Retired / Honorary Gauleiters (Gauleiter a.D. / Gauleiter e.h.)

[Mark Costa]

I was asked several questions today via PM about those men permitted to wear the uniform of an honorary/retired Gauleiter. As far as can be determined, 17 men were “allowed” to wear a political leader’s uniform with the collar tabs of an honorary/retired Gauleiter. As stated in previous posts, these collar tabs were of the same 1933-39 design as regular Gauleiter tabs but in BLACK, instead of red. Only Hitler himself retained the right to permit a person to wear the uniform. As can be seen by the names on the list, the vast majority of these men were old fighters from the pre-1933 era or those who contributed to the advancement of the party in Austria when it was banned in the 1930’s. The reasons for their appointment to the exalted retired list can only be guessed at. Why other men, some more well known, were not accorded this honor is unknown? Only Hitler could have answered that question. It was well known that Hitler had a “soft spot” for such old fighters whom he regarded as important in the early pre-1933 days.

PRE-1933 GAULEITERS: Men rewarded with the honor as Retired Gauleiters as a mark of respect by Hitler.

HERBERT ALBRECHT – An old fighter and former Gauleiter of Mecklenburg-Lubeck 1930-31. Albrecht retained positions within the Reichstag including Vice President.
WALTER Von CORSWANT – another old fighter, Gauleiter of Pomerania in 1927. Appointed to the Gauleiter Retired list on November 25, 1939.
PAUL HINKLER – former Gauleiter of Halle-Merseburg 1926-1931. Appointed to the Gauleiter Retired list January 1939.
KARL LINDER -- former Gauleiter of Hesse-Nassau. Linder is very interesting , as he was put on the retired list in 1935 and allowed to wear the Gauleiter uniform. Then he was brought out of retirement to serve as Deputy Gauleiter of Hesse-Nassu from 1937-45. He then held the rank of Befehlsleiter and wore that uniform, while also being a retired Gauleiter and could have worn that uniform as well.
FRIEDRICH RINGSHAUSEN – former Gauleiter of Hesse-Darmstadt 1927-1931.
WILHELM KUBE – Although removed from his Gauleiter post in 1936, Hitler allowed him to retain his seat in the Reichstag and be placed on the Gauleiter Retired list on January 6, 1938, thus allowing him to continue to wear the uniform of a retired Gauleiter. He continued to wear his tabs even after his appointment as Generalkommissar of Weissruthenien in the RMBO.
BERNHARD RUST – Former Gauleiter of SudHanover-Brunswick. Although there is no known documentation , Rust was allowed to wear his Gauleiter uniform after he was replaced in 1940. He continued to wear his uniform until the end of the war without any repercussions.

1933-34 UNTERGAULEITERS:

There were three Untergaus during the 1929-34 period all associated with Gau Schlesien. Seven men served as Untergauleiters at various times in this Gau. These Untergauleiters were equal to regular Gauleiters and wore the same uniform. In early 1934 they were deemed redundant and dissolved. The three men who were currently holding these ranks at that time were reassigned other duties. Two of them were given the honorary rank of Retired Gauleiter after their dismissal.

JOSEF ADAMCZYK – He was allowed to continue to wear the uniform after he was removed from the Untergau of Oberschesien. Allowing Adamczyk to retain his honorary/retired status may have been a ‘reward” for services rendered
WALTER GOTTSCHALK – another Untergauleiter allowed to wear the uniform after his removal from the Untergau of Niederschlesien .

PRE-ANSCHLUSS AUSTRIAN GAULEITERS:

After 1933 the party was banned in Austria, but this did not prevent the Austrian Nazi Party from organizing and operating undercover. As the NSDAP in Munich did not officially recognize the Austrian party nor its leaders, this led to a leadership crisis among the various illegal gaus. After 1938, Hitler decided to award honorary Gauleiter titles to those men whom he felt warranted such recognition for their services. It is interesting to note that although these men were very influential in Austria, when the time came to create official Gauleiters in 1938, all were passed over for more “agreeable” men.

ALFRED FRAUENFELD – Illegal Gauleiter of Vienna.
JOSEF LEOPOLD – Illegal Gauleiter of Niederosterreich Apointed to the Gauleiter Retired list on February 12, 1938.
ANDREAS BOLEK – Illegal Gauleiter of Oberosterreich
WALTER OBERHAIDACHER – Illegal Gauleiter of Steiermark.
ALFRED PROKSCH – Illegal Gauleiter of Oberosterreich.
THEO HABICHT -- Habicht is the only Austrian Gauleiter that was officially recognized by the NSDAP before the party was banned there in late 1933. Habicht was the Gauleiter of all Austria and ran the party from Munich. After the ban, Habicht was given further duties in the Reichsleitung. His honorary rank probably stemmed from his early association with the Austrian gaus.
OTHER GAULEITERS: These men were rewarded for their activities mainly in the Sudentenland and Bohemia and Moravia. It is interesting to note that neither of these men ever held the rank of Gauleiter either before 1933 or illegally. Their appointments seem to be strictly as an honorary status reward for services, instead of being placed on the retirement list as the others above.
RUDOLF JUNG – appointed to the Honorary list June 15, 1938.
HANS KREBS – appointed to the Honorary list April 26, 1938.

This now brings us to some questions that are still unknown.

Why weren’t other pre-1933 Gauleiters placed on the Retired list allowing them to wear a Gauleiter uniform? Basically, it was strictly at the discretion of Hitler himself. Obviously he felt that these few men warranted such an honor.

Why were some of the 1933-45 Gauleiters such as Wilhelm Karpenstein, Hellmuth Brueckner, and Josef Wagner not allowed to wear their uniforms after their dismissals? My assumption would be, that their scandals were too severe to allow them to remain in the party, hence not on the retired list or allowed honorary rank.

What was the status of Gauleiters Karl Weinrich and Julius Streicher after their dismissals? Weinrich’s dismissal was late in the war and I doubt anyone cared about what happened to him after he was sent home and replaced. Hence we have no documentation as to whether he was placed on the retired list or allowed to wear his uniform.

Streicher is very interesting. Although removed, his status remained unclear throughout the war. He was not officially replaced by Karl Holz until December 1944. Holz remained the Deputy Gauleiter with the rank of Befehlsleiter all through the war until that date. There is no documentation as to Julius Streicher’s status. But one has to assume that if he wished to wear his uniform in public, it is likely that Hitler would have allowed it. Even after his dismissal, Hitler still held him in great regard, as is evident in the Goebbels diaries.

I hope this sheds some light on the title of Honorary/Retired Gauleiter and the men who held these ranks during the period of 1933-45.

Mark Costa

[Michal78]

Here is a photo of H.Brückner.
Michal

[Br. James]

Many thanks, Mark -- you're quite a gift to all here!

Br. James

[Michal78]

Rarely seen Josef Adamczyk wearing his gauleiter collar tabs...in the photo along with H.Brückner.
Michal

[Andrey]

Hello Mark!

What about Ernst Schlange Gauleiter of Groß-Berlin and later of Gau Brandenburg?
He was also lose his leadership post and Hitler refused Schlange the right to wear his former Gauleiter service uniform.
However, there was a photo of him on the forum with black collar tabs (courtesy Michal).
Best,

Andrey.

[Mark Costa]

Hello Mark!

What about Ernst Schlange Gauleiter of Groß-Berlin and later of Gau Brandenburg?
He was also lose his leadership post and Hitler refused Schlange the right to wear his former Gauleiter service uniform.
However, there was a photo of him on the forum with black collar tabs (courtesy Michal).
Best,

Andrey.

Andrey:

I have never seen that photo nor is there any documentation that Hitler permitted him to wear the uniform of a retired/honorary Gauleiter. Can you post that photo? The collar tabs of a Gauleiter are really those that were created after the re-structuring of the party that concluded in March 1933. The previous tabs that Strasser and Ley designed and were issued/worn for several months were only trials and prototypes. Yes regulations were issued in 1932 but these were all scrapped with the re-structuring. Hence the real FIRST official designs were those of two oakleaves on a red/black base. Schlange was already out of office before these were introduced in public in late August 1933. Now if a photo exists of him wearing these tabs then we can assume that Hitler indeed permitted him to wear them and he was listed on the retired list.

There is alot of misunderstanding when it comes to the re-structuring that took place in late 1932 and was concluded in 1933. Strasser started the process and when Strasser left the party and Hitler came to power Ley was to finish it. Ley basically scrapped what Strasser was doing and started over. There was a distinct line drawn by the party as to its history. Anything PRE-1933 was considered more or less un-official. Now that will upset alot of people on the forum here, but the party and Hitler used the 1933 date as the beginning of the Reich and everything before that was the Kamfpzeit. There were a handful of "gauleiters" who were still technically in office after January 30, 1933 -- Karl Bruck for example was removed BEFORE that date but remained on the payroll until June. He was not considered a Gauleiter of the new Regime of January 30th. It was as if Hitler picked and choosed who would be accpeotable in party history and who would not. That is why many of the pre-1933 "gauleiters" simply disappeared from the party history. And I wish to point out what I mean by PRE-1933 Gauleiters -- I mean those that were NOT in office at the time of January 30th. Obviously most Gauleiters in office on January 30th had been there for some years and would remain so. I speak of those that had come and gone over the years of 1923-1933. By late 1933 into early 1934 Ley had finished with the uniform/insignia aspect of the restucturing. It was then that many of these old Gauleiters sent requests to Ley's and Hess' offices inquiring if they could wear the Political leaders uniforms. Hitler was presented with the requests and either gave his approval or denied it. These requests were always being sent by various old officials even into the war years. Most of course were denied.

Mark Costa

[Michal78]

Mark,
here is a discussed photo of Schlange.
Michal

[Mark Costa]

Mark,
here is a discussed photo of Schlange.
Michal

Michal:

WOW -- what a fantastic photo. This definately places Schlange into the list of Retired/Honoary Gauleiters. What a great find. It shows that we still have so much to learn. I have never seen any documentation of his being permitted to wear the uniform !! But a photo as they say is worth a thousand words. Many thanks for posting this rare photo.

Mark Costa

[Michal78]

I would like to add another photo to this thread. There is Brückner with Adamczyk. Any idea who is man far right?
Michal

[Mark Costa]

I would like to add another photo to this thread. There is Brückner with Adamczyk. Any idea who is man far right?
Michal

Not sure who the mystery man is but here is a good example of the late 1932 early 1933 style uniforms that Ley replaced mid 1933. Bruckner of course was NOT allowed to wear his uniform after his dismissal, whereas Adamczyk was placed on the honorary list.

Mark Costa

[Igor Karpov]

Photo of Andreas Bolek as Gauleiter a.D.

Regards,
Igor

[Andrey]

Igor, many thanks - good photo of Bolek.
Best,

Andrey.

[Mark Costa]

Igor:

Very nice photo of Bolek. Thanks for posting. I have a cropped version of this photo and it has always intrigued me. The photo seems to have been taken in 1934-35 period based on the visor hat and uniform cut. But Bolek was an illegal gauleiter and not allowed the uniform until 1938 when the Anschluss took place and Hitler rewarded some with the title of honorary gauleiter. So it seems there are three possibilities here"

1. Bolek is an illegal gauleiter illegally wearing the uniform of a gauleiter without permission.

2. This is a photo taken of Bolek during the period when he was expelled from Austria for illegal political activites. He may have been designated as a Gauleiter z.D. (disposition for assignment by the Reichsleitung of the NSDAP in Munich). Several other men were so designated during the 1933-35 period.

3. Hitler awarded Bolek the honorary/retired rank before 1938. I believe this to be highly unlikely as these men were never officially recognized by the NSDAP in Munich and were only honored after 1938.

I tend to think that it likely to be number 2. That this photo was taken in 1934-35 during the time he may have been assigned to the NSDAP Reichsleitung while he had been expelled from Austria.

Mark Costa

[Igor Karpov]

Hans Krebs as Gauleiter e.h.

Regards,
Igor

[Igor Karpov]

Walter Oberhaidacher as SS-Oberführer.

Regards,
Igor