The Gau Thuringia (German: ''Gau Thüringen'') formed on 6 April 1925, was an

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in the Free State of :Thuringia from 1933 to 1945. Before that, from 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in that area.

History

The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in a

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

conference on 22 May 1926, to improve administration of the party structure. From 1933 onwards, after the

Nazi seizure of power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

, the Gaue increasingly replaced the German states as administrative subdivisions in Germany. At the head of each Gau stood a ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'', a position which became increasingly more powerful, especially after the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with little interference from above. Local ''Gauleiters'' often held government positions as well as party ones and were in charge of, among other things, propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onward, the ''

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

'' and the defense of the Gau. The position of ''Gauleiter'' in Thuringia was originally held by

Artur Dinter Artur Dinter (27 June 1876 – 21 May 1948) was a German writer and Nazism, Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Thuringia. Biography Dinter was born in Mulhouse, in Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire (now France) to Josef Dinter, a c ...

. On 30 September 1927

Fritz Sauckel Ernst Friedrich Christoph "Fritz" Sauckel (27 October 1894 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician, ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Thuringia from 1927 and the General Plenipotentiary for Labour Deployment (''Arbeitseinsatz'') from March 1942 unti ...

, his Deputy ''Gauleiter'', took over and held this position until the end of the war. Sauckel also served as the Reich General Plenipotentiary for Labor Allocation. He was convicted at the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

and executed for war crimes and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

on 16 October 1946. His deputies were

Hans Severus Ziegler Hans Severus Ziegler (13 October 1893 – 1 May 1978) was a German publicist, theater manager, teacher and Nazi Party official. A leading cultural director under the Nazis, he was closely associated with the censorship and cultural co-ordinatio ...

(1927-1931),

Willy Marschler Willy Marschler (12 August 1893 – 8 November 1952) was a German Nazi Party politician who served as one of the first two Nazis to hold ministerial office in a German State. He went on to be the Minister-President of Thuringia through most of th ...

(1931–32),

Fritz Wächtler Fritz Wächtler (7 January 1891 – 19 April 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who served as the ''Gauleiter'' of the eastern Bavarian administrative region of Gau Bayreuth. Trained as a primary school teacher, he also became head ...

(1932–35) and

Heinrich Siekmeier Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

(1936–45).Michael D. Miller & Andreas Schulz: Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925-1945, Volume 1 (Herbert Albrecht - H. Wilhelm Hüttmann), R. James Bender Publishing, 2012, p. 36, . The

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

was located in the Gau Thuringia. Of the 238,980 prisoners that were sent to the camp 43,045 were killed.

References

External links

Illustrated list of Gauleiter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gau Thuringen

Thuringen Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

1933 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Thuringia