# List of Gauleiters

The List of Gauleiter enumerates 114 men who held the Nazi Party (NSDAP) senior regional leader rank of Gauleiter under Adolf Hitler, from the reestablishment of the party in February 1925 to the fall of the Nazi regime in May 1945. It includes those that served in Germany proper and in those territories that were incorporated into Germany from 1935 to 1944. However, it does not include the Gauleiter of the separate Austrian Nazi Party (DNSAP) in the sovereign state of Austria prior to its annexation by Germany in the Anschluss of March 1938.
Of the 44 incumbent Gauleiter who survived the Second World War, 13 committed suicide around the time that Nazi Germany surrendered, eight were executed by the Allies after the war, one was executed by the SS in the closing days of the war and one died in captivity in the Soviet Union. By 1954, when Karl Wahl became the first former Gauleiter to publish his memoirs, eight were still missing, three were in prison and the remaining ten had been imprisoned and released.

## List

This is a list of Gauleiter with their Gaue assignment(s), time in office and comments about their fate:
| Killed in action | Committed suicide before capture or in captivity | Executed or assassinated | Died in captivity, except suicide or execution | Died of natural causes or through an accident | Imprisoned, later released and died a free man | Eluded capture or escaped from captivity | Fate unknown or unclear |
| Gauleiter | Gau(e) | In office | Fate |
| Herbert Albrecht | Gau Mecklenburg | 1930–1931 | Died in June 1945 |
| Alois Bachschmid | Gau Elbe-Havel | 1925–1926 | Died in 1968 in Italy |
| Ernst Wilhelm Bohle | NSDAP/AO | 1934–1945 | Imprisoned until 1949, died in 1960 in West Germany |
| Fritz Bracht | Gau Oberschlesien | 1941–1945 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Karl Brück | Gau Saar | 1931–1933 | Died in 1964 in West Germany |
| Josef Bürckel | Gau Rheinpfalz | 1926–1935 | Died in September 1944 |
| Josef Bürckel | Gau Saar | 1933–1935 | Died in September 1944 |
| Josef Bürckel | Gau Pfalz–Saar | 1935–1944 | Died in September 1944 |
| Josef Bürckel | Reichsgau Wien | 1939–1940 | Died in September 1944 |
| Helmuth Brückner | Gau Schlesien | 1925–1934 | Died in Soviet captivity in 1951 or 1954 |
| Walther von Corswant | Gau Pommern | 1927–1931 | Died in 1942 |
| Léon Degrelle | Reichsgau Wallonien | 1944–1945 | Escaped to Spain in 1945 where he died in 1994 |
| Artur Dinter | Gau Thüringen | 1925–1927 | Died in 1948 in the French occupation zone in Germany |
| August Eigruber | Reichsgau Oberdonau | 1938–1945 | Found guilty in the Dachau trials and executed at Landsberg Prison in May 1947 |
| Joachim Albrecht Eggeling | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1935–1937 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
| Joachim Albrecht Eggeling | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1937–1945 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
| Adolf Ehrecke | Gau Saar | 1929–1931 | Died in 1980 in West Germany |
| Otto Erbersdobler | Gau Niederbayern | 1929–1932 | Died in 1981 in West Germany |
| Walter Ernst | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1925–1926 | Killed in action in March 1945 near Danzig |
| Friedrich Karl Florian | Gau Düsseldorf | 1930–1945 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1975 in West Germany |
| Albert Forster | Gau Danzig | 1930–1939 | Executed in Poland in 1952 |
| Albert Forster | Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen | 1939–1945 | Executed in Poland in 1952 |
| Peter Gemeinder | Gau Hessen-Darmstadt | 1931 | Died in 1931 |
| Karl Gerland | Gau Kurhessen | 1943–1945 (acting to 1944) | Killed in action in April 1945 in Frankfurt on the Oder |
| Paul Giesler | Gau Westfalen-Süd | 1941–1943 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Paul Giesler | Gau München-Oberbayern | 1944–1945 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Odilo Globocnik | Reichsgau Wien | 1938–1939 | Committed suicide in British captivity in May 1945 |
| Joseph Goebbels | Gau Berlin-Brandenburg | 1926–1928 | Committed suicide in Berlin in May 1945 |
| Joseph Goebbels | Gau Berlin | 1928–1945 | Committed suicide in Berlin in May 1945 |
| Arthur Greiser | Reichsgau Wartheland | 1939–1945 | Executed in Poland in 1946 |
| Wilhelm Grimm | Gau Mittelfranken | 1928–1929 | Executed in 1944 for connection with the 20 July plot |
| Josef Grohé | Gau Köln-Aachen | 1931–1945 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1987 in West Germany |
| Heinrich Haake | Gau Rheinland–Süd | 1925 | Died in British captivity in 1945 |
| Ludolf Haase | Gau Hannover-Süd | 1925–1928 | Died in 1972 in West Germany |
| Karl Hanke | Gau Niederschlesien | 1941–1945 | Captured and killed by Czech partisans |
| Anton Haselmayer | Gau Hessen-Nassau-Süd | 1925–1926 | Died in 1962 |
| Edmund Heines | Gau Oberpfalz | 1930 (acting) | Executed during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 |
| Otto Hellmuth | Gau Unterfranken | 1928–1945 | Imprisoned until 1955, committed suicide in 1968 in West Germany |
| Konrad Henlein | Reichsgau Sudetenland | 1938–1945 | Committed suicide in U.S. captivity in May 1945 |
| Friedrich Hildebrandt | Gau Mecklenburg | 1925–19301931–1945 | Found guilty in the Dachau trials and executed at Landsberg Prison in November 1948 |
| Paul Hinkler | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1926–1931 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
| Franz Hofer | Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg | 1938–1945 | Escaped captivity in 1948, re-arrested 1949, and imprisoned until 1952. Died in 1975 in West Germany. |
| Albert Hoffmann | Gau Westfalen-Süd | 1943–1945 | Imprisoned until 1950. Died in West Germany in 1972 |
| Paul Hofmann | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1932 | Died in 1980 in West Berlin |
| Hans Albert Hohnfeldt | Gau Danzig | 1926–1928 | Died in 1948 |
| Emil Holtz | Gau Brandenburg | 1928–1930 | Fate unknown |
| Karl Holz | Gau Franken | 1942–1945 (acting to 1944) | Died 20 April 1945 under unclear circumstances in the defense of Nuremberg, either committed suicide or killed in action |
| Rudolf Jordan | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1931–1937 | Imprisoned in the Soviet Union until 1955, died in West Germany in 1988 |
| Rudolf Jordan | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1937–1945 | Imprisoned in the Soviet Union until 1955, died in West Germany in 1988 |
| Jakob Jung | Gau Saar | 1926–1929 | Death date unknown |
| Rudolf Jung | N/A | 1938–1945 | Committed suicide in Czech captivity in December 1945 |
| Walter Jung | Gau Saar | 1926 | Death date unknown |
| Hugo Jury | Reichsgau Niederdonau | 1938–1945 | Committed suicide 8 May 1945 |
| Wilhelm Karpenstein | Gau Pommern | 1931–1934 | Died 2 May 1968 in West Germany |
| Karl Kaufmann | Gau Rheinland–Nord | 1925 | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1969 in West Germany |
| Karl Kaufmann | Großgau Ruhr | 1926–1928 | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1969 in West Germany |
| Karl Kaufmann | Gau Hamburg | 1929–1945 | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1969 in West Germany |
| Josef Klant | Gau Hamburg | 1925–1926 | Died 4 November 1926 |
| Walter Klaunig | Gau Brandenburg/Potsdam | 1925–1926 | Fate unknown |
| Hubert Klausner | Reichsgau Kärnten | 1938–1939 | Died in 1939 |
| Erich Koch | Gau Ostpreußen | 1928–1945 | Died in prison in Poland in 1986 |
| Albert Krebs | Gau Hamburg | 1926–1928 | Died in 1974 in West Germany |
| Hans Krebs | N/A | 1938–1945 | Executed for treason in Czechoslovakia in February 1947 |
| Wilhelm Kube | Gau Ostmark | 1928–1933 | Assassinated by Soviet partisans in September 1943 |
| Wilhelm Kube | Gau Kurmark | 1933–1936 | Assassinated by Soviet partisans in September 1943 |
| Franz Kutschera | Reichsgau Kärnten | 1939–1941 | Executed by Polish resistance fighters in February 1944 |
| Hartmann Lauterbacher | Gau Südhannover-Braunschweig | 1940–1945 | Escaped from captivity in 1948 to Rome, worked for western intelligence agencies and died in 1988 in West Germany |
| Karl Lenz | Gau Hessen-Darmstadt | 1931–1932 | Died in 1944 |
| Josef Leopold | N/A | 1938–1941 | Killed in action in July 1941 in Malyn, Ukrainian SSR |
| Robert Ley | Gau Rheinland–Süd | 1925–1931 | Indicted at the Nuremberg trials, but committed suicide in his cell in October 1945 before the trials began |
| Karl Linder | Gau Hessen-Nassau-Süd | 1926–1927 | Died in 1979 in West Germany |
| Karl Linder | Gau Hessen-Nassau | 1932 | Died in 1979 in West Germany |
| Wilhelm Friedrich Loeper | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1927–1935 | Died in 1935 |
| Hinrich Lohse | Gau Hamburg | 1928–1929 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1964 in West Germany |
| Hinrich Lohse | Gau Schleswig-Holstein | 1925–1945 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1964 in West Germany |
| Walter Maass | Gau Danzig | 1928–1929 (acting) | Fate unknown |
| Franz Maierhofer | Gau Oberpfalz | 1929–1932 (acting to 1930) | Killed in action in August 1943 near Kharkov |
| Alfred Meyer | Gau Westfalen-Nord | 1931–1945 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
| Joachim Meyer-Quade | Gau Schleswig-Holstein | 1932 | Killed in action in September 1939 near Piątek in Poland |
| Hermann Muhs | Gau Südhannover-Braunschweig | 1932 | Died in 1962 in West Germany |
| Eugen Munder | Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern | 1925–1928 | Imprisoned until 1948, died in 1952 in West Germany |
| Wilhelm Murr | Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern | 1928–1945 | Committed suicide in French captivity in May 1945 |
| Martin Mutschmann | Gau Sachsen | 1925–1945 | Executed in the Soviet Union in February 1947 |
| Hans Nieland | NSDAP/AO | 1932–1933 | Imprisoned until 1948, died in 1976 in West Germany |
| Franz Pfeffer von Salomon | Gau Westfalen | 1925–1926 | Died in 1968 in West Germany |
| Alfred Proksch | N/A | 1934–1945 | Died in 1981 in Vienna, Austria |
| Friedrich Rainer | Reichsgau Salzburg | 1938–1941 | Executed in Yugoslavia in November 1950 |
| Friedrich Rainer | Reichsgau Kärnten | 1941–1945 | Executed in Yugoslavia in November 1950 |
| Fritz Reinhardt | Gau Niederbayern | 1928–1930 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1969 in West Germany |
| Friedrich Ringshausen | Gau Hessen-Darmstadt | 1927–1931 | Died in 1941 |
| Axel Ripke | Gau Rheinland-Nord | 1925 | Died in 1937 |
| Carl Röver | Gau Weser-Ems | 1928–1942 | Died in 1942 |
| Ludwig Ruckdeschel | Gau Bayreuth | 1945 | Imprisoned until 1952, died in 1986 in West Germany |
| Bernhard Rust | Gau Hannover-Nord | 1925–1928 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Bernhard Rust | Gau Südhannover-Braunschweig | 1928–1940 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Fritz Sauckel | Gau Thüringen | 1927–1945 | Found guilty in the Nuremberg trials, executed in October 1946 |
| Gustav Adolf Scheel | Reichsgau Salzburg | 1941–1945 | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1979 in West Germany |
| Hans Schemm | Gau Oberfranken | 1928–1933 | Died of injuries sustained in an aircraft crash in March 1935 |
| Hans Schemm | Gau Bayerische Ostmark | 1933–1935 | Died of injuries sustained in an aircraft crash in March 1935 |
| Bruno Gustav Scherwitz | Gau Ostpreußen | 1926–1927 | Died in 1985 in West Germany |
| Baldur von Schirach | Reichsgau Wien | 1940–1945 | Found guilty in the Nuremberg trials, imprisoned until 1966, died 1974 in West Germany |
| Ernst Schlange | Gau Gross-Berlin | 1925–1926 | Died in Soviet captivity in 1947 |
| Ernst Schlange | Gau Brandenburg | 1930–1933 | Died in Soviet captivity in 1947 |
| Fritz Schlessmann | Gau Essen | 1940–1945 (acting) | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1964 in West Germany |
| Erich Schmiedicke | Gau Groß-Berlin | 1926 (acting) | Fate unknown |
| Erich Schmiedicke | Gau Brandenburg | 1933 (acting) | Fate unknown |
| Gustav Hermann Schmischke | Gau Anhalt | 1925–1927 | Fate unknown |
| Walter Schultz | Gau Hessen-Nassau-Nord | 1925–1928 | Died in 1953 in West Germany |
| Walter Schultz | Gau Hessen-Nassau-Süd | 1926 (acting) | Died in 1953 in West Germany |
| Franz Schwede | Gau Pommern | 1934–1945 | Imprisoned until 1956, died in 1960 in West Germany |
| Gustav Simon | Gau Moselland | 1931–1945 | Captured by the British Army, found hanged in his cell in December 1945 |
| Jakob Sprenger | Gau Hessen-Nassau-Süd | 1927–1933 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Jakob Sprenger | Gau Hessen-Nassau | 1933–1945 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Gustav Staebe | Gau Saar | 1929 (acting) | Died in 1983 in West Germany |
| Wilhelm Stich | Gau Ostpreußen | 1925–1926 | Fate unknown |
| Willi Stöhr | Gau Westmark | 1944–1945 | Escaped to Canada, date of death unknown |
| Gregor Strasser | Gau Niederbayern–Oberpfalz | 1925–1929 | Executed during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 |
| Julius Streicher | Gau Franken | 1929–1940 | Found guilty in the Nuremberg trials and executed in October 1946 |
| Emil Stürtz | Gau March of Brandenburg | 1936–1945 | Missing since April 1945, presumed captured by Soviets, declared dead by German court in 1957 |
| Otto Telschow | Gau Lüneburg-Stade | 1925–1928 | Captured by the British Army, committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Otto Telschow | Gau Osthannover | 1928–1945 | Captured by the British Army, committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Josef Terboven | Gau Essen | 1928–1945 | Committed suicide in Norway in May 1945 |
| Siegfried Uiberreither | Reichsgau Steiermark | 1938–1945 | Escaped from captivity in 1948 to Argentina, possibly died in 1984 in West Germany |
| Theodor Vahlen | Gau Pommern | 1925–1927 | Died in 1945 in captivity in Czechoslovakia |
| Ludwig Viereck | Harzgau | 1925–1926 | Fate unknown |
| Fritz Wächtler | Gau Bayerische Ostmark | 1935–1945 | Executed by the SS in April 1945 |
| Adolf Wagner | Gau München-Oberbayern | 1929–1944 | Died in April 1944 |
| Josef Wagner | Gau Westfalen | 1928–1931 | Killed in May 1945 either by the SS or Soviet troops |
| Josef Wagner | Gau Schlesien | 1934–1941 | Killed in May 1945 either by the SS or Soviet troops |
| Josef Wagner | Gau Westfalen-Süd | 1931–1941 | Killed in May 1945 either by the SS or Soviet troops |
| Robert Heinrich Wagner | Gau Baden-Elsaß | 1925–1945 | Executed in October 1946 in France |
| Karl Wahl | Gau Schwaben | 1928–1945 | Imprisoned until 1948, died in 1981 in West Germany |
| Friedrich Wambsganss | Gau Rheinpfalz | 1925–1926 | Imprisoned until 1948, died in 1979 in West Germany |
| Paul Wegener | Gau Weser-Ems | 1942–1945 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1993 in Germany |
| Karl Weinrich | Gau Kurhessen | 1928–1943 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1973 in West Germany |
| Jef van de Wiele | Reichsgau Flandern | 1944–1945 | Imprisoned until 1963, died in 1979 in Belgium |
| Hans Zimmermann | Gau Franken | 1940–1942 (acting) | Died in 1984 in West Germany |