Reich Office for Alsace-Lorraine
The Reich Office for Alsace-Lorraine was a Reich Office in the German Empire , which, as executive power under the Imperial Governor, was responsible for the administration of the realm of Alsace-Lorraine . It was based in Strasbourg . It was chaired by a state secretary (now equivalent to a minister ).
Affiliation
With a cabinet order of August 14, 1870, the Generalgouvernement of Alsace was first established, to which the Lorraine regions were annexed a little later. General of the cavalry Friedrich Alexander Graf von Bismarck-Bohlen became governor- general . On September 6, 1871, he was replaced by Chief President Eduard von Moeller , who set up a provincial administration based on the Prussian model, based in Strasbourg. The overarching ministerial activity was carried out by the Reich Chancellor , especially Department III of the Reich Chancellery under the direction of Undersecretary Karl Joseph Benjamin Herzog . This department was spun off on July 1, 1876 and reclassified under the same management to an independent Reich Office for Alsace-Lorraine.
Final settlement
After Alsace-Lorraine had been directly subordinated to the German Kaiser on October 1, 1879 , the provincial administration was converted into a Reich Office under the direction of a State Secretary in Strasbourg. It was divided into the Department of the Interior , the Department of Justice and Culture and the Department of Finance, Agriculture and Domains . Each of the three departments was headed by an undersecretary (equivalent to a state secretary today ).
At the same time, the Ober-President von Moeller was replaced and the new office of the Imperial Governor was created. As the permanent representative of the German Emperor , he was given all sovereign powers.
Detachment from the Empire
On November 11, 1918, the Alsace-Lorraine Landtag declared itself a National Council and thus the sole authority of the Reichsland. A day later, a sovereign Alsace-Lorraine was proclaimed, it took over all the tasks of the ministry and the Reich governor. Alsace-Lorraine later became part of France .
List of State Secretaries
| Surname | Term of office (beginning) | Term of office (end) |
|---|---|---|
| Karl Joseph Benjamin Herzog | 1879 | 1880 |
| Karl von Hofmann | 1880 | 1887 |
| Maximilian von Puttkamer | 1887 | 1901 |
| Ernst Matthias von Köller | 1901 | 1908 |
| Hugo Freiherr Zorn von Bulach | 1908 | 1914 |
| Siegfried Freiherr von Roedern | 1914 | 1916 |
| Georg Freiherr von Tschammer and Quaritz | 1916 | 1918 |
| Karl Hauss | 1918 | 1918 |
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