European lands annexed by Germany before and during WWII
Clockwise from the north:Memel ,Danzig ,Polish territories ,General Government ,Sudetenland ,Bohemia-Moravia ,Austria (Anschluss Northern Slovenia ,Adriatic littoral ,Alpine foothills ,Alsace-Lorraine ,Luxembourg ,Eupen-Malmédy ,Wallonia ,Flanders ,Nord-Pas-de-Calais andBrussels . The areas in light green were the fully annexed territories, while those in dark green were the partially incorporated territories. The territory of Germany before 1938 is shown in blue. Adolf Hitler greeted by cheering crowds inVienna , following the annexation ofAustria intoNazi Germany , 15 March 1938Execution of local Polish people in the town ofKórnik , after the Germaninvasion of Poland , 20 October 1939 There were manyareas annexed byNazi Germany both immediately before and throughout the course ofWorld War II . Territories that were part of Germany before the annexations were known as the "Altreich" (Old Reich).[ 1]
German-occupied Europe at the height of theAxis conquests in 1942Gaue ,Reichsgaue and otheradministrative divisions of Germany proper in January 1944The Third Reich in 1941, with CdZ Areas marked in color The respective dates of annexation should be viewed with caution, as various sources offer differing statements.
Fully annexed territories also include those that were subordinate to ahead of the civil administration (CdZ). These territories were de facto, but in some cases never formally, incorporated into the Reich. One example isLuxembourg , which was de facto incorporated in August 1940. However, this did not formally occur until August 1942.
TheProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and theGeneral Government were considered Reich territory, but were administered separately and were therefore semi-autonomous territories.
TheOperational zones on the other hand, were never considered Reich territory.
Fully annexed territories [ edit ] According to theTreaty of Versailles , theTerritory of the Saar Basin was split from Germany for at least 15 years. In 1935, the Saarland rejoined Germany in a lawful way after a plebiscite.
The territories listed below are those that were fullyannexed intoGermany proper.
Areas annexed by Germany Date of annexation Annexed area Succeeded by 13 Mar 1938 [ 2] Federal State of Austria Reichsgau Carinthia Reichsgau Lower Danube Reichsgau Salzburg Reichsgau Styria Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg Reichsgau Upper Danube Reichsgau Vienna 21 Nov 1938 [ 3] Sudetenland ,Bohemia ,Czechoslovak Republic Gau Bavarian Eastern March Reichsgau Upper Danube Reichsgau Lower Danube Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of the Sudetenland Sudetenland ,Moravia -Silesia ,Czechoslovak Republic Reichsgau Lower Danube Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of the Sudetenland 23 Mar 1939 [ 4] Klaipėda Region ,Republic of Lithuania Gau East Prussia 1 Sep 1939 [ 5] Free City of Danzig Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Danzig 26 Oct 1939 [ 6] [ 7] Military Administration in Poland Gau East Prussia Gau Silesia Reichsgau Posen Reichsgau West Prussia 9 Nov 1939 [ 8] Łódź ,General Government Reichsgau Posen 18 May 1940 [ 9] [ 10] Eupen-Malmedy ,Liège Province ,Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France Gau Cologne-Aachen 2 Aug 1940 [ 11] [ 12] [ 13] Military Administration of Luxembourg Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Luxembourg (1940-1942; de facto)Gau Moselland (1942-1944; de jure)2 Aug 1940 [ 14] Moselle ,French State Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Lorraine Bas-Rhin ,French State Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Alsace Haut-Rhin ,French State 14 Apr 1941 [ 15] Military Administration in Yugoslavia Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Carinthia and Carniola Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Lower Styria 13 Jun 1941 [ a] Ocinje ,Kingdom of Hungary Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Lower Styria Kramarovci ,Kingdom of Hungary Fikšinci ,Kingdom of Hungary Serdica ,Kingdom of Hungary 1 Aug 1941 [ 17] [ 18] Military Administration in the Soviet Union Bialystok District 1 Nov 1941 [ b] Grodno ,Reichskommissariat Ostland Bialystok District 8 Dec 1944 15 Dec 1944 [ c] Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France District of Brussels Reichsgau Flanders Reichsgau Wallonia
Partially incorporated territories [ edit ] The territories listed below are those that were partially incorporated into theGreater German Reich .
Planned annexations [ edit ] In the coming NaziNew Order , other lands were considered for annexation sooner or later. Territorially speaking, this encompassed the already-enlargedGerman Reich itself (consisting of pre-1938 Germany proper,Austria ,Bohemia ,Moravia ,Czech Silesia ,Alsace-Lorraine ,Eupen-Malmedy ,Memel ,Lower Styria ,Upper Carniola ,Southern Carinthia ,Danzig , andPoland ), theNetherlands , theFlemish part ofBelgium ,Luxembourg ,Denmark ,Norway ,Sweden ,Iceland ,Liechtenstein , and at least theGerman-speaking parts ofSwitzerland .[ 27] ethnic Germans andGermanic peoples , including non-Germanic speaking ones considered"Aryans" , in aGreater Germanic Reich .
In Norway, construction of the city ofNordstern began during theGerman occupation of Norway . It was intended to be adminstred directly from Germany.[ 28]
The easternReichskommissariats in the vast stretches of Ukraine and Russia were also intended for future integration into that Reich, withplans for them stretching to theVolga oreven beyond theUrals , where the potential westernmost reaches ofImperial Japanese influence would have existed, following anAxis victory in World War II . They were deemed of vital interest for the survival of the German nation, as it was a core tenet ofNazism that Germany needed "living space" (Lebensraum Drang nach Osten colonized .
North-East Italy was also eventually to be annexed, including both theOperational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral and theOperational Zone of the Alpine Foothills , but also theVenice region .[ 29] [ 30] Lombardy as well:
Whatever was once anAustrian possession we must get back into our own hands. The Italians by their infidelity and treachery have lost any claim to a national state of the modern type. —Joseph Goebbels , September 1943[ 31]
The annexation of the entireNorth Italy was also suggested in the long run.[ 32]
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Czechoslovak Republic
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Military Administration in Poland
