Gau Berlin
The Gau Berlin was an administrative unit of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). It existed since 1928.
History and structure
On October 1, 1928, this party district was separated from the Berlin-Brandenburg district (founded in 1925). In 1933 the area corresponded to that of the Reichstag constituencies 2 (Berlin), 3 and 4 (Potsdam I, Potsdam II). The Gau comprised Greater Berlin , so that the name Gau Greater Berlin came up. Gauleiter was Joseph Goebbels since 1926 , who tightened the party organization in "red Berlin", focused on provocation and street fighting (with the help of Reinhold Muchow ) and always stood by Hitler in directional battles (against SA leader Walther Stennes ). Goebbels' long-term representative was Artur Görlitzer , but he was hardly noticed. The Gauhaus had been at Vossstrasse 11 since 1932. Goebbels was the publisher of the aggressive party newspaper “ The Attack ”. Regional training manager from 1933 to 1936 was Walther Schulze-Wechsungen , regional economic advisor to the banker Heinrich Hunke . Gauamtsleiter were a number of top officials of the NSDAP who also held high positions in the Reich ministries: Hans Fabricius in the Office for Civil Servants, Kurt Kummer in the Office for Agricultural Policy, Leonardo Conti in the Office for Public Health, Werner Wächter in the Gaupropaganda Office, Herbert Treff in the Office for Local Policy , Reinhard Neubert in the Gaurechtsamt, Hans Meinshausen in the Office for Educators, Alfred Spangenberg as Gauobmann of the DAF .
Reich Propaganda Minister Goebbels became Reich Defense Commissioner for the Gau on November 16, 1942. In October 1944 he was responsible for setting up the Volkssturm , which SA leader Günther Gräntz was responsible for . The population was over 4.3 million people on 884 km³. When the mood in Berlin sank because of the bombing , he became very dissatisfied with the Gauleitung and changed deputies several times.
In 1933 Hermann Göring became Reich Governor for the Free State of Prussia and the capital Berlin. Julius Lippert became State Commissioner for Berlin, who was responsible for cleaning up the city administration. From 1937 to 1940 he was also appointed Lord Mayor and held the title of City President with the powers of a Prussian District President. Ludwig Steeg followed him, but officially only in February 1945.
In the Reich capital, Hitler wanted to implement a huge transformation into a new world capital Germania after the victory in the World War , for which Albert Speer already presented the plans. In 1936, the Olympic Games created a forum for the city of Berlin that was recognized worldwide.
Gauleiter was
- Joseph Goebbels (October 1, 1928 - May 1, 1945)
Deputy Gauleiter were
- Hans Meinshausen (November 1, 1930 - March 1933)
- Artur Görlitzer (March 13, 1933 - late 1943)
- Johannes Engel (commissioned in early 1944)
- Gerhard Schach (March 17, 1944–1945)
See also
literature
- Peter Longerich : Goebbels. Biography. Siedler Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-88680-887-8 .
- Michael Wildt / Christoph Kreutzmüller (eds.): Berlin 1933–1945: City and Society under National Socialism , Settlers, 2012 partly online
Web links
- Michael Rademacher: German administrative history from the unification of the empire in 1871 to the reunification in 1990. The Gau Berlin. (Online material for the dissertation, Osnabrück 2006).
- Overview of the party branches of the NSDAP
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joseph Goebbels: The last fanatic. In: profile. November 13, 2010.
- ↑ Joseph Goebbels - Narcissus by Hitler's grace. . In: Welt Online . November 15, 2010.
- ^ Willi Winkler: Nazi dictatorship: biography. Goebbels and his Christ, whose name was Adolf. In: Süddeutsche.de. November 15, 2010; under the title "I am the center and everything revolves around me." In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . No. 264, November 15, 2010, p. 11.