List of Gauleiters
The following list of Gauleiters enumerates those who have held the Nazi party rank of Gauleiter, a type of regional party leader germane only within Adolf Hitler's system.
Of the 44 former Gauleiter of the NSDAP thirteen committed suicide when Nazi Germany surrendered, eight were executed by the allies after the war, one was executed by the SS and one died in Soviet captivity. By 1954, when Karl Wahl became the first former Gauleiter to publish his memoirs, eight were still missing, three in jail and the remaining ten were free men.
List
This is a list of Gaue and Gauleiters, with their time in office in brackets:| Imprisoned, later released and died a free man | Died in captivity, except suicide or execution | Committed suicide | Executed or assassinated | Killed in action | Died of natural causes or through an accident | Fate unknown or unclear |
| Gauleiter | Gau | In office | Fate |
| Herbert Albrecht | Gau Mecklenburg | 1930–1931 | Died in June 1945 |
| Karl Benz | Gau Hessen-Darmstadt | 1932–1933 | |
| Ernst Wilhelm Bohle | NSDAP/AO | 1933–1945 | Imprisoned until 1949, died in 1960 in West Germany |
| Fritz Bracht | Gau Oberschlesien | 1941–1945 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Josef Bürckel | Gau Rheinpfalz | 1926–1935 | Died in September 1944 |
| Josef Bürckel | Gau Saarland | 1933–1935 | Died in September 1944 |
| Josef Bürckel | Reichsgau Wien | 1939–1940 | Died in September 1944 |
| Josef Bürckel | Gau Pfalz–Saar | 1935–1944 | Died in September 1944 |
| Helmuth Brückner | Gau Schlesien | 1925–1934 | Died in Soviet captivity in 1951 or 1954 |
| Walter von Corswant | Gau Pommern | 1928–1931 | Died in 1942 |
| Léon Degrelle | Reichsgau Wallonien | 1944–1945 | Escaped to Spain in 1945 where he died in 1994 |
| Artur Dinter | Gau Thüringen | 1925–1927 | Died in 1948 |
| August Eigruber | Reichsgau Oberdonau | 1939–1945 | Executed in Bavaria in May 1947 |
| Joachim Albrecht Eggeling | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1935–1937 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
| Joachim Albrecht Eggeling | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1938–1945 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
| Otto Erbersdobler | Gau Niederbayern | 1929–1932 | Died in 1981 in West Germany |
| Walter Ernst | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1925–1926 | Killed in action in March 1945 |
| Friedrich Karl Florian | Gau Düsseldorf | 1929–1945 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1975 in West Germany |
| Albert Forster | Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen | 1930–1945 | Executed in Poland in 1952 |
| Peter Gemeinder | Gau Hessen-Darmstadt | 1931 | Died in 1931 |
| Karl Gerland | Gau Kurhessen | 1944–1945 | Killed in action in April 1945 |
| Paul Giesler | Gau Westfalen-Süd | 1941–1943 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Paul Giesler | Gau München-Oberbayern | 1944–1945 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Joseph Goebbels | Gau Berlin-Brandenburg | 1926–1929 | Committed suicide in Berlin in May 1945 |
| Joseph Goebbels | Gau Berlin | 1929–1945 | Committed suicide in Berlin in May 1945 |
| Karl Leopold von Möller | Timișoara | 1932–1939 | Died in 1943 from a stroke |
| Odilo Globocnik | Reichsgau Wien | 1938–1939 | Committed suicide in British captivity in May 1945 |
| Arthur Greiser | Reichsgau Wartheland | 1939–1945 | Executed in Poland in 1946 |
| Wilhelm Grimm | Gau Mittelfranken | 1928 | |
| Josef Grohé | Gau Köln-Aachen | 1931–1945 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1987 in West Germany |
| Anton Haselmayer | Gau Hessen-Nassau-Süd | 1925–1926 | |
| Heinz Haake | Gau Rheinland–Süd | 1925 | Died in British captivity in 1945 |
| Ludolf Haase | Gau Hannover-Süd | 1927–1928 | Died in 1972 in West Germany |
| Karl Hanke | Gau Niederschlesien | 1941–1945 | Captured and killed by Czech partisans |
| Otto Hellmuth | Gau Unterfranken | 1928–1945 | Imprisoned until 1955, committed suicide in 1968 in West Germany |
| Konrad Henlein | Reichsgau Sudetenland | 1939–1945 | Committed suicide in US captivity in May 1945 |
| Friedrich Hildebrandt | Gau Mecklenburg | 1925–19301931–1945 | Executed in Bavaria in November 1948 |
| Paul Hinkler | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1926–1930 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
| Franz Hofer | Reichsgau Tirol | 1932–1933 | Escaped captivity in 1948, died in 1975 in West Germany |
| Franz Hofer | Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg | 1938–1945 | Escaped captivity in 1948, died in 1975 in West Germany |
| Albert Hoffmann | Gau Westfalen-Süd | 1943–1945 | died in Heiligenrode in 1972 |
| Paul Hofmann | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1933 | |
| Hans-Albert Hohnfeldt | Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen | 1926–1928 | |
| Emil Holz | Gau Brandenburg | 1929–1930 | |
| Karl Holz | Gau Franken | 1942–1945 | Died in April 1945 under unclear circumstances |
| Rudolf Jordan | Gau Halle-Merseburg | 1930–1937 | Imprisoned in the Soviet Union until 1955, died in West Germany in 1988 |
| Rudolf Jordan | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1938–1945 | Imprisoned in the Soviet Union until 1955, died in West Germany in 1988 |
| Jakob Jung | Gau Saar | 8 December 1926–21 April 1929 | Death date unknown |
| Hugo Jury | Reichsgau Niederdonau | 21 January 1938–8 May 1945 | Committed suicide 8 May 1945 |
| Wilhelm Karpenstein | Gau Pommern | 1 January 1931–21 July 1934 | Died 2 May 1968 in West Germany |
| Karl Kaufmann | Gau Rheinland–Nord | July 1925–26 September 1925 | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1969 in West Germany |
| Karl Kaufmann | Grossgau Ruhr | 1926–1928 | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1969 in West Germany |
| Karl Kaufmann | Gau Hamburg | 1929–1945 | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1969 in West Germany |
| Josef Klant | Gau Hamburg | 1925–1926 | Died 4 November 1926 |
| Hubert Klausner | Reichsgau Kärnten | 1939–1940 | Died in 1939 |
| Erich Koch | Gau Ostpreußen | 1928–1945 | Died in prison in Poland in 1986 |
| Albert Krebs | Gau Hamburg | 1927–1928 | Died in 1974 in West Germany |
| Wilhelm Kube | Gau Ostmark | 1928–1933 | Assassinated by Soviet partisans in September 1943 |
| Wilhelm Kube | Gau Kurmark | 1928–1933 | 1933–1936 |
| Franz Kutschera | Reichsgau Kärnten | 1940–1941 | Executed by Polish resistance fighters in February 1944 |
| Hartmann Lauterbacher | Gau Südhannover-Braunschweig | 1940–1945 | Escaped captivity in 1948, died in 1988 in West Germany |
| Robert Ley | Gau Rheinland–Süd | 1925–1931 | Indicted at the Nuremberg trials, but committed suicide in his cell in October 1945 before the trials began |
| Wilhelm Friedrich Loeper | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1927–19331934–1935 | Died in 1935 |
| Hinrich Lohse | Gau Hamburg | 1928–1929 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1964 in West Germany |
| Hinrich Lohse | Gau Schleswig-Holstein | 1925–1945 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1964 in West Germany |
| Walter Maaß | Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen | 1928–1930 | |
| Franz Maierhofer | Gau Oberpfalz | 1929–1932 | Killed in action in August 1943 |
| Friedrich Mengeringhausen | Gau Hessen-Darmstadt | 1927–1931 | |
| Alfred Meyer | Gau Westfalen-Nord | 1932–1945 | Committed suicide in April 1945 |
| Eugen Munder | Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern | 1925–1928 | Died in 1952 |
| Wilhelm Murr | Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern | 1928–1945 | Committed suicide in French captivity in May 1945 |
| Martin Mutschmann | Gau Sachsen | 1925–1945 | Executed in the Soviet Union in February 1947 |
| Hans Nieland | NSDAP/AO | 1930–1933 | Imprisoned until 1948, died in 1976 in West Germany |
| Franz Pfeffer von Salomon | Gau Westfalen | 1925–1926 | Died in 1968 in West Germany |
| Friedrich Rainer | Reichsgau Salzburg | 1939–1941 | Executed in Yugoslavia in July 1947 |
| Friedrich Rainer | Reichsgau Kärnten | 1942–1944 | Executed in Yugoslavia in July 1947 |
| Fritz Reinhardt | Gau Niederbayern | 1928–1930 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1969 in West Germany |
| Carl Röver | Gau Weser-Ems | 1929–1942 | Died in 1942 |
| Ludwig Ruckdeschel | Gau Bayerische Ostmark | 1945 | Imprisoned until 1952, died in 1986 in West Germany |
| Bernhard Rust | Gau Hannover-Nord | 1925–1928 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Bernhard Rust | Gau Südhannover-Braunschweig | 1928–1940 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Fritz Sauckel | Gau Thüringen | 1927–1945 | Found guilty in the Nuremberg trials, executed in October 1946 |
| Gustav Adolf Scheel | Reichsgau Salzburg | 1941–1945 | Imprisoned intermittently until 1953, died in 1979 in West Germany |
| Hans Schemm | Gau Oberfranken | 1928–1933 | Died of injuries sustained in an aircraft crash in March 1935 |
| Hans Schemm | Gau Bayerische Ostmark | 1933–1935 | Died of injuries sustained in an aircraft crash in March 1935 |
| Bruno Gustav Scherwitz | Gau Ostpreußen | 1925–1927 | |
| Baldur von Schirach | Reichsgau Wien | 1940–1945 | Found guilty in the Nuremberg trials, imprisoned for 20 years, died 1974 in West Germany |
| Ernst Schlange | Gau Berlin-Brandenburg | 1925–1926 | Died in Soviet captivity in 1947 |
| Ernst Schlange | Gau Brandenburg | 1930–1933 | Died in Soviet captivity in 1947 |
| Fritz Schlessmann | Gau Essen | 1940–1945 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1964 in West Germany |
| Gustav Hermann Schmischke | Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | 1925–1928 | |
| Walther Schultze | Gau Kurhessen | 1926–1927 | Died in 1979 in West Germany |
| Walther Schultze | Gau Hessen-Nassau-Süd | 1926–1927 | Died in 1979 in West Germany |
| Franz Schwede | Gau Pommern | 1935–1945 | Imprisoned until 1956, died in 1960 in West Germany |
| Gustav Simon | Gau Moselland | 1931–1945 | Captured by the British Army, found hanged in his cell in December 1945 |
| Jakob Sprenger | Gau Hessen-Nassau-Süd | 1927–1933 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Jakob Sprenger | Gau Hessen-Nassau | 1933–1945 | Committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Willi Stöhr | Gau Pfalz–Saar | 1944–1945 | Escaped to Canada |
| Gregor Strasser | Gau Niederbayern–Oberpfalz | 1925–1929 | Executed during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 |
| Julius Streicher | Gau Franken | 1929–1940 | Found guilty in the Nuremberg trials, executed in October 1946 |
| Emil Stürtz | Gau Kurmark | 1939–1945 | Missing since April 1945, declared dead |
| Otto Telschow | Gau Lüneburg-Stade | 1925–1928 | Captured by the British Army, committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Otto Telschow | Gau Osthannover | 1925–1945 | Captured by the British Army, committed suicide in May 1945 |
| Josef Terboven | Gau Essen | 1928–1945 | Committed suicide in Norway in May 1945 |
| Theodor Vahlen | Gau Pommern | 1925–1927 | Died in 1945 in Czechoslovakia |
| Siegfried Uiberreither | Reichsgau Steiermark | 1939–1945 | Escaped from captivity in 1948, possibly died in 1984 in West Germany |
| Fritz Wächtler | Gau Bayerische Ostmark | 1935–1945 | Executed by the SS in April 1945 |
| Adolf Wagner | Gau München-Oberbayern | 1933–1944 | Died in April 1944 |
| Josef Wagner | Gau Ruhr | 1929–1931 | Killed in May 1945 either by the SS or Soviet troops |
| Josef Wagner | Gau Schlesien | 1934–1940 | Killed in May 1945 either by the SS or Soviet troops |
| Josef Wagner | Gau Westfalen-Süd | 1932–1941 | Killed in May 1945 either by the SS or Soviet troops |
| Robert Heinrich Wagner | Gau Baden-Elsaß | 1925–1945 | Executed in France in October 1946 |
| Karl Wahl | Gau Schwaben | 1928–1945 | Imprisoned until 1948, died in 1981 in West Germany |
| Paul Wegener | Gau Weser-Ems | 1942–1945 | Imprisoned until 1951, died in 1993 in Germany |
| Karl Weinrich | Gau Kurhessen | 1927–1943 | Imprisoned until 1950, died in 1973 in West Germany |
| Jef van de Wiele | Reichsgau Flandern | 1944–1945 | Imprisoned for 17 years, died in 1979 in Belgium |
| Hans Zimmermann | Gau Franken | 1940–1941 | Died in 1984 in West Germany |