Reichsgau Wien

Reichsgau Wien
Reichsgau of Nazi Germany
←   ← 1938–1945 →   →
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Nazi Germany showing its administrative subdivisions (Gaue and Reichsgaue).
Capital		Vienna
Gauleiter
•	1938–1939	Odilo Globocnik
•	1939–1940	Joseph Bürckel
•	1940–1945	Baldur von Schirach
History
•	Anschluss	12 March 1938
•	German surrender	8 May 1945
Population
•	1939	1,920,390
Today part of		Austria

The Reichsgau Wien (English: Gau Vienna) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany based in Vienna, Austria. It existed between 1938 and 1945. Parts of Lower Austria were annexed to establish Greater Vienna, which then became the biggest city of Nazi Germany by area.

History

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. From 1933 onwards, after the Nazi seizure of power, the Gaue increasingly replaced the German states as administrative subdivisions in Germany. In March 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria, with the latter being sub-divided into Reichsgaue.^[1][2]

At the head of each Gau stood a Gauleiter, a position which became increasingly more powerful, especially after the outbreak of the Second World War. Local Gauleiter were in charge of propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onwards, the Volkssturm and the defence of the Gau.^[1][3]

The position of Gauleiter in Wien was initially held by Odilo Globocnik from 1938 to 1939, by Josef Bürckel from 1939 to 1940 and by Baldur von Schirach for the remainder of the Reichsgau's history up to 1945.^[4][5]

References

1. "Die NS-Gaue" [The Nazi Gaue]. dhm.de (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
2. "Der "Anschluss" Österreichs 1938" [The annexation of Austria 1938]. dhm.de (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
3. "The Organization of the Nazi Party & State". nizkor.org. The Nizkor Project. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
4. "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). Zukunft braucht Erinnerung. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
5. "Reichsgau Wien". verwaltungsgeschichte.de (in German). Retrieved 24 March 2016.

External links

• Illustrated list of Gauleiter