The Reichsgau Salzburg 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 ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It existed between 1938 and 1945.

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, in order 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. On 12 March 1938 Nazi Germany

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

Austria and on 24 May the Austrian provinces were reorganized and replaced by seven Nazi party ''Gaue.'' Under the Ostmarkgesetz law of 14 April 1939 with effect of 1 May, the Austrian ''Gaue'' were raised to the status of ''

Reichsgau A (plural ) was an administrative subdivision created in a number of areas annexed by Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945. Overview The term was formed from the words (realm, empire) and , the latter a deliberately medieval-sounding word wi ...

e'' and their

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 ...

s were subsequently also named ''

Reichsstatthalter The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Imperial lieutenant'') was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany. ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918) The office of ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (otherwise known as ''Reichsstatthalte ...

s''. At the head of each Gau stood a

, 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 ...

. Local Gauleiters were in charge of propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onwards, 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 defence of the Gau. The position of Gauleiter in Salzburg was initially held by

Friedrich Rainer Friedrich W. Rainer (28 July 1903 – November 1950)Miller, Michael & Andreas Schulz, (2017). ''Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925-1945'', Volume II (Georg Joel - Dr. Bernhard Rust). R. James B ...

until 27 November 1941, and then by

Gustav Adolf Scheel Gustav Adolf Scheel (22 November 1907 – 25 March 1979) was a German physician and Nazi Party official. He served as a "multifunctionary" in Nazi Germany, including posts as the Reich Student Leader leading both the National Socialist German Stu ...

, while Anton Wintersteiger held the office of Deputy Gauleiter throughout the Reichsgau's history from 1938 to 1945.

References

External links

Illustrated list of Gauleiter
{{Authority control

History of Salzburg 1938 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany