History
The title of Gauleiter was first established in 1925 after the Nazi Party reorganized following the failed Beer Hall Putsch. By 1928, Gauleiter had also become a Nazi paramilitary rank, and would eventually become the second-highest such position, ranking only below the rank of Reichsleiter (roughly translated: National leader).
In theory, a Gauleiter was merely a representative of the Nazi Party who served to coordinate regional Nazi party events and also served to “advise” the local government. In practice, Gauleiters were the unquestioned rulers of their particular areas of responsibility. The legal governmental establishment merely existed as a rubber stamp for the Gauleiter.
The Gauleiter was the highest ranking political leader at the Gau level of political administration within the Reich, with the Reich (national) level the highest, Gau (shire, prefecture, province) second-highest, Kreis (circle, i.e. district or county) third-highest, and Ort (municipal) level the lowest. There were two additional, lower local levels (Block and Zelle, describing a party cell). Political leaders from the Ort level and higher wore official uniforms, with the piping and background color of the uniform collar tabs indicating the administrative level.
I live most of the year in a region south of Munich called the ChiemGAU which means the region surrounding the biggest lake in Bavaria (Chiemsee).
I've just started to work my way through a trilogy written in German by one of my sons' retired professors, Gerd Evers, which is a history 1918-1945 of Kreis Traunstein or the area to the east of the Chiemsee whose county seat is the town of Traunstein. There used to be a Army base in Traunstein, called a Kasserne, where Hitler was stationed after World War I and assigned to guard a pile of surplus gas masks and the like. Directly across the lake to the west is a town called Rosenheim where Hitler courageously hid in an attic until he was arrested when he fled the debacle of the Beer Hall putsch.
Hitler was born about 45 minutes northeast of here in the border town of Braunau where there was a customs House operated by his father to control river traffic, a main artery before the autobahns, between Austria and Germany. Hitler qualified to become a German citizen by virtue of his service in the German army in World War I for which he received the Iron Cross.
Lest the reader think that the region is only a sinister pit of Nazi-ism, this is the same region in which Pope Benedict, born Ratzinger, was born, raised, and educated. He attended school in Traunstein to my east and his cousins owned a typical Bavarian Inn with a breathtaking view of the Alps to my west, halfway to Rosenheim.
As I read these books, I will try to keep an eye out the Gauleiters. Thank you for the history.
