Gau Weser-Ems

The Gau Weser-Ems, formed on 1 October 1928, was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the core part of the Free State of Oldenburg, the state of Bremen and the western parts of the Prussian Province of Hanover. Before that, from 1928 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.

Gau Weser-Ems
Gau of Nazi Germany
1928–1945
Flag

CapitalOldenburg
Government
Gauleiter 
• 1928–1942
Carl Röver
• 1942–1945
Paul Wegener
History 
1 October 1928
8 May 1945
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Free State of Oldenburg
Bremen (state)
Province of Hanover
Lower Saxony
Bremen (state)
Today part of Germany

History

The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in a party conference on 22 May 1926, in order to improve administration of the party structure. From 1933 onwards, after the Nazi seizure of power, the Gaue increasingly replaced the German states as administrative subdivisions in Germany.[1]

At the head of each Gau stood a Gauleiter, a position which became increasingly more powerful, especially after the outbreak of the Second World War, with little interference from above. Local Gauleiters often held government positions as well as party ones and were in charge of, among other things, propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onward, the Volkssturm and the defense of the Gau.[1][2]

The position of Gauleiter in Weser-Ems was held by Carl Röver from 1 October 1928 to his death on 15 May 1942, followed by Paul Wegener from 16 May 1942 to 8 May 1945.[3][4] [5]Röver, the original Gauleiter, was initially an early supporter of Adolf Hitler in the state of Oldenburg but lost in influence as the years progressed and died in hospital in Berlin under not fully established circumstances.[6] Wegener, his successor, survived the war and died in 1993.

References
  1. "Die NS-Gaue" [The Nazi Gaue]. dhm.de (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  2. "The Organization of the Nazi Party & State". nizkor.org. The Nizkor Project. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  3. "Übersicht der NSDAP-Gaue, der Gauleiter und der Stellvertretenden Gauleiter zwischen 1933 und 1945" [Overview of Nazi Gaue, the Gauleiter and assistant Gauleiter from 1933 to 1945]. zukunft-braucht-erinnerung.de (in German). Zukunft braucht Erinnerung. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  4. "Gau Weser-Ems". verwaltungsgeschichte.de (in German). Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  5. "Gau Weser-Ems der NDSAP".
  6. "Röver, Carl (Karl) Georg". deutsche-biographie.de (in German). Bavarian State Library. Retrieved 29 March 2016.

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