Reichsstatthalter


The Reichsstatthalter was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany.

''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918)

The office of Statthalter des Reiches was instituted in 1879 by the German Empire for the areas of Alsace and Lorraine that France had ceded to Germany following the Franco-Prussian War. It was a form of governorship intended to exist while Alsace-Lorraine became a federal state of the Empire. It was abolished when Alsace-Lorraine was, in turn, ceded back to France after Germany lost World War I.
1 October 1879 – 17 June 1885Edwin von Manteuffel
17 June 1885 – 5 November 1885Karl von Hofmann
5 November 1885 – 29 October 1894Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingfürst
5 November 1894 – 31 October 1907Hermann zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg
21 November 1907 – April 1914Karl von Wedel
1 May 1914 – 14 October 1918Johann von Dallwitz
22 October – 12 November 1918Rudolf Schwander

Nazi Germany

During the Third Reich, the Nazis created the office of Reichsstatthalter to gain direct control over all states after winning the general elections of 1933. Their independent state governments and parliaments were successively abolished, and the Reich government took over direct control in a process called Gleichschaltung. Prussia's government had already been taken over by the Reich a year earlier in the Preußenschlag under Chancellor Franz von Papen.
Two weeks after the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933, which effectively made Adolf Hitler the dictator of Germany, the Nazi government issued the Second Law for Synchronization of the States with the Reich on 7 April 1933. This law deployed one Reich Governor in each of Germany's 17 states. The Reich Governors were given the task of overseeing the fulfillment of Hitler's political guidelines in the states. Indeed, the law required them to carry out "the general policy of the Chancellor." In practice, they acted as proconsuls with complete authority over the state governments. The governors' main authorities lay in:
In Prussia, the largest of the German states, Hitler took direct control by appointing himself as Reichstatthalter. However, he delegated his authority to Hermann Göring, who had been installed as Minister President of Prussia without an election. The Prussian provinces were administered by an Oberpräsident, usually the local Gauleiter.

Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich (1934)

The Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich passed on 30 January 1934; formally de-federalized the Reich for the first time in its history. However, Germany had effectively become a highly centralized state with the passage of the Enabling Act and the posting of the Reich Governors. The state parliaments were abolished, and their powers were transferred to the Reich government. The Reich Governors were made responsible to the Reich Minister of the Interior, Wilhelm Frick. For all intents and purposes, the states were reduced to provinces.

Reich Governors Law (1935)

The Reich Governors Law of 30 January 1935 formally designated the Reich Governors as the representatives of the Reich government, tasked with watching over the execution of Hitler's political guidelines. They received the authority to "inform" the provincial authorities about these guidelines, as well as the measures necessary to fulfill them. In practice, the Führerprinzip meant that this "information" amounted to an order.
The Reichsstatthalter were now also empowered to take over all functions of state government, and also appointed the mayors of all towns and cities with populations fewer than 100,000. This had the effect of giving the Reich Interior Ministry near-complete control over local government. The Interior Minister directly appointed the mayors of all cities with populations greater than 100,000, and as mentioned above the Reich Governors were responsible to him.

''Anschluss''

After Austria's Anschluss with Germany, its last pre-Anschluss Chancellor, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, became its first Reichsstatthalter and Führer der Österreichischen Landesregierung from 15 March 1938 to 30 April 1939. Also, Josef Bürckel was appointed Reichskommissar für die Wiedervereiningung Österreichs mit dem Deutschen Reich from 23 April 1938 to 31 March 1940. At that point, each constitutive Land was placed under the administration of its own Reichsstatthalter.
Statthalter districtSeatIncumbentDate of Appointment
Anhalt
Brunswick 		DessauWilhelm Friedrich Loeper
Fritz Sauckel '
Rudolf Jordan		5 May 1933
29 November 1935
19 April 1937
BadenKarlsruheRobert Heinrich Wagner5 May 1933
Bavaria 'MunichFranz Ritter von Epp10 April 1933
HamburgHamburgKarl Kaufmann16 May 1933
Hesse 'DarmstadtJakob Sprenger5 May 1933
Lippe
Schaumburg-Lippe		DetmoldAlfred Meyer16 May 1933
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Lübeck		SchwerinFriedrich Hildebrandt26 May 1933
Oldenburg
Bremen		OldenburgCarl Röver
Paul Wegener		5 May 1933
27 May 1942
Prussia 'BerlinAdolf Hitler
Hermann Göring '		25 April 1933
30 January 1935
Saxony 'DresdenMartin Mutschmann5 May 1933
Thuringia 'WeimarFritz Sauckel5 May 1933
WürttembergStuttgartWilhelm Murr5 May 1933

Statthalter districtSeatIncumbent and Dates in Office
SudetenlandReichenbergKonrad Henlein: 1 May 1939 – May 1945
WarthelandPosenArthur Greiser: 21 October 1939 – 23 February 1945
Danzig-West Prussia 'DanzigAlbert Forster: 26 October 1939 – 2 April 1945
Carinthia 'KlagenfurtWladimir von Pawlowski: 1 April 1940 – 27 November 1941
Friedrich Rainer: 27 November 1941 – 7 May 1945
Lower Danube 'ViennaHugo Jury: 1 April 1940 – 8 May 1945
SalzburgSalzburgFriedrich Rainer: 1 April 1940 – 29 November 1941
Gustav Adolf Scheel: 29 November 1941 – 4 May 1945
Styria 'GrazSiegfried Uiberreither: 1 April 1940 – 8 May 1945
Tyrol-Vorarlberg 'InnsbruckFranz Hofer: 1 April 1940 – 3 May 1945
Upper Danube 'LinzAugust Eigruber: 1 April 1940 – 5 May 1945
Vienna 'ViennaJosef Bürckel: 1 April 1940 – 10 August 1940
Baldur von Schirach: 10 August 1940 – 12 April 1945
Westmark SaarbrückenJosef Bürckel: 11 March 1941 – 28 September 1944
Willi Stöhr: 29 September 1944 – 21 March 1945