Reichsgau Salzburg

Reichsgau Salzburg
Reichsgau of Nazi Germany
← 1938–1945 →
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Nazi Germany showing its administrative subdivisions (Gaue and Reichsgaue).
Capital		Salzburg
Gauleiter
•	1938–1941	Friedrich Rainer
•	1941–1945	Gustav Adolf Scheel
History
•	Anschluss	12 March 1938
•	German surrender	8 May 1945
Population
•	1939	257,376
Today part of		Austria

The Reichsgau Salzburg (English: Gau Salzburg) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Salzburg, Austria. 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. In March 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria, with the latter being sub-divided into Reichsgaue.^[1][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 Salzburg was initially held by Friedrich Rainer and, from 1941, by Gustav Adolf Scheel while Anton Wintersteiger held the office of deputy Gauleiter throughout the Reichsgau's history from 1938 to 1945.^[4][5]

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 Salzburg". verwaltungsgeschichte.de (in German). Retrieved 24 March 2016.

External links

• Illustrated list of Gauleiter