''Gauführer'' was an early

rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

used between 1925 and 1929 by

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

organizations of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

, primarily the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

'' (SA) and the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

'' (SS). Translated as "region leader", the title of ''Gauführer'' was influenced by the similarly named Nazi Party political position of ''

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 ...

''. The insignia for a ''Gauführer'' was a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

armband with two white stripes. The ''Gauführer'' was eventually phased out by subsequent reorganizations of the SA and SS that resulted in new components headed by an ''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically an NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geograph ...

''.

''Sturmabteilung'' (SA)

The ''SA-Gauführer'' rank originated sometime after the reestablishment of the Nazi Party and the SA in early 1925. This followed a period during which these organizations had been outlawed after

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's failed

Beer Hall putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and other leaders i ...

of November 1923. The newly-created ''SA-Gauführer'' commanded a '' Gausturm'' composed of several ''SA-

Standarte In Nazi Germany, the ''Standarte'' (pl. ''Standarten'') was a paramilitary unit of Nazi Party (NSDAP), ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), NSKK, NSFK, and ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). Translated literally as "Regimental standard", the name refers to the flag pa ...

n'', each headed by an ''SA-

Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...

''. The ''Gaustürme'' were the largest SA organizational units until 1928. There originally were 19 ''Gaustürme'' established by Franz Pfeffer von Salomon, who Hitler named

Supreme SA Leader The supreme SA leader (), was the titular head of the Nazi Party's paramilitary group, the (SA). History The ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a signif ...

in November 1926. Pfeffer deliberately drew the jurisdictional boundaries of the ''Gaustürme'' so as not to coincide with the Party districts, ''Reichstag'' electoral districts, military districts or German federal states. He did this to enhance the SA's independence by separating it as much as possible from the Party political organization. The ''Gaustürme'' and the ''Gauführer'' rank were phased out in March 1928 when Pfeffer reorganized the SA into seven even larger geographic commands, each headed by an SA-''

''. These were named Mitte, Nord, Ost, Ruhr, Süd, West and Ostmark (Austria).

''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)

The ''SS-Gauführer'' rank was established to command the six regional ''SS-Gaue'' commands: SS-Gau Berlin Brandenburg, SS-Gau Franken, SS-Gau Niederbayern, SS-Gau Oberbayern, SS-Gau Rheinland-Süd, and SS-Gau Sachsen. Each ''SS-Gauführer'' commanded several ''SS-Staffeln'', each of which was headed by an ''SS-

Staffelführer ''Staffelführer'' (, " Formation leader") was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in the early years of that group's existence. The later SS rank of ''Staffelführer'' traces its origins to the First ...

''. The rank of ''SS-Gauführer'' ceased to exist after January 1929 when

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

, the newly-appointed ''

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest Uniforms and insignia of the Schut ...

'', consolidated the ''SS-Gaue'' into three new larger SS units known as ''SS-Oberführerbereiche'' (senior leadership areas), each commanded by an ''SS-

''. These were named Ost (Berlin-Brandenburg, East Prussia and Silesia), Süd (Baden-Württemberg, Franken, Niederbayern, Oberbayern and Österreich) and West (Hesse-Nassau, Rheinland-Nord, Rheinland-Süd, Südhannover-Braunschweig and Thüringin).

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaufuhrer Nazi paramilitary ranks