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Gau Westphalia-North

Coordinates: 51°57′43″N 7°38′08″E / 51.96194°N 7.63556°E / 51.96194; 7.63556
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Gau Westphalia-North
Gau of Nazi Germany
1931–1945
Flag of Gau Westfalen-Nord
Flag
Coat of arms of Gau Westfalen-Nord
Coat of arms

Map of Nazi Germany showing its administrative
subdivisions (Gaue and Reichsgaue)
CapitalMünster
Government
Gauleiter 
• 1931–1945
Alfred Meyer
History 
1 January 1931
8 May 1945
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Free State of Prussia (1933–1935)
Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe
Free State of Lippe
North Rhine-Westphalia

The Gau Westphalia-North (German: Gau Westfalen-Nord) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany encompassing the Free State of Lippe, the Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe and the northern half of the Prussian province of Westphalia between 1933 and 1945. From 1931 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party for these areas.

History

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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 onward, 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 Gauleiter 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 Westphalia-North was held by Alfred Meyer from its formation until his suicide on 11 April 1945.[3][4] nine days after the Gau's capital, Münster, was captured.[5] Meyer's Deputy Gauleiter was Peter Stangier, the sole holder of this post, who was appointed in August 1931 and remained in office until the collapse of the regime in May 1945.[6]

Allied invasion and occupation

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Near the end of World War II, the Gau was invaded by the western allies, who would gradually capture its territory until the end of the war. The timeline of the allied advance is detailed in the table below.

Date of capture Location Ref
28 March 1945 Raesfeld [7]
28 March 1945 Borken [8]
28 March 1945 Haltern am See [9]
30 March 1945 Bocholt [10]
30 March 1945 Ahaus [11]
30 March 1945 Gescher
30 March 1945 Rhede
30 March 1945 Coesfeld [12]
30 March 1945 Lager Herbstwald [de]
30 March 1945 Buldern [13]
31 March 1945 Vreden [14]
31 March 1945 Burgsteinfurt
1-3 April 1945 Ochtrup [15]
1 April 1945 Lüdinghausen [16]
2 April 1945 Gronau [17]
2 April 1945 Datteln [18]
2 April 1945 Münster [5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Die NS-Gaue" [The Nazi Gaue]. dhm.de (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. ^ "The Organization of the Nazi Party & State". nizkor.org. The Nizkor Project. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 26 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 24 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Gau Westfalen-Nord". verwaltungsgeschichte.de (in German). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Münster 1945 – 75 Jahre Ende Zweiter Weltkrieg". magazin.stadtmuseum-muenster.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  6. ^ Miller, Michael D.; Schulz, Andreas (2012). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925–1945. Vol. 1 (Herbert Albrecht - H. Wilhelm Hüttmann). R. James Bender Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-932-97021-0.
  7. ^ ""Die Ereignisse überschlugen sich"". BZ (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  8. ^ "Gedenken an das Kriegsende im Frühjahr 1945". BZ (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  9. ^ "17. Stausee Insel – Stadtrundgang – Haltern am See" (in German). 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  10. ^ "Vor 70 Jahren: Britische Besatzer in Bocholt". BBV (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  11. ^ Ahaus, Stadt. "Heute vor 75 Jahren in Ahaus". Stadt Ahaus (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  12. ^ Hendrik M. Lange (2015). "1945–2015: 70 Jahre Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges" (PDF). stadtarchiv.coesfeld.de. Stadtarchiv Coesfeld. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  13. ^ "verwehte-spuren - Dülmen-Buldern". verwehte-spuren.de.tl. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  14. ^ "Geschichte der Stadt Vreden". Stadt Vreden (in German). Archived from the original on 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  15. ^ wn. "Was der Krieg in Ochtrup anrichtete". www.wn.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  16. ^ Werth, Peter. "Ein Toter unter der Holzbrücke". www.wn.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  17. ^ wn. ""Plötzlich wurde alles stockdunkel"". www.dzonline.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  18. ^ "Dattelner Morgenpost: Ein Tag der Befreiung". www.heimatverein-datteln.de. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
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51°57′43″N 7°38′08″E / 51.96194°N 7.63556°E / 51.96194; 7.63556

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