Gau München-Oberbayern
Encyclopedia
The Gau München-Oberbayern (English: Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany
in Upper Bavaria
, Bavaria
from 1933 to 1945. Previous to that, since 1926, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in the region.
Upper Bavaria
, which Munich
is the capital of.
on 1 November 1929, when the Gau system in Bavaria was formalised, and remained under his control until his death in 1944. The Gau was actually a merger of the previously separate Gaue Munich and Upper Bavaria. Until 1930, Bavaria, as the heartland of the Nazi movement in the 1920s, was seen by Hitler as his personal realm, the local Gaue commonly being called Untergaue (English:Sub-Gaue), to show their dependence on the head of the party. Only when Hitler's ambitions turned national did his interest in Bavarian affairs dwindle. With the end of the internal power struggle, the following six Gaue had been established in Bavaria:
Within those and the other Nazi German Gaue, Munich-Upper Bavaria claimed an elevated position for itself. The reason for this being, that Munich was the birthplace of "the movement" (German:Hauptstadt der Bewegung - a title it officially carried). The Gaue called itself Traditionsgau München-Oberbayern to cement this elevated position.
, the party immediately began to disassemble the power of the German states, the Länder. It was envisioned by the Nazis that the Party-Gaue would take the place of the old structure. In reality, Hitler was afraid of such a move, fearing it would upset local party leaders and could possibly result in an inner-party power struggle.
Gradually, the Gauleiter
(English:Gau Leader) took control over their territories, reducing the local Minister Presidents, nominally the highest office in the German states, to figureheads. As such, the development of the Gau from a form inner-party administration to a political and administrative sub-division of the country was gradual, not sudden, but completed by 1934. The process termed Gleichschaltung
took care of all political opposition and the Law concerning the reconstruction of the Reich from 30 January 1934 can possibly be seen as the final date for the transfer of power from the states to the Gaue.
In Munich-Upper Bavaria, the most populous Gau in Bavaria, the local Gauleiter Wagner, a personal friend of Hitler's, initially attempted to incooperate the neighboring Gau Schwaben, to increase his already considerable power.
The Gauleiter was directly appointed by Hitler and only answerable to him. In practice, Hitler interfered little in the affairs of the local leaders and their power was almost absolute.
Parallel to the five Bavarian Gauleiter, a Bavarian Minister President still existed during this time, the Nazi politician Ludwig Siebert
and, after his death in 1942, his successor, Paul Giesler
. As a third authority in the still existing state, Franz Ritter von Epp held the office of Reichsstatthalter
but wielded no real power.
The Gau was home to Nazi Germany's first concentration camp in Dachau, which opened soon after the Machtergreifung.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, the power of the Gauleiter, and therefore the power of the Gaue compare to the state government, increased. Many of the Gauleiter were put in charge of the war effort in their Military district
(German:Wehrkreis).
When Gauleiter Wagner became increasingly ill, Paul Giesler, his deputy, took up the running of the Gau. After Wagners death in April 1944, Giesler succeeded him in his office.
As the war progressed and Nazi Germany grew more desperate, the Gauleiter were put in total control of the war effort in their Gau from November 1942.
In September 1944, the Gauleiter were ordered to form the Volkssturm
in a last effort to mobilise all of the male population. The Gauleiter took up the position of Reichsverteidigungskommissar (RVK) (English:Reich Defence Comissiner), in competition to the Wehrmacht
. Paul Giesler was put in charge of Swabia and three of the formerly Austrian Gaue.
With the end of the war and the collapse of Nazi Germany, Gauleiter Giesler still remained a convinced Nazi, crushing an uprising in the Bavarian capital with the help of the SS on 28 April 1945. Its leader, Rupprecht Gerngroß
, a Wehrmacht
officer, survived, but many of his supporters were executed on Gieslers orders.
occupation zone
. Only the Pfalz
, geographically separated from the rest of the state, became part of the French
occupation zone. Political power, at first laying with the occupation authorities, was soon returned to the new Bavarian government. The Regierungsbezirk Swabia, never having formally been dissolved, took control of the civil administration of the region again. Its most pressing issue was the reconstruction of the destroyed cities and the refugee problem.
Paul Giesler, last Gauleiter of Munich-Upper Bavaria, attempted to commit suicide with his wife, fearing capture by the allied forces but failed and was shot by one of his adjudants near Berchtesgaden
on 8 May 1945..
, three sections of the SS and six sections of the Hitler Jugend
.
The Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria belonged to the military district Wehrkreis VII, which also had its headquarters in Munich.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
from 1933 to 1945. Previous to that, since 1926, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in the region.
Establishment of the Gaue within the party
The Nazi Gau (Plural:Gaue) system was originally established in a party conference on 22 May 1926, in order to improve administration of the party structure. In the early stages, the borders and leaders of these Gaue fluctuated frequently, mainly due to internal power struggles. The Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria was, for the most part, identical with the Bavarian RegierungsbezirkRegierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...
, which Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
is the capital of.
The Gau from 1926 to 1933
The Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria came under the leadership of Adolf WagnerAdolf Wagner
Adolf Wagner was a German soldier and high-ranking Nazi Party official born in Algrange, Alsace-Lorraine.He served in World War I as an officer in the German Army...
on 1 November 1929, when the Gau system in Bavaria was formalised, and remained under his control until his death in 1944. The Gau was actually a merger of the previously separate Gaue Munich and Upper Bavaria. Until 1930, Bavaria, as the heartland of the Nazi movement in the 1920s, was seen by Hitler as his personal realm, the local Gaue commonly being called Untergaue (English:Sub-Gaue), to show their dependence on the head of the party. Only when Hitler's ambitions turned national did his interest in Bavarian affairs dwindle. With the end of the internal power struggle, the following six Gaue had been established in Bavaria:
- Gau Schwaben
- Gau München-Oberbayern
- Gau MainfrankenGau MainfrankenThe Gau Mainfranken , was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, from 1933 to 1945...
- Gau Bayerische Ostmark
- Gau Franken
- Gau Rheinpfalz
Within those and the other Nazi German Gaue, Munich-Upper Bavaria claimed an elevated position for itself. The reason for this being, that Munich was the birthplace of "the movement" (German:Hauptstadt der Bewegung - a title it officially carried). The Gaue called itself Traditionsgau München-Oberbayern to cement this elevated position.
The Gau from 1933 to 1945
With the ascent of the Nazis to power on 30 January 1933, the so-called MachtergreifungMachtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
, the party immediately began to disassemble the power of the German states, the Länder. It was envisioned by the Nazis that the Party-Gaue would take the place of the old structure. In reality, Hitler was afraid of such a move, fearing it would upset local party leaders and could possibly result in an inner-party power struggle.
Gradually, the Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
(English:Gau Leader) took control over their territories, reducing the local Minister Presidents, nominally the highest office in the German states, to figureheads. As such, the development of the Gau from a form inner-party administration to a political and administrative sub-division of the country was gradual, not sudden, but completed by 1934. The process termed Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung , meaning "coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line", is a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control and tight coordination over all aspects of society. The historian Richard J...
took care of all political opposition and the Law concerning the reconstruction of the Reich from 30 January 1934 can possibly be seen as the final date for the transfer of power from the states to the Gaue.
In Munich-Upper Bavaria, the most populous Gau in Bavaria, the local Gauleiter Wagner, a personal friend of Hitler's, initially attempted to incooperate the neighboring Gau Schwaben, to increase his already considerable power.
The Gauleiter was directly appointed by Hitler and only answerable to him. In practice, Hitler interfered little in the affairs of the local leaders and their power was almost absolute.
Parallel to the five Bavarian Gauleiter, a Bavarian Minister President still existed during this time, the Nazi politician Ludwig Siebert
Ludwig Siebert (politician)
Ludwig Siebert was a Nazi politician and Bavarian prime minister from 1933 to 1942.-Life:...
and, after his death in 1942, his successor, Paul Giesler
Paul Giesler
Paul Giesler was a member of the NSDAP, from 1941 NSDAP Gauleiter of Westphalia-South and as of 1942 also acting Gauleiter of the Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria...
. As a third authority in the still existing state, Franz Ritter von Epp held the office of Reichsstatthalter
Reichsstatthalter
The term Reichsstatthalter was used twice for different offices, in the imperial Hohenzollern dynasty's German Empire and the single-party Nazi Third Reich.- "Statthalter des Reiches" 1879-1918 in Alsace-Lorraine :...
but wielded no real power.
The Gau was home to Nazi Germany's first concentration camp in Dachau, which opened soon after the Machtergreifung.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, the power of the Gauleiter, and therefore the power of the Gaue compare to the state government, increased. Many of the Gauleiter were put in charge of the war effort in their Military district
Military district
Military districts are formations of a state's armed forces which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and in countries with conscript forces, often handle parts of the conscription cycle.Navies have also used...
(German:Wehrkreis).
When Gauleiter Wagner became increasingly ill, Paul Giesler, his deputy, took up the running of the Gau. After Wagners death in April 1944, Giesler succeeded him in his office.
As the war progressed and Nazi Germany grew more desperate, the Gauleiter were put in total control of the war effort in their Gau from November 1942.
In September 1944, the Gauleiter were ordered to form the Volkssturm
Volkssturm
The Volkssturm was a German national militia of the last months of World War II. It was founded on Adolf Hitler's orders on October 18, 1944 and conscripted males between the ages of 16 to 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard.-Origins and...
in a last effort to mobilise all of the male population. The Gauleiter took up the position of Reichsverteidigungskommissar (RVK) (English:Reich Defence Comissiner), in competition to the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. Paul Giesler was put in charge of Swabia and three of the formerly Austrian Gaue.
With the end of the war and the collapse of Nazi Germany, Gauleiter Giesler still remained a convinced Nazi, crushing an uprising in the Bavarian capital with the help of the SS on 28 April 1945. Its leader, Rupprecht Gerngroß
Rupprecht Gerngroß
Rupprecht Gerngroß was a German lawyer and leader of the Freiheitsaktion Bayern, the FAB, , a group involved in an attempt to overthrow the Nazis in Munich in April 1945....
, a Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
officer, survived, but many of his supporters were executed on Gieslers orders.
Aftermath
All of Upper Bavaria, like most of the rest of Bavaria, became part of the USUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
occupation zone
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
. Only the Pfalz
Pfalz
Pfalz may refer to:*Kaiserpfalz, also known as Königspfalz, a castle which was a temporary seat of power for the Holy Roman Emperor in the Early and High Middle Ages, etymologically derived from Latin palatium - Geography:...
, geographically separated from the rest of the state, became part of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
occupation zone. Political power, at first laying with the occupation authorities, was soon returned to the new Bavarian government. The Regierungsbezirk Swabia, never having formally been dissolved, took control of the civil administration of the region again. Its most pressing issue was the reconstruction of the destroyed cities and the refugee problem.
Paul Giesler, last Gauleiter of Munich-Upper Bavaria, attempted to commit suicide with his wife, fearing capture by the allied forces but failed and was shot by one of his adjudants near Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...
on 8 May 1945..
Other Nazi organisations in the region
The various departments of the Nazi organisation were by no means streamlined with the Gau system, but rather fiercely independent and competitive to each other. For example, while Bavaria was sub-divided in six Gaue, it was also divided in four sections of the SASturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, three sections of the SS and six sections of the Hitler Jugend
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
.
The Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria belonged to the military district Wehrkreis VII, which also had its headquarters in Munich.
Gauleiter
The highest position in the Gau, Gauleiter, was held by only two people during the history of the Gau:- Adolf WagnerAdolf WagnerAdolf Wagner was a German soldier and high-ranking Nazi Party official born in Algrange, Alsace-Lorraine.He served in World War I as an officer in the German Army...
- 1 November 1929 to 12 April 1944 - Paul GieslerPaul GieslerPaul Giesler was a member of the NSDAP, from 1941 NSDAP Gauleiter of Westphalia-South and as of 1942 also acting Gauleiter of the Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria...
- 12 April 1944 to May 1945
Deputy Gauleiter
Second in charge and, in Gieslers case, actually wielding the true power in the Gau due to Wagners illness, were the Stellvertretende Gauleiter:- Otto Nippold - December 1932 to 17 May 1940
- Joachim von Moltke - 1940 to 1942
- Paul Giesler - 28 June 1942 to 12 April 1944
Structure
Like all Gaue since the restructering of 1932, Munich-Upper Bavaria was in itself sub-divided in smaller administrative entitiys, in the structure of a pyramid, these being (1936):- Kreise (26) - equivalent of a district
- Ortsgruppen (249)
- Zellen (1,291)
- Blocks (4,258)
External links
- The Nizkor Project - The Organization of the Nazi Party & State
- Pictures of Gauleiter, including Wagner Calvin College website
- Picture of Giesler in Gauleiter uniform
- "The German Addressbuch" 1942 Names and addresses of the Nazi government of Bavaria with description of their tasks and duties in 1942
Sources
- Shoa.de - List of Gaue and Gauleiter (in German)
- Die NS Gaue (in German) Deutsches Historisches MuseumDeutsches Historisches MuseumThe German Historical Museum , DHM for short, is a museum in Berlin devoted to German history and defines itself as a place of enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans....
website - Die Gaue der NSDAP (in German)