Gau Westmark
| Gau Westmark | ||||||
| Gau of Nazi Germany | ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
 subdivisions (Gaue and Reichsgaue). | ||||||
| Capital | Neustadt an der Weinstraße (1933–1935) Saarbrücken (1935–1945) | |||||
| Gauleiter | ||||||
| - | 1933–1944 | Josef Bürckel | ||||
| - | 1944–1945 | Willi Stöhr | ||||
| History | ||||||
| - | Establishment | 30 January 1933 | ||||
| - | Disestablishment | 8 May 1945 | ||||
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png)
.svg.png)
The Gau Westmark (English:Western March) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. From 1926 to 1933, it was a regional subdivision of the Nazi Party.
History
The Gau was originally established in the parts of Bavaria left of the river Rhine, the Palatinate (German:Pfalz). As such, it carried the name Gau Rheinpfalz (English:Rhenish Palatinate). The territory of Oldenburgs Birkenfeld was also annexed to the Gau in 1934. With the return of the Saar Basin to Germany in 1935, the two regions were merged and formed the new Gau Pfalz-Saar. This Gau was renamed Gau Saarpfalz (English:Saar-Palatinate) in 1937.
After the outbreak of the Second World War and the defeat of France in 1940, the French département of Moselle, renamed "CdZ-Gebiet Lothringen", was added to the Gau on 30 November 1940.[1] On 7 December 1940, it was again renamed, now Gau Westmark. Gauleiter Bürckel hoped that Westmark would be extended as far as Germany's future western border, especially keeping in mind the ore region of Briey-Longwy in the département of Meurthe-et-Moselle.[2] Bürckel further laid claims to parts of Alsace and even Baden. The Gau, however, remained as such until the defeat of Germany in 1945.[2]
Gauleiter
- Josef Bürckel: 24 March 1926 to 28 September 1944
- Willi Stöhr: 28 September 1944 to March 1945
See also
- List of Gaue of Nazi Germany
Sources
- (German) Shoa.de - List of Gaue and Gauleiter
- (German) Die NS Gaue at the Deutsches Historisches Museum website.
- (German) Die Gaue der NSDAP
References
- ↑ Jacques Lorraine (Edmond Huntzbuchler): Les Allemands en France. Origines, Bretagne, Zone interdite Est, Bourgogne, Alsace et Lorraine, editions du Désert, Alger-Oran, 1945, p. 121-124.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kroener, Bernhard R.; Müller, Rolf-Dieter; Umbreit, Hans (2000). Germany and the Second World War: Organization and mobilization of the German sphere of power. Wartime administration, economy, and manpower resources 1939-1941. Oxford University Press. p. 169. ISBN 0-19-822887-2.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||