German Propaganda Archive Calvin University

line

Background: The Gauleiter were the top Nazi regional leaders. There were 43 of them in 1941.

The illustrations in Column 1 are from Julius Streicher, Reichstagung in Nürnberg 1934 (Berlin: Vaterländischer Verlag C. A. Weller. 1934). These were studio portraits. Those in Column 2 are from Das Buch der deutschen Gauen. Fünf Jahre nationalsozialistische Aufbauleistung (Bayreuth: Gauverlag Bayerische Ostmark, 1938). This was a book with a chapter on each Gau, usually with a picture of the Gauleiter. In most cases, the Gauleiter is shown doing something: giving a speech, visiting citizens, etc. Column 3 has pictures from other sources. This is not a complete list of Gauleiter, and I’m not really aiming at one, but as I come across more pictures in my collection, I will add them.

There is a useful chart of Gauleiter on German Wikipedia. Anther collection of Gauleiter photographs is available from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (search for “Gauleiter”). An enormous amount of information on Nazi Gauleiter is available in the three-volume Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and their Deputies, 1925-1945, by Michael D. Miller and Andreas Schulz.

The source: Various.


A Gallery of Gauleiter


1934 Photos from Reichstagung Nürnberg 1934

1938 Photos from Das Buch der deutschen Gauen

Other Photos

Name and Gau

Gauleiter photo Helmuth Brückner was Gauleiter of Silesia (Schlesien) from 1925 to the end of 1934, at which point he was expelled from the NSDAP in connection with the Röhm affair.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Josef Bürckel was Gauleiter of Saarpfalz (later renamed Westmark) from 1935 to 1944, when he committed suicide. He also served as Gauleiter of Vienna from 1930-1940.
Gauleiter photo Joachim Albert Eggeling was Gauleiter of Halle-Merseberg from 1937-1945.
Gauleiter photo

August Eigruber was Gauleiter of Oberdonau from 1938-1945.

Picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #38/1938.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Friedrich Karl Florian was Gauleiter of Düsseldorf from 1930-1945.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo
Gauleiter photo

Albert Forster was Gauleiter of Danzig from 1930-1039, after which he headed Gau Danzig-Westpreußen until 1945.

Third picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #45/1940.

Gauleiter photo

Odilo Globocnik was Gauleiter of Vienna from 1938-1939. He had a rather short career in the office, having alienated lots of people, and was replaced by Josef Bürckel

Picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #39/1938.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Joseph Goebbels, alongside his other positions, was Gauleiter of Berlin from 1926-1945.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo
Gauleiter photo

Joseph Grohé was Gauleiter of Köln-Aachen from 1931-1945.

Third picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #2/1941.

Gauleiter photo

Karl Hanke was Gauleiter of Niederschlesien from 1941-1945.

Picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #7/1941.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Otto Hellmuth was Gauleiter of Mainfranken from 1928-1945.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Friedrich Hildebrandt was Gauleiter of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1925-1945.
Gauleiter photo

Franz Hofer was Gauleiter of Tirol from 1938-1945.

Picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #41/1938.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Rudolf Jordan was Gauleiter of Halle-Merseburg from 1931-1937. He then switched to Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt from 1937-1945.
Gauleiter photo

Hugo Jury was Gauleiter of Niederdonau from 1938-1945.

Picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #43/1938.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Karl Kaufmann was Gauleiter of Hamburg from 1929-1945.
Gauleiter photo

Hubert Klausner was Gauleiter of Kärnten from 1938 until his death in 1939.

Picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #44/1938.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Erich Koch was Gauleiter of Ostpreußen from 1929-1945.
Gauleiter photo Wilhelm Kube was Gauleiter of Kurmark from 1933-1936.
Gauleiter photo

Hartmann Lauterbacher was Gauleiter of Südhannover-Braunschweig from late 1940-1945.

Picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #52/1940.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo

Wilhelm Friedrich Loeper was Gauleiter of Magdeburg-Anhalt from 1929 to his death in 1935.

Second picture source: Hans Heinz Mantau-Sadlia, Deutsche Führer Deutsches Schicksal. Das Buch der Künder und Führer des dritten Reiches (Munich: Verlag Max Steinebach, 1934)

Gauleiter photo Hinrich Lohse was Gauleiter of Schleswig-Holstein from 1925-1945.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Alfred Meyer was Gauleiter of Westfalen-Nord from 1931-1945.
Gauleiter photo Wilhelm Murr was Gauleiter of Würrttemberg from 1928-1945.
Gauleiter photo
Gauleiter photo

Martin Mutschmann was Gauleiter of Sachsen from 1925-1945.

Second picture source: Der Gau Sachsen (Dresden: Kommunal-Verlag Sachsen, 1939).

Gauleiter photo

Friedl Rainer was Gauleiter of Salzburg from 1940 to 1941, and of Gau Kärnten from 1941-1945.

Picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #45/1938.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Carl Röver was Gauleiter of Weser-Ems from 1928 to his death in 1942.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Bernard Rust was Gauleiter of Süd-Hannover-Braunschweig from 1928-1940.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Fritz Sauckel was Gauleiter of Thüringen from 1927-1945.
Gauleiter photo
Gauleiter photo

Hans Schemm was Gauleiter of Bayerische Ostmark until his death in 1935.

Column 3 source: Hans Schemm spricht (Bayreuth: Gauverlag Bayerische Ostmark, 1935).

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Franz Schwede-Coburg was Gauleiter of Pommern from 1934-1945.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Gustav Simon was Gauleiter of Koblenz-Trier (later Moselland) from 1931-1945.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo

Jakob Sprenger was Gauleiter of Hessen-Nassau from 1933-1945.

Third picture source: Hans Heinz Mantau-Sadlia, Deutsche Führer Deutsches Schicksal. Das Buch der Künder und Führer des dritten Reiches (Munich: Verlag Max Steinebach, 1934)

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo
Gauleiter photo

Julius Streicher was Gauleiter of Franken from 1929-1940, when he was relieved of his duties for substantial financial irregularities after Kristallnacht in November 1938.

Column 3 source: Kampf dem Weltfeind, a 1938 collection of Streicher’s speeches.

Gauleiter photo
Gauleiter photo

Emil Stürtz was Gauleiter of Mark Brandenburg from 1936-1945.

The third picture is from Kampf und Sieg, a 1938 history of Gau Westfalen-Süd. It is pre-1933, before he was a Gauleiter.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo

Otto Telschow was Gauleiter of Ost-Hannover from 1928-1945.

Third picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #8/1941.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Josef Terboven was Gauleiter of Essen from 1928-1945, though he was the Nazi chief of Norway after 1940.
Gauleiter photo

Siegfried Uiberreither was Gauleiter of Steiermark from 1938-1945.

Picture source: Illustrierter Beobachter, #45/1938.

Gauleiter photo Fritz Wächtler was Gauleiter of Bayerische Ostmark from 1935-1945.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Adolf Wagner was Gauleiter of München-Oberbayern from 1929 to his death in 1944.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo
Gauleiter photo

Josef Wagner was Gauleiter of Westfalen (later Westfalen-Süd) from 1928-1934, and of Schlesien from 1934-1940.

The third picture is from Kampf und Sieg, a 1938 history of Gau Westfalen-Süd.

Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Robert Wagner was Gauleiter of Baden from 1933-1945.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Karl Wahl was Gauleiter of Schwaben from 1928-1945.
Gauleiter photo Gauleiter photo Karl Weinrich was Gauleiter of Kurhessen from 1934-1943, when he was relieved for lack of bravery during an Allied bombing raid (he apparently stayed in the countryside until the raid was over, then hurried to see if his property had suffered in the attack).

Last edited 11 January 2024

[Page copyright © 2007 by Randall Bytwerk. No unauthorized reproduction. My e-mail address is available on the FAQ page.]


Go to the 1933-1945 Page.

Go to the German Propaganda Home Page.