Рейхскомиссар: Должность в Германской империи и нацистской Германии

Gubernatorial title used in the German Empire and Nazi Germany

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official governatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany.

In the unified German Empire (after 1871), Reichskommissars were appointed to oversee special tasks. For instance, there was a Reichskommissar for emigration (Reichskommissar für das Auswanderungswesen) in Hamburg. Presumably the same title is rendered as "German Imperial Commissioner" in the case of Heligoland, a strategically located once Danish island in the North Sea, formally handed over to Germany by the UK on 9 August 1890 (under the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty) and on 15 December 1890 formally annexed to Germany (after 18 February 1891 part of the Prussian province of Schleswig Holstein): 9 August 1890 – 1891 Adolf Wermuth (b. 1855 – d. 1927)

The title of Reichskommissar was used during the German Empire for the governors of most of the Schutzgebiete (a German term literally meaning protectorate, but also applied to ordinary colonies).

in Tanganyika, the area acquired on 17 February 1885 by Carl Peters for the Deutsch Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft (DOAG, 'German East Africa Company', that was initially under an Administrator: 27 May 1885 – 8 February 1888 Karl Peters), since the proclamation of the German East African protectorate (7 May 1885 – 1 July 1890) over Witu in Kenya; contested by Britain; on 28 April 1888 Germany obtains a lease of the coastal strip from the Sultan of Zanzibar), a single Reichskommissar is appointed (8 February 1888 – 21 February 1891: Hermann von Wissmann (b. 1853 – d. 1905), after him Governors of 1 January 1891 when proclaimed German East Africa colony (Deutsch Ostafrika), ending the 'private' DOAG rule.

The title of Reichskommissar was given by Adolf Hitler to a number of Nazi governors, mainly in several occupied countries during World War II, but also before the war to reintegrate former Prussian territory regained from France, as well as various other regions inhabited by ethnic Germans. Depending on circumstances they could be severely dictatorial and repressive, most notably Erich Koch in Ukraine.

A plebiscite was held in the Territory of the Saar Basin (presently Saarland) on 13 January 1935: 90.3% of those voting wished to join Germany rather than join France. Josef Bürckel (b. 1895 – d. 1944) was appointed on 1 March 1935 as Reichskommissar für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes, then changed his style from 17 June 1936 to Reichskommissar für das Saarland, and from 8 April 1940 to Reichskommissar für die Saarpfalz; finally from 11 March 1941, he was made Reichsstatthalter in der "Westmark" (the region's new name, meaning "Western March or Border"), until his death on 28 September 1944 when he was succeeded by Willi Stöhr (b. 1903 also NSDAP), who remained in office until 21 March 1945.

After the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia was annexed by Germany on 1 October 1938, it was under a Military governor (Wilhelm Keitel; 1 October 1938 – 20 October 1938), until Konrad Henlein was appointed Reichskommissar of the territories on 21 October 1938. On 1 May 1939 a regular 'domestic' Reichsgau, Reichsgau Sudetenland was created; Henlein stayed on as Reichsstatthalter until the region was re incorporated into Czechoslovakia on 4 May 1945.

1 May 1939 – 1 April 1940 Josef Bürckel (b. 1895 – d. 1944) NSDAP, in fact the maintained last Austrian Premier of 15 October 1938 constituted metropolitan capital city entity Gross Wien (Greater Vienna), is in transitional office, then the same is made the first of two Reichsstatthalter (he until 10 August 1940), equivalent to a Gauleiter in Germany proper.

After the Norwegian king and his government fled during the German invasion of the country and the failure of a coup d'état by the fascist politician Vidkun Quisling, Hitler appointed a Reichskommissar für die besetzten Norwegischen Gebiete (Reich Commissioner for the occupied Norwegian territories) on 24 April 1940. The office had two consecutive Reichskommissars with extensive authority:
24 April 1940 – 7 May 1945 – Josef Terboven, NSDAP. He took up residence in the Crown Prince's manor at Skaugum. Answerable only to Hitler, Terboven initially tried to negotiate with the Norwegian Storting to establish a civilian administration which would be willing to sign a peace treaty with Germany. After the collapse of these negotiations, Terboven on 25 September 1940 proclaimed the deposition of King Haakon VII and his cabinet in exile and outlawed all political parties except the Norwegian fascist party Nasjonal Samling. Terboven committed suicide during the night of 7 May 1945, just before the surrender of the German forces in Norway became effective. 7 May 1945 – 8 May 1945 – Franz Böhme, commander in chief of German military forces in Norway, assumed Terboven's responsibilities as acting Reichskommissar until Allied forces took control and had him arrested.

On 17 July 1941, the Reichskommissariat Ostland ("Eastland") was established, soon uniting German occupied Lithuania, Latvia (from 1 September 1941) and Estonia (from 5 December 1941) and Belarus. Ostland was organized into four General Districts (Generalbezirke); only the (Latvian) capital city of Riga (Gebiet Riga Stadt) was directly administered by the Reichskommissar für das Ostland. The incumbents were:
17 July 1941 – 26 September 1944 – Hinrich Lohse (b. 1896 – d. 1964), NSDAP
26 September 1944 – 2 February 1945 – Erich Koch (b. 1896 – d. 1986), NSDAP (de facto ousted on 13 October 1944 when the Soviet Red Army took Riga, although Ostland wasn't officially dissolved until 2 February 1945)