Gau Westmark
Template:Short description Template:Infobox Former Subdivision The Gau Westmark (English: Western March) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. From 1925 to 1933, it was a regional subdivision of the Nazi Party.
History
The Nazi Script error: No such module "Lang". (plural Script error: No such module "Lang".) system was established at a party conference on 22 May 1926 to improve administration of the party structure. From 1933 onwards, after the Nazi seizure of power, the Script error: No such module "Lang". increasingly replaced the states as administrative subdivisions in Germany.[1]
The Script error: No such module "Lang". had its origin in 1925 in Script error: No such module "Lang". (English: 'Rhenish Palatinate'), comprising the Bavarian/Rhenish Palatinate – the exclave of Bavaria left (west) of the river Rhine, which is now part of the modern state of Rhineland-Palatinate (see also: Palatinate region). The territory of Oldenburg Birkenfeld was also annexed to the Gau in 1934. With the return of the Saar Basin to Germany on 1 March 1935, the two regions were merged and formed the new Script error: No such module "Lang".. This Script error: No such module "Lang". was renamed Script error: No such module "Lang". (English: 'Saar-Palatinate') on 13 January 1936.
After the outbreak of the Second World War and the defeat of France in 1940, the French Script error: No such module "Lang". of Moselle, renamed "Script error: No such module "Lang".", was added to the Script error: No such module "Lang". on 30 November 1940.[2] On 7 December 1940, it was again renamed Script error: No such module "Lang". (English: 'Western March'). Script error: No such module "Lang". Bürckel hoped that Script error: No such module "Lang". would be extended as far as Germany's future western border, especially keeping in mind the ore region of Briey-Longwy in the Script error: No such module "Lang". of Meurthe-et-Moselle.[3] Bürckel further laid claims to parts of Alsace and even Baden. The Script error: No such module "Lang"., however, remained as it was until the defeat of Germany in 1945.[3]
At the head of each Script error: No such module "Lang". stood a Script error: No such module "Lang"., a position which became increasingly more powerful, especially after the outbreak of the Second World War. Local Gauleiters were in charge of propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onwards, the Script error: No such module "Lang". and the defence of the Gau.[1][4]
The position of Script error: No such module "Lang". was held by Friedrich Wambsganss from February 1925 to 13 March 1926 and Josef Bürckel from 13 March 1926 until his death on 28 September 1944, when Willi Stöhr took over and served for the duration of the existence of the Gau.[5][6][7]
References
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
Template:Nazi Gaue Template:Authority control [[Category:Template:Resolve category redirect]]Template:Coord missing/CheckCat