Reichsgau Niederdonau

Reichsgau Niederdonau
Reichsgau of Nazi Germany
←   ←   ← 1938–1945 →   →   →
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Nazi Germany showing its administrative subdivisions (Gaue and Reichsgaue).
Capital		Krems
Gauleiter
•	1938–1945	Hugo Jury
History
•	Anschluss	12 March 1938
•	German surrender	8 May 1945
Population
•	1939	1,698,658
Today part of		Austria

The Reichsgau Niederdonau (English: Gau Lower Danube) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany consisting of areas in Lower Austria, Burgenland, southeastern parts of Bohemia and southern parts of Moravia. It existed between 1938 and 1945.

History

The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in a party conference on 22 May 1926, in order to improve administration of the party structure. From 1933 onwards, after the Nazi seizure of power, the Gaue increasingly replaced the German states as administrative subdivisions in Germany.^[1] In 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria, with the latter being sub-divided into Reichsgaue.^[2]

At the head of each Gau stood a Gauleiter, a position which became increasingly more powerful, especially after the outbreak of the Second World War. Local Gauleiter were in charge of propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onwards, the Volkssturm and the defence of the Gau.^[1][3]

The position of Gauleiter in Niederdonau was held by Hugo Jury for the duration of the existence of the Gau.^[4][5]

Administrative divisions

The administrative divisions of the Gau:^[5]

Urban districts / Stadtkreise

1. City of Krems
2. City of Sankt Pölten
3. City of Wiener Neustadt

Rural districts / Landkreise

1. Landkreis Amstetten
2. Landkreis Baden
3. Landkreis Bruck an der Leitha
4. Landkreis Eisenstadt
5. Landkreis Gänserndorf
6. Landkreis Gmünd
7. Landkreis Hollabrunn
8. Landkreis Horn
9. Landkreis Korneuburg
10. Landkreis Krems
11. Landkreis Lilienfeld
12. Landkreis Melk
13. Landkreis Mistelbach an der Zaya
14. Landkreis Neubistritz
15. Landkreis Neunkirchen in Niederdonau
16. Landkreis Nikolsburg
17. Landkreis Oberpullendorf
18. Landkreis Sankt Pölten
19. Landkreis Scheibbs
20. Landkreis Tulln
21. Landkreis Waidhofen an der Thaya
22. Landkreis Wiener Neustadt
23. Landkreis Znaim
24. Landkreis Zwettl

References

1. "Die NS-Gaue" [The Nazi Gaue]. dhm.de (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
2. "Der "Anschluss" Österreichs 1938" [The annexation of Austria 1938]. dhm.de (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
3. "The Organization of the Nazi Party & State". nizkor.org. The Nizkor Project. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
4. "Übersicht der NSDAP-Gaue, der Gauleiter und der Stellvertretenden Gauleiter zwischen 1933 und 1945" [Overview of Nazi Gaue, the Gauleiter and assistant Gauleiter from 1933 to 1945]. zukunft-braucht-erinnerung.de (in German). Zukunft braucht Erinnerung. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
5. "Reichsgau Niederdonau". verwaltungsgeschichte.de (in German). Retrieved 24 March 2016.

External links

• Illustrated list of Gauleiter