Reichskommissariat

Reichskommissariat. A Reichskommissariat was a type of administrative entity established by Nazi Germany in several occupied territories during World War II. These territories were governed by a Reichskommissar, a powerful civilian official directly responsible to Adolf Hitler and Reichsleiter Alfred Rosenberg's Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories. The primary function of these administrations was to facilitate the brutal economic exploitation and eventual German colonization of conquered lands, particularly in Eastern Europe, as part of the Generalplan Ost.

Definition and establishment

The legal basis for the creation of a Reichskommissariat stemmed from Hitler's decree, which granted him supreme authority over all occupied territories. This concept was first applied following the German invasion of Norway and the German occupation of the Netherlands, where civilian administrations were imposed after initial military control. The most extensive and ideologically driven use of the model occurred after the launch of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Here, the Nazi ideological goals of Lebensraum and racial reordering were to be implemented through these administrative units, superseding the initial military administrations run by the Wehrmacht.

Administrative structure

Each Reichskommissariat was headed by a Reichskommissar, a high-ranking Nazi Party official appointed by Hitler, such as Hinrich Lohse in Ostland or Erich Koch in Ukraine. The internal structure was hierarchical, typically subdivided into several Generalbezirke (general districts), which were further divided into Kreisgebiete. The administration was separate from the Wehrmacht's chain of command, though it relied on SS and Ordnungspolizei forces for security and to implement racial policies. Key economic planning and extraction were managed by organizations like the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production and the Reichsbank, while the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office controlled the network of concentration camps and slave labor.

List of Reichskommissariats

Four main Reichskommissariats were formally established in the east. Reichskommissariat Ostland encompassed the Baltic states and parts of Belarus. Reichskommissariat Ukraine covered much of the Ukrainian SSR, excluding districts annexed to the General Government and Romania. Plans existed for Reichskommissariat Moskowien, intended for central Russia, and Reichskommissariat Kaukasus for the Caucasus region, but these were never realized due to the Battle of Moscow and subsequent German retreats. In Western Europe, the Reichskommissariat Niederlande and the Reichskommissariat Norwegen were established under Arthur Seyss-Inquart and Josef Terboven, respectively.

Role in Nazi occupation policy

The Reichskommissariats were central instruments of Nazi racial policy and economic plunder. In the east, their rule was characterized by extreme brutality, the systematic starvation of populations as in the Hunger Plan, and the wholesale confiscation of agricultural and industrial resources for the German war effort. They provided the administrative framework for the Holocaust, facilitating the work of Einsatzgruppen death squads and the deportation of Jews to Auschwitz and Treblinka. The administrations also collaborated with local auxiliary units like the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police and fostered nationalist movements only when it served German interests, as seen with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.

Dissolution and legacy

The collapse of the Reichskommissariats began with the Red Army's major offensives from 1943 onward, including the Battle of Stalingrad and the Belorussian Strategic Offensive. As German forces retreated, the civilian administrations disintegrated, with officials like Koch and Lohse fleeing west. The territories were re-incorporated into the Soviet Union or, in the case of the western ones, liberated by Allied forces. The brutal legacy of these administrations is remembered for their role in some of the worst war crimes and crimes against humanity of the 20th century. Key administrators, such as Alfred Rosenberg, were convicted at the Nuremberg trials, while the administrative model itself stands as a stark example of totalitarian imperial rule.

Category:Nazi administrative divisions Category:Occupied territories of Nazi Germany Category:World War II occupied territories