Gau(e) | In office | Fate |
Herbert Albrecht | Gau Mecklenburg | 1930–1931 | Died in June 1945 |
Alois Bachschmid | [a] | 1925–1926 | Died in 1968 in Italy |
Ernst Wilhelm Bohle | NSDAP/AO [b] | 1934–1945 | Imprisoned until 1949, died in 1960 in West Germany |
Fritz Bracht | Gau Oberschlesien[c] | 1941–1945 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
Josef Bürckel | Gau Rheinpfalz [d] | 1926–1935 | Died in September 1944[5] |
Gau Saarland [e] | 1933–1935 | ||
Gau Pfalz–Saar [f] | 1935–1944 | ||
Reichsgau Wien | 1939–1940 | ||
Helmuth Brückner | Gau Schlesien [g] | 1925–1934 | Died in Soviet captivity in 1951 or 1954 |
Walther von Corswant | Gau Pommern | 1927–1931 | Died in 1942 |
Léon Degrelle | Reichsgau Wallonien | 1944–1945[h] | Escaped to Spain in 1945 where he died in 1994 |
Artur Dinter | Gau Thüringen | 1925–1927 | Died in 1948 in occupied Germany |
August Eigruber | Reichsgau Oberdonau | 1938–1945 | Found guilty in the Dachau trials and executed in Bavaria in May 1947 |
Joachim Albrecht Eggeling | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1935–1937 | Committed suicide in April 1945[6] |
Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1937–1945 | ||
Otto Erbersdobler | Gau Niederbayern[i] | 1929–1932[7] | Died in 1981 in West Germany |
Walter Ernst | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1925–1926 | Killed in action in March 1945 near Danzig |
Friedrich Karl Florian | Gau Düsseldorf [j] | 1930–1945 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1975 in West Germany[8] |
Albert Forster | Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen [k] | 1930–1945 | Executed in Poland in 1952 |
Peter Gemeinder | [l] | 1931 | Died in 1931 |
Karl Gerland | Gau Kurhessen[m] | 1943–1945 (acting to 1944) | Killed in action in April 1945 in Frankfurt on the Oder |
Paul Giesler | Gau Westfalen-Süd | 1941–1943 | Committed suicide in May 1945[9] |
Gau München-Oberbayern [n] | 1944–1945 | ||
Odilo Globocnik | Reichsgau Wien | 1938–1939 | Committed suicide in British captivity in May 1945 |
Joseph Goebbels | [o] | 1926–1928 | Committed suicide in Berlin in May 1945[10] |
Gau Berlin | 1928–1945 | ||
Arthur Greiser | Reichsgau Wartheland [p] | 1939–1945 | Executed in Poland in 1946 |
Wilhelm Grimm | Gau Mittelfranken[q] | 1928–1929 | Died in a car accident in 1944 |
Josef Grohé | Gau Köln-Aachen | 1931–1945 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1987 in West Germany |
Heinrich Haake | [r] | 1925 | Died in British captivity in 1945 |
Ludolf Haase | [s] | 1925–1928 | Died in 1972 in West Germany |
Karl Hanke | Gau Niederschlesien [t] | 1941–1945 | Captured and killed by Czech partisans |
Anton Haselmayer | [u] | 1925–1926 | Died in 1962 |
Edmund Heines | Gau Oberpfalz[v] | 1930 (acting) | Executed during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 |
Otto Hellmuth | Gau Unterfranken [w] | 1928–1945 | Imprisoned until 1955, committed suicide in 1968 in West Germany[11] |
Konrad Henlein | Reichsgau Sudetenland | 1938–1945 | Committed suicide in US captivity in May 1945 |
Friedrich Hildebrandt | Gau Mecklenburg | 1925–19301931–1945 | Found guilty in the Dachau trials and executed in Bavaria in November 1948 |
Paul Hinkler | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1926–1931 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
Franz Hofer | 1932–1934 | Escaped captivity in 1948, re-arrested 1949 and imprisoned until 1952. Died in 1975 in West Germany | |
Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg | 1938–1945 | ||
Albert Hoffmann | Gau Westfalen-Süd | 1943–1945 | Imprisoned until 1950. Died in West Germany in 1972 |
Paul Hofmann | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1932 | Died in 1980 in West Berlin |
Hans Albert Hohnfeldt | Gau Danzig | 1926–1928 | Died in 1948 |
Emil Holtz | Gau Brandenburg[x] | 1928–1930 | Fate unknown |
Karl Holz | Gau Franken[y] | 1942–1945 (acting to 1944) | Died 20 April 1945 under unclear circumstances in the defense of Nuremberg, either committed suicide or killed in action[12] |
Rudolf Jordan | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1931–1937 | Imprisoned in the Soviet Union until 1955, died in West Germany in 1988[13] |
Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1937–1945 | ||
8 December 1926–21 April 1929[14] | Death date unknown[14] | ||
Hugo Jury | Reichsgau Niederdonau | 21 January 1938–8 May 1945[15] | Committed suicide 8 May 1945[15] |
Wilhelm Karpenstein | Gau Pommern | 1 January 1931–21 July 1934[16] | Died 2 May 1968 in West Germany[16] |
Karl Kaufmann | [z] | July 1925–26 September 1925[17] | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1969 in West Germany[18] |
[17] [aa] | 1926–1928[17] | ||
Gau Hamburg | 1929–1945 | ||
Josef Klant | Gau Hamburg | 1925–1926 | Died 4 November 1926[19] |
Walter Klaunig | [ab] | 1925–1926 | Fate unknown |
Hubert Klausner | Reichsgau Kärnten | 1938–1940 | Died in 1939 |
Erich Koch | Gau Ostpreußen | 1928–1945 | Died in prison in Poland in 1986 |
Albert Krebs | Gau Hamburg | 1926–1928 | Died in 1974 in West Germany |
Wilhelm Kube | [ac] | 1928–1933 | Assassinated by Soviet partisans in September 1943 |
Gau Kurmark[ad] | 1933–1936 | ||
Franz Kutschera | Reichsgau Kärnten | 1939–1941 | Executed by Polish resistance fighters in February 1944 |
Hartmann Lauterbacher | Gau Südhannover-Braunschweig [ae] | 1940–1945 | Escaped from captivity in 1948 to Rome then Argentina, died in 1988 in West Germany |
Karl Lenz | 1931–1932 | Died in 1944 | |
Robert Ley | 1925–1931 | Indicted at the Nuremberg trials, but committed suicide in his cell in October 1945 before the trials began | |
Karl Linder | 1926–1927 | Died in 1979 | |
Gau Hessen-Nassau | 1932 | ||
Wilhelm Friedrich Loeper | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1927–1935 | Died in 1935 |
Hinrich Lohse | Gau Hamburg | 1928–1929 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1964 in West Germany[20] |
Gau Schleswig-Holstein | 1925–1945 | ||
Walter Maass | Gau Danzig | 1928–1929 (acting) | Fate unknown |
Franz Maierhofer | Gau Oberpfalz | 1929–1932 (acting to 1930) | Killed in action in August 1943 near Kharkov |
Alfred Meyer | Gau Westfalen-Nord | 1931–1945 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
Joachim Meyer-Quade | Gau Schleswig-Holstein | 1932 | Killed in action in September 1939 near Piątek in Poland |
Karl Leopold von Möller | Timișoara | 1932–1939 | Died in 1943 from a stroke |
Hermann Muhs | Gau Südhannover-Braunschweig | 1932 | Died in 1962 in West Germany |
Eugen Munder | Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern | 1925–1928 | Died in 1952 in West Germany |
Wilhelm Murr | Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern | 1928–1945 | Committed suicide in French captivity in May 1945 |
Martin Mutschmann | Gau Sachsen | 1925–1945 | Executed in the Soviet Union in February 1947 |
Hans Nieland | NSDAP/AO | 1932–1933 | Imprisoned until 1948, died in 1976 in West Germany |
Franz Pfeffer von Salomon | [af] | 1925–1926 | Died in 1968 in West Germany |
Friedrich Rainer | Reichsgau Salzburg | 1938–1941 | Executed in Yugoslavia in July 1947 |
Reichsgau Kärnten | 1941–1945 | ||
Fritz Reinhardt | Gau Niederbayern | 1928–1930 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1969 in West Germany |
Friedrich Ringshausen | 1927–1931 | Died in 1941 | |
Axel Ripke | 1925 | Died in 1937 | |
Carl Röver | Gau Weser-Ems | 1928–1942 | Died in 1942 |
Ludwig Ruckdeschel | Gau Bayreuth | 1945 | Imprisoned until 1952, died in 1986 in West Germany[21] |
Bernhard Rust | [ag] | 1925–1928 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
Gau Südhannover-Braunschweig | 1928–1940 | ||
Fritz Sauckel | Gau Thüringen | 1927–1945 | Found guilty in the Nuremberg trials, executed in October 1946 |
Gustav Adolf Scheel | Reichsgau Salzburg | 1941–1945 | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1979 in West Germany |
Hans Schemm | Gau Oberfranken[ah] | 1928–1933 | Died of injuries sustained in an aircraft crash in March 1935[22] |
Gau Bayerische Ostmark[ai] | 1933–1935 | ||
Bruno Gustav Scherwitz | Gau Ostpreußen | 1926–1927 | Died in 1985 in West Germany |
Baldur von Schirach | Reichsgau Wien | 1940–1945 | Found guilty in the Nuremberg trials, imprisoned until 1966, died 1974 in West Germany |
Ernst Schlange | [aj] | 1925–1926 | Died in Soviet captivity in 1947 |
Gau Brandenburg | 1930–1933 | ||
Fritz Schlessmann | Gau Essen | 1940–1945 (acting) | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1964 in West Germany |
Erich Schmiedicke | 1926 (acting) | Fate unknown | |
Gau Brandenburg | 1933 (acting) | ||
Gustav Hermann Schmischke | [ak] | 1925–1927 | Fate unknown |
Walter Schultz | [al] | 1925–1928 | Died in 1953 in West Germany |
1926 (acting) | |||
Franz Schwede | Gau Pommern | 1934–1945 | Imprisoned until 1956, died in 1960 in West Germany |
Gustav Simon | Gau Moselland [am] | 1931–1945 | Captured by the British Army, found hanged in his cell in December 1945 |
Jakob Sprenger | 1927–1933 | Committed suicide in May 1945 | |
Gau Hessen-Nassau[an] | 1933–1945 | ||
Gau Ostpreußen | 1925–1926 | Fate unknown | |
Willi Stöhr | Gau Westmark | 1944–1945 | Escaped to Canada,[23] date of death unknown |
Gregor Strasser | Gau Niederbayern–Oberpfalz [ao] | 1925–1929 | Executed during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 |
Julius Streicher | Gau Franken | 1929–1940 | Found guilty in the Nuremberg trials, executed in October 1946[24] |
Emil Stürtz | Gau March of Brandenburg | 1936–1945 | Missing since April 1945, presumed captured by Soviets, declared dead by German court in 1957 |
Otto Telschow | [ap] | 1925–1928 | Captured by the British Army, committed suicide in May 1945 |
Gau Osthannover | 1928–1945 | ||
Josef Terboven | Gau Essen | 1928–1945 | Committed suicide in Norway in May 1945[25] |
Siegfried Uiberreither | Reichsgau Steiermark | 1938–1945 | Escaped from captivity in 1948 to Argentina, possibly died in 1984 in West Germany |
Theodor Vahlen | Gau Pommern | 1925–1927 | Died in 1945 in captivity in Czechoslovakia |
Fritz Wächtler | Gau Bayerische Ostmark | 1935–1945 | Executed by the SS in April 1945[26] |
Adolf Wagner | Gau München-Oberbayern | 1929–1944 | Died in April 1944 |
Josef Wagner | [aq] | 1928–1931 | Killed in May 1945 either by the SS or Soviet troops |
Gau Schlesien [ar] | 1934–1941 | ||
Gau Westfalen-Süd | 1931–1941 | ||
Robert Heinrich Wagner | Gau Baden-Elsaß[as] | 1925–1945 | Executed in October 1946 in France[27] |
Karl Wahl | Gau Schwaben | 1928–1945 | Imprisoned until 1948, died in 1981 in West Germany[28] |
Friedrich Wambsganss | Gau Rheinpfalz | 1925–1926 | Imprisoned until 1948, died in 1979 in West Germany |
Paul Wegener | Gau Weser-Ems | 1942–1945 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1993 in Germany |
Karl Weinrich | Gau Kurhessen | 1928–1943 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1973 in West Germany |
Jef van de Wiele | Reichsgau Flandern | 1944–1945[at] | Imprisoned until 1963, died in 1979 in Belgium |
Hans Zimmermann | Gau Franken | 1940–1942 (acting) | Died in 1984 in West Germany[29] |
Notes[]
- ^ Gau Elbe-Havel merged with Gau Anhalt and Gau Magdeburg to form Gau Anhalt-North Saxony Province in 1926; renamed Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt in 1928
- ^ Foreign Organization branch of the Nazi Party
- ^ Created when Gau Schlesien was split into two separate Gaue
- ^ Gau Rheinpfalz merged with Gau Saarland to form Gau Pfalz-Saar in 1935
- ^ Gau Saarland merged with Gau Rheinpfalz to form Gau Pfalz-Saar in 1935
- ^ Gau Pfalz-Saar was founded in 1935 when Gau Saarland & Gau Rheinpfalz merged. It was renamed Gau Saarpfalz in 1936 and finally Gau Westmark in 1940 when it absorbed part of French Lorraine
- ^ Gau Schlesien was divided into Gau Niederschlesien & Gau Oberschlesien in 1941
- ^ In exile in Germany
- ^ Gau Niederbayern became a part of Bayerische Ostmark 1933
- ^ Gau Düsseldorf was founded in 1930 from the Bezirk Bergisches-Land
- ^ Gau Danzig-Westpreußen was known as Gau Danzig before 1939
- ^ Gau Hessen-Darmstadt was formed in 1927; it merged with Gau Hessen-Nassau-Süd to form Gau Hessen-Nassau in 1933
- ^ Kurhessen was known as Gau Hessen-Nassau-Nord before 1934
- ^ Gau München-Oberbayern was founded in 1930 when the Bezirk Oberbayern & Gross-München merged
- ^ Gau Berlin-Brandenburg was formed in 1926 by the merger of Gau Groß-Berlin and Gau Potsdam; it was divided into Gau Berlin and Gau Brandenburg in 1928
- ^ Wartheland was also known as Warthegau
- ^ Gau Mittelfranken became a part of Franken 1929
- ^ Gau Rheinland-Süd was divided into Köln-Aachen & Koblenz-Trier in 1931
- ^ Founded as Gau Göttingen in 1925, the renamed Gau Hannover-Süd became a part of Südhannover-Braunschweig in 1928
- ^ Created when Gau Schlesien was split into two separate Gaue
- ^ Gau Hessen-Nassau-Süd merged with Gau Hessen-Darmstadt to form Gau Hessen-Nassau in 1933
- ^ Gau Oberpfalz became a part of Bayerische Ostmark in 1933
- ^ Unterfranken was known as Gau Mainfranken after 1935
- ^ Gau Brandenburg was separated from Gau Berlin-Brandenburg in 1928 and merged with Gau Ostmark to form Gau Kurmark in 1933
- ^ Gau Franken was founded in 1929 when Mittelfranken merged with the Bezirk Nürnberg-Fürth
- ^ Gau Rheinland-Nord merged with Gau Westfalen to become Großgau Ruhr in 1926
- ^ Großgau Ruhr was divided into Gau Essen, Gau Westfalen and Bezirk Bergisches-Land in 1928
- ^ Gau Brandenburg, founded in 1925 and renamed Gau Potsdam in 1926, merged with Groß-Berlin later in 1926 to form Gau Berlin-Brandenburg
- ^ Gau Ostmark separated from Gau Berlin-Brandenburg in 1928 and became part of Gau Kurmark in 1933
- ^ Kurmark was founded in 1933 when Gau Ostmark merged with Gau Brandenburg; it was renamed Gau Mark Brandenburg in 1939
- ^ Gau Südhannover-Braunschweig was founded in 1928 when Hannover-Nord & Hannover-Süd merged
- ^ Gau Westfalen became a part of Großgau Ruhr in 1926
- ^ Gau Hannover-Nord became a part of Südhannover-Braunschweig 1928
- ^ Gau Oberfranken became a part of Bayerische Ostmark in 1933
- ^ Gau Bayerische Ostmark was founded in 1933 when Gau Oberfranken, Niederbayern and Oberpfalz merged. It was renamed Gau Bayreuth after its capital in 1942
- ^ Gau Groß-Berlin merged with Gau Potsdam to form Gau Berlin-Brandenburg in 1926
- ^ Gau Anhalt merged with Gau Elbe-Havel and Gau Magdeburg to form Gau Anhalt-North Saxony Province in 1926; renamed Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt in 1928
- ^ Gau Hessen-Nassau-Nord renamed Gau Kurhessen 1934
- ^ Moselland was named Gau Koblenz-Trier until 1942
- ^ Gau Hessen-Nassau was founded 1933 when Hessen-Darmstadt merged with Hessen-Nassau-Süd
- ^ Gau Niederbayern-Oberpfalz was divided into Niederbayern & Oberpfalz in 1929
- ^ Gau Lüneburg-Stade renamed Gau Osthannover in 1928
- ^ Gau Westfalen was formed from Großgau Ruhr in 1928 and was divided into Gau Westfalen-Nord and Gau Westfalen-Süd in 1931
- ^ Gau Schlesien was divided into Niederschlesien & Oberschlesien in 1941
- ^ Included the French Alsace region from 1940 onwards and was renamed Gau Baden-Alsace
- ^ In exile in Germany
References[]
Inline[]
- ^ "Es ist das deutsche Herz" [It is the German heart]. spiegel.de (in German). Der Spiegel. 22 December 1954. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Übersicht der NSDAP-Gaue, der Gauleiter und der Stellvertretenden Gauleiter zwischen 1933 und 1945" [Overview of Nazi Gaue, the Gauleiter and assistant Gauleiter from 1933 to 1945]. zukunft-braucht-erinnerung.de (in German). . Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Die Gaue der NSDAP" [The Gaue of the Nazi Party]. verwaltungsgeschichte.de (in German). Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Die NS-Gaue" [The Nazi Gaue]. dhm.de (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ "Bürckel, Josef". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "NS-Zeit 1933-45" [Nazi era 1933-45]. xn--hndelstadt-halle-vnb.de (in German). Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ Anna Rosmus: Hitlers Nibelungen, Samples Grafenau 2015, pp. 60f
- ^ "ZEITGESCHICHTE / NATIONALSOZIALISTEN" [History/Nazis]. spiegel.de (in German). Der Spiegel. 8 May 1967. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Giesler, Paul". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Goebbels, Paul Joseph". deutsche-biographie.de (in German). Bavarian State Library. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Hellmuth, Otto". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Holz, Karl". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Jordan, Rudolf". uni-magdeburg.de (in German). University of Magdeburg. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Miller 2017, p. 25.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Miller 2017, p. 34.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Miller 2017, p. 46.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Miller 2017, p. 51.
- ^ "Die Legende vom "guten Gauleiter"" [The legend of the "good Gauleiter"]. ndr.de (in German). Norddeutscher Rundfunk. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ Miller 2017, p. 76.
- ^ "Lohse, Hinrich". deutsche-biographie.de (in German). Bavarian State Library. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Ruckdeschel, Ludwig". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Schemm, Hans". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Stöhr, Willi". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Streicher, Julius". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Josef Terboven (1898-1945)". historisches-centrum.de (in German). Historisches Centrum Hagen. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Wächtler, Fritz". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "ROBERT WAGNER, GAULEITER, REICHSSTATTHALTER IN BADEN UND CHEF DER ZIVILVERWALTUNG IM ELSASS" [Robert Wagner, Gauleiter, Reichsstatthalter in Baden and chief of the civil administration of Alsace]. ns-ministerien-bw.de (in German). 12 December 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ "Wahl, Karl". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Zimmermann, Hans". verwaltungshandbuch.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de (in German). Bayerische Landesbibliothek. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
Bibliography[]
- Miller, Michael D. and Schulz, Andreas (2012). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders Of The Nazi Party And Their Deputies, 1925-1945 (Herbert Albreacht-H. Wilhelm Huttmann)-Volume 1, R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-1932970210
- Miller, Michael (2017). Gauleiter Volume 2. California: R James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-1-932970-32-6.
- Westermann, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte
External links[]
Categories:
- Nazi-related lists
- Gauleiters
- Lists of political office-holders in Germany