District of Pogegen

The district of Pogegen (until March 22, 1939 Pogegen district ) was a district in Memelland , which existed from January 27, 1920 to October 1, 1939. It comprised (essentially) the separated parts of the Tilsit district and the Ragnit district north of the Memel .

The district of Pogegen was divided on March 22, 1939 into 164 rural communities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants and 34 manor districts. The largest community was Schmalleningken ( Smalininkai : smala: place where tar or pitch is burned). It had about 1,700 inhabitants, followed by the administrative center Pogegen with 1,400 inhabitants and the municipality of Wischwill ( Viešvilė : viešvilas "community") with 1,400 inhabitants.

The city of Pogegen / Pagėgiai is now part of Lithuania and has about 2,200 inhabitants. The name po-Gegis refers to the location on the Gėgė / Jege / Jäge river and describes a grove of alder forests, hay meadows and fields that the river runs through. The municipality of Pagėgiai (Pagėgių savivaldybė) has almost 12,000 inhabitants (2006) .

Administrative history

Memel area

On January 10, 1920, the Versailles Treaty came into force. As a result, the parts of the Ragnit and Tilsit districts north of the Memel were ceded to the Memel area . Furthermore, the Perwallkischken manor district and the rural communities Heinrichsfelde, Leitgirren , Groß Schilleningken and Klein Schilleningken joined the Memel area from the Niederung district . With the exception of these rural communities, which fell to the Heydekrug district , the remnants of the district were combined on January 27, 1920 to form the new Pogegen district.

On March 8, 1920, the new rural community Panemunė ( Übermemel ), which was also incorporated into the Pogegen district, emerged from the part of the Tilsit urban district, which also fell to the Memel region north of the Memel .

The district was initially administered provisionally by Tilsit (south of the Memel). On October 5, 1920, the district administration moved into the newly established district office in Pogegen. Lithuania occupied Memel Land in 1923. This annexation was recognized under international law in 1924.

German Empire

On March 22, 1939, the Pogegen district of Lithuania (Memel area) returned to the German Reich following an ultimatum with the threat of war. It was incorporated into the Gumbinnen administrative district in the East Prussian province. In accordance with the uniform imperial regulations, it was now referred to as a district .

On October 1, 1939, the Pogegen district was dissolved.

• The main part of the Pogegen district was merged with the Tilsit-Ragnit district .
• The communities Akmonischken , Alt Stremehnen, Altweide, Augskieken, Bersteningken, Coadjuthen, Galsdon-Joneiten, Heydeberg, Kaszemecken, Kawohlen, Matzstubbern, Medischkehmen, Meischlauken, Mädewald, Pageldienen, Pakamonen, Passon, Reisgen, Peteraten (partially), Plaschken, Pleine Jerk, Schlaunen, Skerswethen, Steppon-Rödszen, Stonischken, Szameitkehmen, Uszpelken and Wersmeningken and the manor district of Dingken, Forst (partially) were incorporated into the district of Heydekrug .
• The municipality of Übermemel became part of the Tilsit district again .

District administrators

• 1926–1939: Heinrich von Schlenther (* 1893)
• 1939 -9999: Friedrich Brix (1898–1969) ( acting )

Local constitution

The Pogegen district was divided into rural communities and - until they were almost completely eliminated - into independent manor districts.

The development that had taken place in Prussia in the 1920s and 1930s was carried out on May 1, 1939 after the reorganization. At this time, the German municipal code of January 30, 1935, which had been in force in the German Reich for a long time , was introduced, according to which the previous state municipalities were now referred to as municipalities . On the same day, a regional reform took place in which almost all previously independent manor districts were dissolved and assigned to neighboring communities; furthermore, the number of municipalities was considerably reduced by amalgamation. The grouping of the municipalities into administrative districts also changed.

Place names

All place names are of Baltic origin and their form was adapted to German language usage when they belonged to German states. The German place names valid until 1920 remained valid until the district was dissolved.

Web links

• District of Pogegen administrative history and the district administrators on the website territorial.de (Rolf Jehke), as of April 15, 2014.

See also

• List of German names of Lithuanian places

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.