Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria

Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria
The Gau Munich–Upper Bavaria was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Upper Bavaria from 1933 to 1945. From 1930 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.
History
Establishment of the within the party
The Nazi (plural ) system was originally established in a party conference on 22 May 1926, in order to improve administration of the party structure. In the early stages, the borders and leaders of these fluctuated frequently, mainly due to internal power struggles. The Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria was, for the most part, identical with today's , of which Munich is the capital.
The from 1930 to 1933
The Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria was formed on 16 November 1930 by a merger of the two previously separate Greater Munich and Upper Bavaria. It came under the leadership of Adolf Wagner, the Gauleiter of Greater Munich since November 1929, and remained under his formal leadership until his death in 1944. Until 1930, Bavaria, as the heartland of the Nazi movement in the 1920s, was seen by Hitler as his personal realm, the local commonly being called (English: 'Sub-'), to show their dependence on the head of the party. Only when Hitler's ambitions turned national did his interest in Bavarian affairs dwindle. With the end of the internal power struggle, the following six had been established in Bavaria:
(of Swabia)
(of Munich–Upper Bavaria)
(of Main–Franconia)
(of the Bavarian Eastern March)
(of Franconia)
(of Rhineland Palatinate)
Within those and the other Nazi German , Munich-Upper Bavaria claimed an elevated position for itself. The reason for this being, that Munich was the birthplace of "the movement" (a title it officially carried). The called itself to cement this elevated position.
The from 1933 to 1945
With the ascent of the Nazis to power on 30 January 1933, the so-called , the party immediately began to disassemble the power of the German states, the . It was envisioned by the Nazis that the Party-Gaue would take the place of the old structure. In reality, Hitler was afraid of such a move, fearing it would upset local party leaders and could possibly result in an inner-party power struggle.
Gradually, the (English: ' Leaders') took control over their territories, reducing the local s — nominally the highest office in the German states — to figureheads. As such, the development of the from an inner-party administration to a political and administrative sub-division of the country was gradual, not sudden, but completed by 1934. The process termed took care of all political opposition and the "Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich" of 30 January 1934 can possibly be seen as the final date for the transfer of power from the states to the .
In Munich-Upper Bavaria, the most populous in Bavaria, the local Wagner, a personal friend of Hitler's, initially attempted to incorporate the neighboring , to increase his already considerable power.
The was directly appointed by Hitler and only answerable to him. In practice, Hitler interfered little in the affairs of the local leaders and their power was almost absolute.
Parallel to the five Bavarian , a Bavarian still existed during this time, the Nazi politician Ludwig Siebert and, after his death in 1942, his successor, Paul Giesler. As a third authority in the still existing state, Franz Ritter von Epp held the office of Reichsstatthalter but wielded no real power. When Wagner became increasingly ill, Paul Giesler, his deputy, took up the running of the . After Wagner's death in April 1944, Giesler formally succeeded him in his office.
The was home to Nazi Germany's first concentration camp in Dachau, which opened soon after the .
With the outbreak of the Second World War, the power of the , and therefore the power of the compared to the state government, increased. Many of the Gauleiters were put in charge of the war effort in their Military district. As the war progressed and Nazi Germany grew more desperate, the Gauleiter were put in total control of the war effort in their from November 1942.
In September 1944, the were ordered to form the in a last effort to mobilise all of the male population. The took up the position of (RVK, 'Reich Defence Comissioner'), in competition to the . Paul Giesler was put in charge of Swabia and three of the formerly Austrian .
With the end of the war and the collapse of Nazi Germany, Giesler still remained a convinced Nazi, crushing an uprising in the Bavarian capital with the help of the SS on 28 April 1945. Its leader, Rupprecht Gerngroß, a officer, survived, but many of his supporters were executed on Giesler's orders.
Aftermath
All of Upper Bavaria, like most of the rest of Bavaria, became part of the US occupation zone. Only the , geographically separated from the rest of the state, became part of the French occupation zone. Political power, at first lying with the occupation authorities, was soon returned to the new Bavarian government. The , never having formally been dissolved, took control of the civil administration of the region again. Its most pressing issue was the reconstruction of the destroyed cities and the refugee problem.
Paul Giesler, last of Munich-Upper Bavaria, attempted to commit suicide with his wife, fearing capture by the Allied forces but failed and was shot by one of his adjudants near Berchtesgaden on 8 May 1945.
Other Nazi organisations in the region
The various departments of the Nazi organisation were by no means streamlined with the system, but rather fiercely independent and competitive to each other. For example, while Bavaria was sub-divided in six , it was also divided in four sections of the SA, three sections of the SS and six sections of the Hitler Youth.
The Gau Munich–Upper Bavaria belonged to the military district , which also had its headquarters in Munich.
Gauleiter
The highest position in the was held by only two people during the history of the :
Adolf Wagner - 16 November 1930 to 12 April 1944
Paul Giesler - 12 April 1944 to May 1945
Deputy Gauleiter
Second in charge and, in Giesler's case, actually wielding the true power in the due to Wagner's illness, were the :
Otto Nippold - December 1932 to 17 May 1940
Joachim von Moltke - 1940 to 1942
Paul Giesler - 28 June 1942 to 12 April 1944
Structure
Like all since the restructuring of 1932, Munich-Upper Bavaria was in itself sub-divided in smaller administrative entities, in the structure of a pyramid, these being (1936):
(26) - equivalent of a district
(249)
(1,291)
(4,258)
References
External links
The Nizkor Project - The Organization of the Nazi Party & State
Pictures of , including Wagner Calvin College website
Picture of Giesler in Gauleiter uniform
"The German Addressbuch" 1942 Names and addresses of the Nazi government of Bavaria with description of their tasks and duties in 1942
List of Gaue and Gauleiter
Die NS Gaue at the Deutsches Historisches Museum website.
Die Gaue der NSDAP
Munchen-Oberbayern
Former states and territories of Bavaria
1933 establishments in Germany
1945 disestablishments in Germany