Foreign organization of the NSDAP

The foreign organization of the NSDAP (NSDAP / AO) was the only party structure responsible for party divisions abroad. The NSDAP / AO was established on May 1, 1931 at the initiative of the imperial organizational leader ( Reichsorganisationsleiter ) Gregor Strasser and was under his control. Initially, the NSDAP / AO functioned as the overseas department of the NSDAP (headquarters - Hamburg , then - Berlin ). In January 1933, it was called “Germans Abroad,” and in 1936 it was transformed into the Foreign Organization of the NSDAP. The first leader of the NSDAP / AO was Dr. Hans Nieland . After his appointment as Hamburg Police Chief and later as a member of the Hamburg Government on May 8, 1933, Ernst Wilhelm Bole was the head of the NSDAP / AO. In a party relationship, the NSDAP / AO was subordinate to the Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess , controlled by the Headquarters of the Deputy Führer , in which E. V. Bole held the position of Commissioner for Foreign Party Organizations ^[1] .

The first association of NSDAP members abroad appeared in 1929 in Paraguay . Similar associations arose in 1930 in Switzerland and the United States . A group in Switzerland from 1932 until their assassination in 1936 was led by Wilhelm Gustlov . These local groups, the so-called orthogroups, were officially recognized by the NSDAP only after the establishment of the Overseas Department of the NSDAP: on August 7, 1931, the orthogroup in Buenos Aires ( Argentina ), shortly afterwards, the orthogroup in Paraguay (August 20, 1931) and the orthogroup in Rio de Janeiro (October 5, 1931). From 1932 until its ban in 1934, there was an orts group in the Union of South Africa , which had numerous offices in the former German South-West Africa (today - Namibia ). The NSDAP Ortgroups abroad covered at least 25 party members, and the Stützpunkte points comprised more than 5 party members. Large orthogroups could also be subdivided into blocks ( Blöcke ) with a maximum of 10 party members. AO member could only be an imperial German ( Reichsdeutsche ) who had a German passport; Volksdeutsche who were citizens of other countries were not accepted into the party.

The central office of the NSDAP / AO after 1933 consisted of the following departments and offices:

• Gauleiter : Ernst Wilhelm Bole;
  • • • Personal referent: Rudolf Tesmann;
      • Adjutant: SA Sturmbanfuhrer Willy Gohert ;
  • Deputy Gauleiter: Alfred Hess ;
    • Chief of Staff: Bernhard Ruberg
• Foreign Trade Authority ( Ausenhandelsamt );
• Inspection Office ( Inspektionsamt );
• Department of Culture ( Kulturamt ), supervisor - Felix Schmidt;
• Personnel Management ( Personalamt );
• Press Office ( Presseamt );
• Legal department ( Rechtsamt ), leaders - until 1938, Wolfgang Kraneck, then Dr. amtsgerichtsrath Horst Luebbe ;
• Promotion Office ( Amt für Rednervermittlung );
• Homecoming Office ( Rückwanderamt );
• Treasury department ( Schatzamt ), head - Gaushattsmeister Teodor Leonhardt ( Theodor Leonhardt );
• Training Management ( Schulungsamt );
• Public Charity Office ( Amt für Volkwohlfahr );
• Department of Technology ( Amt für Technik ), head - Gauamtsleiter Hermann Bohle ( Hermann Bohle ) ^[2] , since 1938;
• Commonwealth of Women Abroad ( Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Frau im Ausland ), leader - Gauenfrauschaftsleyrin Vera Behr ;
• Gaugericht Court , Head - Gaugerichter Wolfgang Kraneck;
• Maritime Administration ( Amt für Seefahrt ), led by Gauamtsleiter Kurt Wermke. Management engaged in Germans who were in foreign navigation. The central administrative apparatus was divided into divisions of headquarters, organizational, administrative, legal, enlightenment, and education; In addition, Weser-Ems (headquarters - Bremen ), Elbe ( Elbe ; headquarters - Hamburg), and West Baltic ( Westliche Ostsee ) subordinated to the department; headquarters - Kiel ) and East Baltic ( Östliche Ostsee ; headquarters - Stettin ).

In order to coordinate the activities of the NSDAP / AO in different regions, the following Land Departments ( Ländesamt ) functioned as part of its central office:

I - "Northern and Eastern Europe";

II - “Western Europe”, with the exception of Great Britain and Ireland;

III - “Southern Europe, Austria and the Middle East”;

IV - “Italy, Switzerland, Hungary”;

V - “Africa”, leader - Gauamtsleiter Willy Grothe ( Willy Grothe );

VI - "North America";

VII - "South and Latin America";

VIII - “The Far East, Australia, Great Britain and Ireland”, leader - Rear Admiral Heinz-Eduard Menche ( Zeinz-Eduard Menche ).

In addition, there were departments in the Central Office of the NSDAP / AO that coordinated work abroad through the various divisions of the NSDAP:

• Foreign organization of the German labor front ;
• The Office of Civil Servants, acting as the organization of the foreign GAU of the Imperial Union of German Civil Servants
• The Department of Education, acted as a foreign GAU of the National Socialist Union of Teachers;
• The leadership of the foreign GAU of the National Socialist Union of German Students;
• The leadership of the foreign GAU of the National Socialist Association of Culture;
• The leadership of the foreign GAU of the National Socialist Union of Lawyers;
• Workers' Society of German Women Abroad;
• The foreign youth administration, which had the status of a gebite ( Gebite ; region) of the Hitler Youth .

A special place in the structure of the NSDAP / AO was occupied by its Hamburg branch ( Zweigstelle Hamburg der AO ), which had a central subordination.

Abroad, the leaders of the NSDAP / JSC divisions were called Landesgruppenleiter, Ortsgruppenleiter and Stüttzpunktleiter.

The leaders of the NSDAP / AO (Landesgruppenleiters) in various countries:

• Finland: Hermann Souchon;
• France: Rudolf Schleier ( Rudolf Schleier ), 1936-1938 and 1940-1944 Since June 1940 - Consul General and Plenipotentiary Representative ( Generalkonsul und Botschaftervertrereter ) in France;
• Greece: Walter Wrede, since 1935;
• Great Britain: Otto Bene, 1934-1937;
• Guatemala: Otto Langmann , 1931-1933;
• Ireland: Adolf Mahr , 1934-1939;
• Italy: Erwin Ettel , 1936-1939;
• Italy: Emil Ehrich ( Emil Ehrich ), 1939-1944;
• Colombia: Erwin Ettel , 1933-1936;
• Latvia: Ernst Munzinger;
• Austria: Hans Bernard: ( Hans Bernard ), 1936-1938;
• Poland: Hans Bernard, 1930-1934;
• Switzerland: Wilhelm Gustloff, 1932-1936, Sigismund von Bibra , 1936-1943;
• Union of South Africa: Gauamtsleiter Hermann Bohle , since 1938.

Abroad, the NSDAP / AO acted through national German organizations, German culture societies, and friendship societies; organized "people's groups" ( Volksgruppe ) led by the leaders of the Volksdeutsche ( Volksgruppeführer ) and others. Folk groups were created exclusively in those regions where there was a sufficient number of Volksdeutsche and which were of particular importance to the NSDAP, in all other regions, people's districts were created.

The largest and most active organizations abroad were:

• National Union of Germans Living Abroad;
• German Union of the East;
• German People's Union in Hungary, Volksgruppenführer Franz Anton Bash;
• German Folk Group in Romania, Volksgruppenfuhrer Fritz Fabricius and Andeas Schmidt;
• National Socialist German Society in Croatia (later the German People's Group in Croatia), Volksgruppenführer Branimir Altgayer;
• German Folk Group in Banat and Serbia, Volksgruppenfuhrer Sepp Janko;
• Carpathian-German party (since 1938 - the German party), Volksgruppenfuhrer Franz Karmazin;
• Sudeten German party, Volksgruppenführer Konrad Henlein ;
• German Association (in Wart), Volksgruppenführer Dr. Hans Konert;
• NSDAP Schleswig-Holstein, Volksgruppenführer Jens Müller;
• National Socialist Workers Party of North Schleswig, Volksgruppenführer Yep Nissen;
• Styrian People's Union;
• Carinthian People's Union;
• Memel German Order;
• German-African People's Union, leader - Fritz Julius Kühn.

The employees of the NSDAP / AO wore a special badge that looked like a black rhombus, placed vertically on which the letters “AO” were placed - the leaders had gold and the rest had silver. The mark was worn on the left sleeve 2 cm above the edge of the cuff.

The leaders of the Foreign Organization of the NSDAP (since 1936 - with Gauleiter rights):

Dr. Hans Niland (May 1, 1931 - May 8, 1933);

Ernst Wilhelm Bole (May 8, 1933 - May 8, 1945).

Volkswagen Mittelshtelle

• Zalessky K.A. NSDAP. Power in the Third Reich. - M .: Eksmo , 2005 .-- S. 214-216. - 672 s. - ISBN 5-699-09780-5 .

• Volker Koop “Fifth Column of Hitler: Foreign Organization of the NSDAP” ( “Hitlers fünfte Kolonne: Die Auslands-Organization der NSDAP” ). Berlin, 2009, ISBN 978-3-89809-085-8 . (him)
• Arthur L. Smith ( "Hitler's Gau Ausland" ). In: Political Studies , vol. 14, February 1966, p. 90-95.
• Ralf Balke “Swastika in the Holy Land: Landesgruppe NSDAP in Palestine” ( “Hakenkreuz im Heiligen Land: die NSDAP-Landesgruppe Palästina” ). Zutton, Erfurt, 2001, ISBN 3-89702-304-0 .
• Victor Farías “The Nazis in Chile” ( “Die Nazis in Chile” ). Translation from spanish. Berlin, 2002, ISBN 3-8257-0298-7 (in the original - "Los nazis en Chile" ).
• Jürgen Müller “National Socialism in Latin America — The Foreign Organization of the NSDAP in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico from 1931-1945.” ( Nationalsozialismus in Lateinamerika - die Auslandsorganizationation der NSDAP in Argentinien, Brasilien, Chile und Mex , 1931-1945 " ). Heinz Academic Publishing House ( Akademischer Verlag Heinz ), Stuttgart, 1997, ISBN 3-88099-672-5 .
• Günter Lachmann, National Socialism in Switzerland, 1931-1945: Toward a History of the NSDAP Foreign Organization ( Der Nationalsozialismus in der Schweiz 1931-1945: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Auslandsorganization der NSDAP ). Ernst-Reuter-Gesellschaft , Berlin-Dahlem, 1962.