Reichsgau

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A Reichsgau (plural Reichsgaue) was an administrative sub-division created in a number of the areas annexed to Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945. It should not be confused with the Gau, an administrative region of the NSDAP (Nazi Party).

The term was formed from the words Reich and Gau, the latter a deliberately medieval-sounding word with a meaning approximately equivalent to "shire".

There were several Reichsgaue:

• Ostmark, formed from the formerly independent Austria
• Sudetengau, formed from the substantial part of the German-speaking areas of the former Czechoslovakia occupied in 1938
• Danzig-Westpreussen and Wartheland, formed from the Free City of Danzig and areas annexed from Poland.

The Ostmark was subsequently sub-divided into seven smaller Reichsgaue, generally coterminous with the former Austrian Länder (states).

[edit] Proposed Reichsgaue in Belgium

Following Germany's invasion in 1940, Belgium was placed under "temporary" military rule. In July, 1944, civilian rule was re-introduced as a step towards the country's eventual integration into "Greater Germany". In December of that year Belgium was sub-divided into the District of Brussels, covering the capital city (which remained under the direct authority of the German Reichskommissar), and two Reichsgaue. These Reichsgaue existed on paper only, due to the Allied advance.

• Flanders-Antwerp, comprising the Dutch-speaking provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, East Flanders, West Flanders, the arrondissement of Brussels (except the city of Brussels itself), and the arrondissement of Leuven in the then-province of Brabant (the present-day province of Flemish Brabant).
• Wallonia-Liège, comprising the Francophone provinces of Hainaut, Liège, Luxembourg, Namur, and the arrondissement of Nivelles in the then-province of Brabant (now part of the separate province of Walloon Brabant).