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Nazi Party/Foreign Organization

Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei/Auslands-Organisation
Abbreviation	NSDAP/AO
Formation	1 May 1931; 94 years ago (1931-05-01)
Dissolved	8 May 1945; 80 years ago (1945-05-08)
Leader	Hans Nieland (until 1933) Ernst Wilhelm Bohle (from 1933)
Parent organization	Nazi Party

TheNazi Party/Foreign Organization was a branch of theNazi Party and the 43rd and only non-territorialGau ("region") of the Party. In German, the organization is referred to asNSDAP/AO, "AO" being the abbreviation of the Germancompound wordAuslands-Organisation ("Foreign Organization"). AlthoughAuslands-Organisation would be correctly written as one word, the Nazis chose an obsolete spelling with ahyphen.

Nazi Party members who lived outside theGerman Reich were pooled in this special Party department. On May 1, 1931, the "AO" was founded on the initiative ofReich Organization Leader (German:Reichsorganisationsleiter)Gregor Strasser, and its management was assigned toHans Nieland, who resigned from office on May 8, 1933, because he had become head of theHamburg police authority; he was replaced byErnst Wilhelm Bohle. Only actual citizens of the German Reich with a Germanpassport could become members of theAO. Persons of German descent, ethnic Germans (German:Volksdeutsche), who possessed the nationality of the country in which they lived, were refused entry to the Nazi Party.

In 1928, party members fromParaguay andBrazil united for the first time. Similar groups were established inSwitzerland and theUnited States in 1930. These associations were officially recognized by the Nazi Party only after the establishment of theAuslands-Organisation. Local Group Buenos Aires was accepted on August 7, 1931, followed by National Committee Paraguay (August 20, 1931) and Local Group Rio de Janeiro (October 5, 1931). From 1932 until its prohibition in 1934, a national committee existed in theUnion of South Africa that was highly popular (seeGerman Namibians), and maintained numerous offices in the formerGerman South-West Africa (present-dayNamibia). Nazi Party Local Groups (German:Ortsgruppen) included at least 25 "party comrades" (German:Parteigenossen), while the so-calledStützpunkte (English:bases, literallysupport points) had five members or more. Additionally, large Local Groups could be divided into "Blocs" (German:Blöcke).

The NSDAP/AO's main responsibilities were ideological training and ensuring that all party members aligned with the interests of the German nation. It aimed to unite all Party members (and members of Nazi Party-affiliated organizations) living abroad in a loosely connected group and to educate them in the philosophy, ideology, and political programs of the Nazi Party for Germany's betterment. The AO was not aFifth Column organization^{[citation needed]} and adhered to ten fundamental principles, which included:

1. "Obey the laws of the country in which you are a guest."
2. "Let the citizens take care of the internal policy of the country where you are a guest; do not mix in these matters, even by way of conversation."
3. "Identify yourself to all, on all occasions, as an NSDAP party member."
4. "Always speak and act on behalf of the NSDAP movement, thus doing honor to the new Germany. Be honest, honorable, fearless and loyal."
5. "Look out for all your fellowGermans, men of your blood, style and being. Give them a hand, irrespective of their class. We are all creators of our people."

These principles aimed to foster a positive attitude towards Germans and Germany in general, and to convince as many foreigners as possible that the Nazi Party was the right choice for Germany, and as a result, the rest of the world.

The local NSDAP/AO delegation in Costa Rica existed in the 1930s to 1940s, numbered 66 members, and lobbied for Germany during World War II. Its leaders were the engineerMax Effinger,Herbert Knöhr and Karl Bayer. They met at the German Club, which was located on Calle 21, Avenida 1, San José.^[1][2][3][4]

Records of the time, show that there was communication betweenBerlin and the German community and that there was a deliberate effort by theThird Reich to promoteNazism among theGerman diaspora in Costa Rica, and in the rest ofLatin America. Support of German-Costa Ricans toNazism was not uniform; apparently the older generations took it with skepticism and many others were open opponents. It had its support especially among young or German-born Germans. A branch of theHitler Youth was created led by the director of the German School Hannes Ihring, but had problems being implemented due to the constant questioning of its participants.^[4]

One of the leaders, Max Effinger, was appointed immigration advisor in the government ofLeón Cortés Castro (1936–1940), thus preventing the entry of manyPolish Jews fleeing Germany.^[5]

By the early 1940s, the NSDAP/AO had perhaps around 50 active members in theDominican Republic, a relatively large number considering that the German-born population in the country stood at around 150 with an additional 300 persons of German descent. The Party had organized groups in five Dominican cities:Santo Domingo,Puerto Plata,Montecristi,Cibao Valley andSan Pedro de Macorís.^[6]

Auslands-Organisation der NSDAP Landeskreis Finnland was the Finnish local group of the German Nazi party. The Finnish party organization began its activities in 1932, when local German citizens founded the local organization of the Nazi party (Ortsgruppe) inHelsinki. It received support from the party's expatriate organization, the German embassy, the teachers' and students' union of theGerman school in Helsinki, and the school's support association. In the mid-1930s, the NSDAP's Finnish country district (Landeskreis) was established, under which, in addition to the Helsinki local group, at leastOrtsgruppeTurku andStützpunktTampere operated. As the leader of the Finnish district (Kreisleiter) initially operated businessman Herbert Howaldt until about 1937, when businessman Wilhelm Jahre became the leader. Jahre also served on the boards of the Finnish-German Society, the German Chamber of Commerce and the German School. The party organization had its own internal court that mediated disputes between members. The premises of the party organizations were located atUnioninkatu 7, but meetings, club events and other events were held at the premises of the German colony in the White Hall atAleksanterinkatu 16–18 or at a German school (Malminkatu 14). The premises of the party organization were moved to Vuorimiehenkatu 7 A in 1943 and to Bulevardi 30 B 6 in June 1944. TheNational Socialist People's Welfare service organization also had an office at Tehtaankatu 11 B. According to researcherHenrik Ekberg, theFinnish National Socialist parties had occasional contacts with the NSDAP's Finnish local group.^[7]Hermann Souchon, known for executingRosa Luxemburg, worked as Landesgruppenleiter (regional leader) in the Finnish chapter of the NSDAP/AO.^[8]

Ireland/Éire (known as theIrish Free State until 1937) was neutral during the war (Northern Ireland was and is part of theUnited Kingdom), and several Germans and Austrians in the country were active in NSDAP/AO.^[9]Adolf Mahr, director of theNational Museum of Ireland, was alsoOrtsgruppenleiter of the local Nazi party until 1939; he was succeeded by Heinz Mecking, who was head of theTurf Development Board.^[10][11] The military musician and composerFritz Brase was also a member.^[12]

The AO's duties included monitoring Germans in Ireland, sending reports on Irish events toBerlin, and asserting the dominance of the Nazi Party over other agencies of the German government abroad, such as theForeign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) which was not seen as sufficiently pro-Nazi. The Irish AO had its own branch of theHitler Youth^[13] and included officials of theElectricity Supply Board.^[14][15] Ireland's intelligence agencyG2 monitored NSDAP/AO activity in the country.^[16]

NSDAP/AO had aLandesgruppe Schweden. During the first years ofWorld War II it was led by W. Stengel, but the leadership was later taken over by the German diplomatHeinz Gossmann. There were severalOrtsgruppen in different parts of Sweden, such asGothenburg,Borås, etc.^[17]

• German-American Bund
• Nazi Party (NSDAP)
• NSDAP/AO (1972)
• Germanic SS
• The Swastika Outside Germany

Notes

Bibliography

• Balke, Ralf:Hakenkreuz im Heiligen Land : die NSDAP-Landesgruppe Palästina. – Erfurt : Sutton, 2001. – 221 p. : ill. –ISBN 3-89702-304-0
• Ehrich, Emil:Die Auslands-Organisation der NSDAP. – Berlin : Junker u. Dünnhaupt, 1937. – 32 p. – (Schriften der Deutschen Hochschule für Politik : 2, Der organisatorische Aufbau des Dritten Reiches; 13)
• Farías, Víctor: Los nazis en Chile. – Barcelona : Seix Barral, 2000. – 586 p. : ill., ports. –ISBN 84-322-0849-3
• Gaudig, Olaf:Der Widerschein des Nazismus : das Bild des Nationalsozialismus in der deutschsprachigen Presse Argentiniens, Brasiliens und Chiles 1932–1945. – Berlin; Mannheim : Wissenschaftlicher Verl., 1997. – 538 p. –ISBN 3-932089-01-4. –(Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral) – Berlin, Freie Univ., 1994/95). – EUR 57,00
• Grams, Grant W.(2021). Return Migration of German Nationals from the United States and Canada, 1933–1941, Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland Publications.
• Jong, Louis de:The German fifth column in the Second World War / translated from the Dutch by C.M. Geyl. – Rev. ed. – London : Routledge, 1956. – 308 p. : maps. – (Translation of: De Duitse vijfde colonne in de Tweede Wereldoorlog)
• Lachmann, Günter:Der Nationalsozialismus in der Schweiz 1931–1945 : ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Auslandsorganisation der NSDAP. – Berlin-Dahlem : Ernst-Reuter-Gesellschaft, 1962. – 107 p. –(Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral) – F.U. Berlin, Dec. 18, 1962)
• McKale, Donald M.:The swastika outside Germany. – Kent, Ohio : Kent State Univ. Press, 1977. – xvi, 288 p. –ISBN 0-87338-209-9
• Moraes, Luís Edmundo de Souza: "Konflikt und Anerkennung: Die Ortsgruppen der NSDAP in Blumenau und Rio de Janeiro." Berlin: Metropol Verlag, 2005. 296 p. –ISBN 3-936411-63-8 (Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral) – Berlin, Technische Universität/Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung, 2002)
• Müller, Jürgen:Nationalsozialismus in Lateinamerika : die Auslandsorganisation der NSDAP in Argentinien, Brasilien, Chile und Mexiko, 1931–1945. – Stuttgart : Akademischer Verlag Heinz, 1997. – 566 p. : ill. – (Historamericana; 3). –ISBN 3-88099-672-5. –(Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral) – Heidelberg, 1994/95). – EUR 34,50
• National Socialism. Basic principles, their application by the Nazi Party's foreign organization, and the use of Germans abroad for Nazi aims / Prepared in the Special Unit of the Division of European Affairs by Raymond E. Murphy, Francis B. Stevens, Howard Trivers, Joseph M. Roland. – Washington : United States of America, Department of State, 1943. – pp. vi. 510.

• Nuremberg Trial Proceedings, 90th day, Monday, 25 March 1946Archived 19 March 2005 at theWayback Machine, testimony of Ernst Wilhelm Bohle (search for "bohle")
• 6. Reichstagung der Auslandsdeutschen in Stuttgart vom 28. August bis 4. September (1938) Film of the 6th Congress of the NSDAP/AO in Stuttgart, 1938

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