German military administration in the War

German military administration in the War
Name	German military administration in the War
Event	World War II
Date	1939–1945
Location	Occupied Europe
Participants	Wehrmacht, SS, Gestapo
Outcome	Defeat and dissolution

German military administration in the War. The German military administration was a complex and brutal system of control established by Nazi Germany across vast areas of Occupied Europe during World War II. It was characterized by a dual structure of military and SS-police authority, designed for conquest, economic plunder, and the implementation of racial ideology. This administration fundamentally shaped the experience of millions, driving systematic exploitation and unprecedented violence until its collapse with the Allied victory.

Establishment and structure

Following the Invasion of Poland in 1939, Germany established its first major military administration in the General Government. The foundational structure was defined by the Führer Directive and implemented by the OKW and the OKH. In Western Europe, such as after the Battle of France, administrations like MBF were often headed by a Militärbefehlshaber. This military framework existed in tension with the growing power of the SS under Heinrich Himmler, whose RSHA and Gestapo apparatus sought parallel control. Key administrative figures included Hans Frank in the General Government and Otto von Stülpnagel in Paris, operating within a hierarchy that reported ultimately to Adolf Hitler.

Occupied territories and governance

The administration varied drastically by region, reflecting racial hierarchies. In Poland and the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, such as Reichskommissariat Ukraine, civil administration under officials like Alfred Rosenberg’s RMfdbO was explicitly predatory. Contrastingly, in areas like Denmark or the Channel Islands, a degree of nominal civil government was initially tolerated. Key administrative zones included the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the Reichskommissariat Niederlande under Arthur Seyss-Inquart, and the Reichskommissariat Ostland. The Anschluss and incorporation of Sudetenland represented direct Reich integration, while the Balkans saw complex arrangements involving allies like the Independent State of Croatia.

Economic exploitation and resource management

Economic plunder was a primary administrative goal, directed by figures like Hermann Göring and his Four Year Plan office. The Reichsbank handled seized assets, while organizations like the German Labour Front coordinated the forced deportation of millions to the Reich as forced labour. Strategic resources from occupied nations, such as French industrial output managed through the Vichy regime, Norwegian heavy water, and Ukrainian grain, were systematically extracted. This system was central to sustaining the German war economy and supplied materials for major projects like the Atlantic Wall and the V-2 rocket program at Peenemünde.

Collaboration and resistance

The administration actively fostered collaboration through local auxiliaries and puppet governments, such as the Vichy regime of Philippe Pétain, the Quisling regime in Norway, and the Serbian Government of National Salvation. Collaborators served in police units like the French Milice or Schutzmannschaft battalions in the East. Simultaneously, military rule provoked widespread resistance, from the Polish Underground State and French Resistance to Soviet partisans in Belarus. The administration responded with brutal counter-insurgency warfare, exemplified by the actions of the Wehrmacht and SS in operations like those following the Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.

Policies and impact on civilian populations

Administrative policy was intrinsically genocidal, implementing the Holocaust through measures like the Nuremberg Laws and the Final Solution. Civilian populations suffered under deliberate starvation policies, such as the Hunger Plan in the Soviet Union, and mass reprisals like the Destruction of Warsaw and the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre. The Gestapo and Einsatzgruppen operated with impunity, enforcing terror through networks of concentration camps like Auschwitz and ghettos such as the Warsaw Ghetto. These policies caused demographic catastrophe, displacing millions and leading to atrocities like the Massacre of Kalavryta.

Decline and dissolution

The administration began to disintegrate with major Allied military successes, including the Battle of Stalingrad, the Allied invasion of Sicily, and the Normandy landings. As the Red Army advanced westward and Western Allies pushed east, administrative zones collapsed, culminating in the Battle of Berlin. Key administrators like Hans Frank fled or were captured. The final dissolution was formalized by the Berlin Declaration and the subsequent Potsdam Agreement, which placed former occupied territories under Allied occupation. Leading administrators were later tried for war crimes at the Nuremberg trials and other proceedings.

Category:World War II Category:Military history of Germany during World War II Category:Occupied territories of Nazi Germany