Reichskommissariat Ostland
The Reichskommissariat Ostland (English: Reich Commissariat Eastland) was an administrative unit of the German Reich during the Second World War. The administration of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus (Weißruthenien) was combined in this unit. It should be noted, however, that the present-day southern strip of Belarus was not yet Belarusian at that time, but belonged to Ukraine and thus formed part of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. This territory was only ceded to Belarus after the end of the war.
Official propagandistic and anti-German contemporary historiography reports that the deployed unit was not merely administrative, but was already designed to expel the peoples living there and subsequently permanently settle the deserted area with Germans. This This insane and unsubstantiated attribution is, however, not new in itself. For example, it was already claimed in relation to the First World War that Germany wanted to seize and colonize the Baltic Courland; this time, however, it is all of Eastern Europe that was supposedly to fall victim to "Germany's aggressive annexation efforts".
Contents
History
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One month after the begin of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, the Reichskommissariat Ostland, initially known as "Reichskommissariat Baltenland", was established at noon on 25 July 1941. It emerged from parts of the Rear Army Area North. Its borders were initially as follows:
- West: Eastern border of the German Reich/Baltic Sea coast,
- North and East: West of the Daugava River (excluding Riga, including Jakobstadt, Daugava River exclusively, and including Druja),
- South: North of the Druja/Molėtai/Rumšiškės/Vištytis line.
The administrative seat was initially the city of Kaunas, later renamed Kauen. The Oberpräsident and Gauleiter of Schleswig-Holstein, Hinrich Lohse, was appointed Reichskommissar or Reich Commissioner. As early as 12:00 noon on 1 August 1941, the Reichskommissariat Ostland was expanded from the Rear Army Area Central. Its new borders were provisionally as follows:
- Northwest: Former eastern border of the Reichskommissariat Ostland
- South and East: The area around Vilnius, bounded to the east and southeast by the former Lithuanian border.
The next change took place on 12:00 noon on 1 September 1941. At this time, the Reichskommissariat Ostland was expanded from the Rear Army Area Central, as long as it lay within the following borders:
- West: Former eastern border of the Reichskommissariat Ostland and the Bialystok District
- South: Border with the Reichskommissariat Ukraine
- East and North: The Rear Army Area Central up to the line Sankevichi/Lenino on the Sluch River/course of the Sluch River to Slutsk/Rudensk on the Minsk-Bobruisk railway line/Smilovichi on the Volna River/Borisov (exclusive)/course of the Berezina River to Berezino (approximately 80 km north of Borisov)/Disna on the Daugava River up to the former Latvian-Russian border (including towns with the exception of Borisov and towns on the aforementioned rivers), the Rear Army Area North up to the line of the former Latvian-Russian border/former Latvian-Estonian border. Riga was now designated as the seat of administration.
On 1 November 1941, the city of Grodno and its surroundings became part of the Bialystok District. The final expansion took effect on 5 December 1941, and was effective from 12:00 noon. Subsequently, the former Estonia, part of the Rear Army Area North, was transferred to the Reich Commissariat Ostland. However, the area remained the Army's military area of operations. During 1943/1944, the Reich Commissariat was gradually invaded by the Red Army.
At the beginning of 1944, when the only remaining unoccupied districts of Brest, Kobryn, and Pinsk of the Reich Commissariat Ukraine no longer permitted independent administration, this peripheral area was placed under the General District of Belarus in the Reich Commissariat Ostland. On 8 September 1944, the Oberpräsident and Gauleiter of the NSDAP, Erich Koch, in Königsberg (Pr.), previously Reich Commissar in Ukraine, assumed provisional leadership of the Ostland.
General Instructions for all Reich Commissioners in the occupied Eastern Territories (1941)
- The contingency, that the German Reich may find herself confronted by Soviet Russian policy of aggression and of anti-German alliances, makes it obligatory to have a clear conception about the political aims of a German counter-blow. The only possible political goal of war can be the aim to free the German Reich from Pan-Slavic [großrussisch] pressure for centuries to come. This does not only correspond with German interests, but also with historical justice, for Russian Imperialism was in a position to accomplish its policy of conquest and oppression almost unopposed, whilst it threatened Germany again and again. Therefore, the German Reich has to beware of starting a campaign against Russia with a historical injustice, meaning the reconstruction of a Great Russian Empire, no matter of what kind. On the contrary, all historical struggles of the various nationalities against Moscow and Petersburg have to be scrutinized for their bearing on the situation today. This has been done on the part of the National Socialist movement to correspond to the Leader's political testament as laid down in his book, that now the military and political threat, from the East shall be eliminated forever. Therefore this huge area must be divided according to its historical and racial conditions into Reichs-Commissariats, each of which bears within itself a different political aim. The Reich Commissariat Eastland including White-Ruthenia will have the task, to prepare, by way of development into a Germanized Protectorate, a progressively closer cohesion with Germany. The Ukraine shall become an independent state in alliance with Germany and Caucasia with the contiguous Northern Territories a Federal State with a German plenipotentiary. Russia proper must put her own house in order for the future. These general viewpoints are explained in the following instructions for each Reich Commissar. Beyond that there are still a few general considerations which possess validity for all Reich Commissars.
- As far as currency policy is concerned, a transitional state similar to that in other occupied territories shall be provided for, but with an early beginning of a new orientation, which has to correspond to the political goal to be achieved. In the Reich , Commissariat Eastland, we will have to introduce as currency German marks, in the Reich Commissariat Ukraine a national "Karbowanez" currency (Ukrainian National bank), in the Reich Commissariat Caucasia a national currency too for the future Federal State. The German people have achieved, in course of centuries, tremendous accomplishments in the Eastern European area. Nearly its entire real estate property was confiscated without indemnification, hundreds of thousands (in the South, on the Volga) starved or were deported or, like in the Baltic territories, were cheated out of the fruits of their cultural work during the past 700 years. The German Reich will now have to proclaim the principle, that after the occupation of the Eastern Territories, the former German assets have become property of the people of Greater Germany, irrespective of the consent of the former individual proprietors where the German Reich may reserve the right (assuming that it has not already been done during resettlement) to arrange a just settlement. The manner of compensation and restitution of this national property, will be subject to different treatment by each Reich Commissariat. The moment for declarations of this kind will be determined by the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern territories. [This sentence was added in pencil] From the point of view of cultural policy, the German Reich is in a position to promote and direct national culture and science in many fields. It will be necessary, that in some territories an uprooting and resettlement of various racial stocks will have to be effected.
Leadership (excerpt)
Reich Minister
- Alfred Rosenberg, Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, Berlin
Reich Commissioner
- Hinrich Lohse, Reich Commissioner for the Eastern Territories, office in Riga
- Erich Koch, Acting Reich Commissioner (from December 1944)
General Commissioners (Commissars)
- Karl-Siegmund Litzmann, General Commissioner for Estonia in Reval
- Otto-Heinrich Drechsler, General Commissioner for Latvia in Riga
- Theodor Adrian von Renteln, General Commissioner for Lithuania in Kaunas
- Wilhelm Kube, General Commissioner for Belarus in Minsk (until 1943)
- Curt von Gottberg, Acting General Commissioner for Belarus in Minsk (from 1943)
Wehrmacht Commander Ostland
- Walter Braemer, General der Kavallerie z.V. (1941–1944)
- Werner Kempf, General der Panzertruppe (1944)
SS and police leaders
- Hans-Adolf Prützmann, Higher SS and Police Leader for Northern Russia/Eastern Russia, HSSPF from June 1941 to November 1941
- Friedrich Jeckeln, Higher SS and Police Leader for Eastern Russia and Northern Russia, HSSPF from November 1941 to May 1945
- Franz Walter Stahlecker, Commander of the Security Police (SIPO) and the Security Service (SD) (BdS) in the Reichskommissariat Eastern Russia from November 1941 to March 1942
- Martin Sandberger, Commander of the Security Police (SIPO) and the Security Service (KdS) for Estonia from December 1941 to autumn 1943
- Karl Jäger, Commander of the Security Police (SIPO) and the Security Service (KdS) in Lithuania from December 1941 to August 1943
- Curt von Gottberg, SS and Police Leader for Belarus, General Commissioner in Minsk from October 1943
- Hinrich Möller, SS and Police Leader Estonia, SS Brigade Leader in Reval
- Lucian Wysocki, SS and Police Leader Lithuania
- Walther Schröder, SS and Police Leader Latvia
