List of Gaue of Nazi Germany
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This is a list of the Gaue of Germany during the period of Nazi rule. The list is as of 1939.
The Gaue were the de facto administrative sub-divisions of the country following the suppression of the individual Länder (states) in 1934.
| Gau name | Headquarters | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Baden | Karlsruhe | Formed from the state of Baden; subsequently included the former French département of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin |
| Bavarian Ostmark | Bayreuth | Formed from part of the state of Bavaria; re-named Bayreuth in 1942 |
| Berlin | Berlin | Formed from the Prussian province of Berlin |
| Cologne-Aachen | Cologne | Formed from the north-central part of the Prussian province of the Rhine |
| Düsseldorf | Düsseldorf | Formed from the northern half of the Prussian province of the Rhine |
| East Prussia | Königsberg | Formed from the Prussian province of East Prussia; from 1939 also included territories annexed from Poland |
| Eastern Hanover | Lüneburg | Formed from the northern, central, and eastern parts of the Prussian province of Hanover |
| Electoral Hesse | Kassel | Formed from the northern half of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau |
| Essen | Essen | Formed from the northern tip of the Prussian province of the Rhine |
| Franconia | Nuremberg | Formed from part of the state of Bavaria |
| Halle-Merseburg | Halle | Formed from the southern half of the Prussian province of Saxony |
| Hamburg | Hamburg | Formed from the state of Hamburg |
| Hesse-Nassau | Frankfurt am Main | Formed from (1) the state of Hesse, and (2) the southern half of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau |
| Koblenz-Trier | Koblenz | Formed from the southern half of the Prussian province of the Rhine; re-named Moselland in 1942, following the incorporation of the formerly independent state of Luxembourg |
| Lower Silesia | Breslau | |
| Magdeburg-Anhalt | Dessau | Formed from (1) the state of Anhalt, and (2) the northern half of the Prussian province of Saxony |
| Main-Franconia | Würzburg | Formed from part of the state of Bavaria |
| March of Brandenburg | Berlin | Formed from the Prussian province of Brandenburg |
| Mecklenburg | Schwerin | Formed from (1) the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and (2) the state of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
| Munich-Upper Bavaria | Munich | Formed from part of the state of Bavaria |
| Pomerania | Stettin | Formed from the Prussian province of Pomerania |
| Saar-Palatinate (Saarpfalz) |
Neustadt an der Weinstraße | Formed from (1) the Bavarian Palatinate, and (2) the Prussian Saar |
| Saxony | Dresden | Formed from the state of Saxony |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Kiel | Formed from (1) the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein, and (2) territory in the Lübeck area belonging to the state of Oldenburg |
| Southern Hanover-Brunswick | Hanover | Formed from (1) the state of Brunswick, and (2) the southern and western parts of the Prussian province of Hanover |
| Swabia | Augsburg | Formed from part of the state of Bavaria |
| Thuringia | Weimar | Formed from (1) the state of Thuringia, and (2) adjacent Prussian territory |
| Upper Silesia | Kattowitz | |
| Weser-Ems | Oldenburg | Formed from (1) the state of Oldenburg (excluding outlying territories), (2) the state of Bremen, and (3) the far western part of the Prussian Province of Hanover |
| Westphalia-North | Münster | Formed from (1) the state of Lippe, and (2) the northern half of the Prussian province of Westphalia |
| Westphalia-South | Dortmund | Formed from the southern half of the Prussian province of Westphalia |
| Württemberg-Hohenzollern | Stuttgart | Formed from (1) the state of Württemberg, and (2) the Prussian district of Hohenzollern |
Gaue formed of the federal states of Austria, the so-called "Alpengaue"
| Gau name | Headquarters | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vienna | Vienna | Formed from the former federal state of Vienna and surrounding parts of former Niederösterreich |
| Niederdonau | Vienna | Formed from the former federal state of Niederösterreich and northern Burgenland; included from 1939 on parts of southern Moravia |
| Oberdonau | Linz | Formed from the former federal state of Oberösterreich and Ausseerland, a part of Styria; included from 1939 on parts of southern Bohemia |
| Styria | Graz | Formed from the former federal state of Styria and southern part of Burgenland; included from 1941on parts of Slovenia |
| Carinthia | Klagenfurt | Formed from the former federal state of Carinthia and Eastern Tyrol, included from 1941on parts of Slovenia |
| Tirol und Vorarlberg | Innsbruck | Formed from Northern Tyrol and the former federal state of Vorarlberg |
There was also an extra-territorial Gau named Auslandsorganisation for party members overseas. Its headquarters were in Berlin.
