| Reichsgau Carinthia | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reichsgau of Nazi Germany | |||||||||||||||||
| 1938–1945 | |||||||||||||||||
.svg) Flag  Coat of arms | |||||||||||||||||
 Map ofNazi Germany showing its administrative subdivisions (Gaue andReichsgaue) | |||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Klagenfurt | ||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||
• 1939 | 451,028 | ||||||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||||||
| Gauleiter | |||||||||||||||||
• 1938–1939 | Hubert Klausner | ||||||||||||||||
• 1939–1941 | Franz Kutschera (acting) | ||||||||||||||||
• 1941–1945 | Friedrich Rainer | ||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 March 1938 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 May 1945 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Today part of | Austria Slovenia | ||||||||||||||||
TheReichsgau Carinthia (German:Reichsgau Kärnten) was anadministrative division ofNazi Germany inCarinthia andEast Tyrol (both inAustria) andUpper Carniola inSlovenia. It existed from 1938 to 1945.
It was responsible for the administration of thede facto annexedOperational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral (Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland, OZAK).[1]
The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in aparty conference on 22 May 1926, in order to improve administration of the party structure. From 1933 onwards, after theNazi seizure of power, theGaue increasingly replaced the German states as administrative subdivisions in Germany.[2] On 12 March 1938 Nazi Germanyannexed Austria and on 24 May the Austrian provinces were reorganized and replaced by seven Nazi partyGaue.[3] Under the Ostmarkgesetz law of 14 April 1939 with effect of 1 May, the AustrianGaue were raised to the status ofReichsgaue and theirGauleiters were subsequently also namedReichsstatthalters.[2][4]
At the head of each Gau stood aGauleiter, a position which became increasingly more powerful, especially after the outbreak of theSecond World War. Local Gauleiters were in charge of propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onwards, theVolkssturm and the defence of the Gau.[2][5]
The position of Gauleiter in Carinthia initially was held byHubert Klausner from 1938 to 1939.Franz Kutschera was acting Gauleiter from 1939 to 1941, followed byFriedrich Rainer from 1941 to 1945.[6][7]
