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| Reichsministerium für die besetzten Ostgebiete | |
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 17 July 1941; 84 years ago (1941-07-17) |
| Dissolved | 5 May 1945; 80 years ago (1945-05-05)[1] |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Nazi Germany |
| Headquarters | Unter den Linden 63,Berlin[a] 52°31′12″N13°24′18″E / 52.52000°N 13.40500°E /52.52000; 13.40500 |
| Reichsminister responsible | |
| Deputy responsible | |
TheReich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories (RMfdbO;German:Reichsministerium für die besetzten Ostgebiete), commonly known as theOstministerium, (pronounced[ˈɔstminɪsˌteːʁiʊm]ⓘ; "Eastern Ministry") was aministry ofNazi Germany responsible foroccupied territories in theBaltic states andSoviet Union from 1941 to 1945.Alfred Rosenberg served asReichsminister withAlfred Meyer as his deputy during its existence.[2]
TheOstministerium was created byAdolf Hitler shortly after theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union to control the vast areas captured and projected for capture by theWehrmacht in the Baltic states,Belarus,Ukraine, andRussia. TwoReichskommissariats were established:Ostland andUkraine, while two more were planned,Moskowien andKaukasien, but the Wehrmacht never established firm possession of the areas designated and German civilian control never developed there. TheOstministerium was involved in the development and implementation ofGeneralplan Ost, which fell under itsjurisdiction, along with theReich Commission for the Consolidation of German Nationhood, theReich Security Main Office, and theSS Race and Settlement Main Office. It was one of the main agencies that oversaw theHolocaust in the Soviet Union.
The origins of theOstministerium can be traced to 3 March 1941, whenAdolf Hitler announced for the first time to theHigh Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) that he planned to set up an "Eastern Ministry". The announcement was made in a conversation withWilhelm Keitel when they were discussing plans for what would becomeOperation Barbarossa, the invasion of theSoviet Union. Hitler considered the political tasks in theoccupied eastern territories would be too difficult to be left to theWehrmacht. On 26 March 1941,Reinhard Heydrich wrote a note about a conversation withReichsmarshallHermann Göring, suggesting that responsibility for such a ministry should be given toAlfred Rosenberg, theNazi Party's chiefracial theorist and aBaltic German. Shortly afterwards, theReich Chancellery informed theReichsministers that all measures in theEastern European territories had to be coordinated with Rosenberg. On 2 April 1941, Rosenberg had an extended conversation with Hitler about the "military and humanpsyche of the Russians", which resulted in an informal invitation to head and prepare the theoretical eastern ministry.
On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union and proceeded rapidly into the country. By December, the Germans would manage to conquer 1,600,000 square kilometres (600,000 sq mi) of Soviet territory.
On 17 July 1941, theOstministerium was established by Hitler with Rosenberg as itsReichsminister, though its creation was not officially announced to the public until November.Alfred Meyer served as his deputy and later represented him at theWannsee Conference. Rosenberg presented a plan to Hitler for the organization of the conquered territories, suggesting the establishment of new administrative districts to replace the previously Soviet-controlled territories with newReichskommissariats. These would be:
Ostland was established immediately after the ministry's founding and placed under the command ofReichskommissarHinrich Lohse.Ukraine was established on 20 August 1941 and placed under the command ofReichskommissarErich Koch.Moskowien andKaukasien were planned but never established as theWehrmacht failed to reachA–A line, only conquering parts of those regions and unable to maintain control that was stable enough for civil authority.
Rosenberg's plans were intended to win over the non-Jewish populations of the conquered territories, for the sake of minimising anti-German resistance if nothing else, and wished to portray the Germans as liberators from Soviet domination. A program ofland reform was promulgated in February 1942, that included promises ofdecollectivization through the abolition ofkolkhozes, and the re-distribution of land topeasants forindividual farming. Rosenberg's plans and authority were routinely undermined, from both above and below, with little of it being actualised as intended. Decollectivization conflicted with the wider demands of wartime food production, and Göring demanded that the collective farms be retained, save for a change of name. Hitler himself denounced the redistribution of land as "stupid". When theWehrmacht progressed east, theSS and its collaborationistAuxiliary Police filled the resultingpower vacuum by acting as it wished, often committing crimes against non-Jewish population.[3] Hitler ordered Koch to take a hard and brutal approach in Ukraine, which helped to push potentialUkrainian allies back to theAllied camp, substantially undermining Rosenberg's authority. Furthermore, theOstministerium was denied authority over army and other security formations within the occupied territories.
By late 1944, theOstministerium became obsolete as the eastern territories were reconquered by theRed Army, though it continued to formally exist until it was abolished by theFlensburg Government on 5 May 1945.
Ministry employees wore brown uniforms of the same type as NSDAP and SA functionaries, but with a dark brown collar.
Collar tabs: burgundy (dark red) for general district (Generalbezirk) commissariats; orange-red for local district (Gebiet) commissariats; crimson for the Reich Commissariat; and light red for ministerial-level officials.
Rank was indicated by small four-pointed stars of a special format (different from the Wehrmacht, SS, and other paramilitary formations of Nazi Germany), as well as a piping or border of oak leaves along the edge[4][5]:
All ranks wore identical false shoulder straps made of the same fabric as the overcoat (uniform) without insignia.
On the left sleeve was an eagle with outstretched wings, on the cap was a brass (or white-embroidered) eagle with outstretched wings (larger than those in the Wehrmacht or SS) and a cockade framed by a large number of brass (or white-embroidered) oak leaves. The buttons bore an eagle with drooping wings.
| Collar insignia | RMBO Rank | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| A large square oak wreath with a large eagle in the center | Reichsminister | Reich minister |
| A square wreath of two rows of golden oak leaves, a small eagle and a star below it | Vertreter des Reichsministers | Representative of the Reichsminister |
| A square wreath of two rows of golden oak leaves, a small eagle in the center | Reichskommissar | Reich commissioner |
| A square wreath of two rows of golden oak leaves, 3 stars arranged vertically | Hauptabteilungsleiter im Ministerium | Head of department in the ministry |
| A square wreath of two rows of golden oak leaves, 2 stars arranged vertically | Generalkommissar, Landesverwaltung Präsident | Commissioner-general, Regional administration president |
| A square wreath of two rows of golden oak leaves, one star | Ministerialdirigent | Ministerial director |
| A square wreath of two rows of golden oak leaves | Vertreter des Generalkommissars | Representative of the commissioner general |
| A square wreath of silver oak leaves, 4 stars arranged in a lozenge shape | Ministerialrat, Landesdirektor, Bezirksdirektor, Gebietshauptkommissar | Councilor, Country director, District director, Area chief commissioner |
| A square wreath of silver oak leaves, 3 stars arranged vertically | Dirigent, Landesdirigent, Bezirksdirigent, Gebietskommissar | Conductor, Country conductor, District conductor, Area commissioner |
| A square wreath of silver oak leaves, 2 stars arranged vertically | Oberregierungsrat, Landesoberrat, Bezirksoberrat, Gebietsoberrat | Senior government councilor, Senior country councilor, Senior district councilor, Senior area councilor |
| A square wreath of silver oak leaves, 1 star | Regierungsrat, Landesrat, Bezirksrat, Gebietsrat | Government councilor, Country councilor, District councilor, Area councilor |
| A square wreath of silver oak leaves | Regierungsassessor, Landesassessor, Bezirksassessor | Government Assessor, State Assessor, District Assessor |
| 4 pairs of silver oak leaves in the corners, 4 stars arranged in a lozenge shape | Amtsrat, Landesamtsrat, Bezirksamtsrat | Senior Administrative Officer, State Administrative Officer, District Administrative Officer |
| 4 pairs of silver oak leaves in the corners, 3 stars arranged vertically | Regierungsamtmann, Landesamtmann, Bezirksamtmann, Gebietsreferent | Government official, state official, district official, regional officer |
| 4 pairs of silver oak leaves in the corners, 2 stars arranged vertically | Regierungsoberinspektor, Landesoberinspektor, Bezirksoberinspektor, Gebietsoberinspektor | Senior government inspector, senior state inspector, senior district inspector, senior regional inspector |
| 4 pairs of silver oak leaves in the corners, 1 star | Regierungsinspektor, Landesinspektor, Bezirksinspektor, Gebietsinspektor | Government inspector, state inspector, district inspector, regional inspector |
| 4 pairs of silver oak leaves in the corners | Inspektorenanwärter und a.p. Inspektor | Inspector candidate and a.p. inspector |
| A white ribbon frame, 3 stars arranged vertically | Regierungsobersekretär, Landesobersekretär, Bezirksobersekretär, Gebietsobersekretär | Senior Government Secretary, State Secretary, District Secretary, Area Secretary |
| A white ribbon frame, 2 stars arranged vertically | Regierungssekretar, Landessekretar, Bezirkssekretar, Gebietssekretar / Postassistent | Government Secretary, State Secretary, District Secretary, Area Secretary / Post assistant |
| A white ribbon frame, 1 star | Verwaltungassisstent, Landesassistent, Bezirksassistent, Gebietsassistent / Postassistenthelfer | Administrative Assistant, State Assistant, District Assistant, Territory Assistant / Post assistant candidate |
| A white ribbon frame | Assistentenanwärter / Postanwärter | Assistant candidate / Post candidate |
| One star | Betriebsassistent, Landesbetriebsassistent, Bezirksbetriebsassistent, Gebietsbetriebsassistent / Postbote | Operations assistant, state operations assistant, district operations assistant, area operations assistant / Postman |
| Blank | Betriebsassistent a. Pr. / Posthilfsbote | Probationary Operations Assistant / Assistant postman |
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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