MEMEL - KLAIPEDA
This page is concerned with the whole Memel territory as set up in 1920 and not only with the town of the same name, which was only a part of it.
See also ROMAN CATHOLIC HIERARCHY IN MEMEL 1848 - 1945 CITY OF MEMEL - KLAIPEDA
THE MEMEL - KLAIPEDA AREA UNTIL 1923
Lithuania Minor (Lith.: Mazoji Lietuva, Germ. : Klein Litauen) was the name given to that part of the Prussian Province of East Prussia where an important Lithuanian community survived after the German conquest and colonization of the region. After WWI the new Lithuanian state started claiming the area (1). This claim was partly accepted by Allied Supreme Council and by the Peace Treaty of Versailles of 1919, Germany had to cede to the Allies the Lower Nemunas (Germ.: Memel) area of Lithuania Minor. (2) As a consequence of the troubled situation in the Baltic, the ceded territory was however not immediately transferred to Lithuania. Instead, an Allied (French) provisional administration was set up in 1920 to rule the new Memel Territory created out of the following East Prussian administrative units : - From the Regierungsbezirk Gumbinnen : - the largest part of the Kreis Heydekrug - parts of the Kreise Niederung, Ragnit, Tilsit-Land and Tilsit-Stadt - From the Regierungsbezirk Königsberg : - the Kreise Memel-Land and Memel-Stadt (1) A Minor Lithuania National Council [Prusu Lietuviu Tautos Taryba - Chairman (?): Vilius Gaigalaitis (1870 - 1945)], demanding the reunion of the territory was established at Tilsit in 1918, but it had little influence. (2) The non-ceded part of Lithuania Minor remeined Prussian and was further Germanized. After the annextion to the USSR in 1945 the last remaining Lithuanians were expelled. __________________________________________________________________________________LOCAL PRUSSIAN ADMINISTRATORS OF THE MEMEL AREA
(Until the formation of the Memel Territory in 1920) GUMBINNEN Landrate of Heydekrug The Kreis of Heydekrug was established in 1818. 1818 - 1853 ... Zobel von Zabeltitz 1853 - 1866 Theodor Heinrich Degen 1866 - 1867 ... Freiherr Kunisch von Richthofen* 1867 - 1898 Richard Traugott Freiherr von Lyncher (*1867 - 1868) 1898 - 1909 Rudolf Domrich 1909 - 1910 Franz Gustav Johannes Kunze (* 1909 - 1910) 1... - 1910 1910 - 1914 Heinrich Wilhelm Hubert Peters (*1910 - 1911) 1914 - 1915 Ernst Ancker* 1915 - 1916 Heinrich Gottlieb Hahn* 1916 - 1919 Arnold Paul Hermann Fuhrmann 1919 Hugo Swart* Landrate of Niederung The Kreis Niederung was established in 1818. 1839 - 1851 Carl Julius Schlick (*1839 - 1841) 1851 - 1873 Heinrich von Sanden (* 1851 - 1852) 1873 - 1879 Karl Ruprecht (* 1873 - 1874) 1880 - 1889 Friedrich August Werner von Zander 1889 - 1900 Georg Schickert (* 1889 - 1891) 1900 - 1912 Richard Friedrich Eduard Bank 1912 - 1918 Franz Gelpke 1918 - 1919 Rudolf Krull 1919 - 1920 ... Poll* Landrate of Ragnit The Kreis of Ragnit was established in 1818 1842 - 1874 Oskar Eugen Bernhard Freiherr von Sanden 1874 - 1875 ... Döhn* 1875 - 1886 Hermann Albert Waldemar Krossa 1886 - 1895 Ludwig Hubert von Windheim 1857 - 1935 1895 - 1905 Georg Franz Wilhelm, Freiherr von der Wenge und Graf von Lambsdorff 1905 - 1915 Hans Otto Walter von Treba 1916 - 1919 Richard Sarrazin 1919 - 1920 Hermann Zwicker Oberbürgermeister of Tilsit The Kreis of Tilsit-Stadt was detached from Tilsit in 1896. 1894 - 1899 Robert Thesing 1900 - 1924 Eldor Richard Guido Pohl Landrate of Tilsit-Land The Kreis of Tilsit - since 1896 Tilsit-Land - was established in 1818. 1832 - 1852 Johann Eduard Heinrich Schlenther 1852 - 1858 ... Lauterbach 1... - 1858 1858 - 1889 Johann Heinrich Eduard Schlenther 1889 - 1919 Johann August Wilhelm von Schlenther 1919 - 1921 ... Graf Hardenberg* KÖNIGSBERG Oberbürgermeister of Memel 1846 - 1920 See below Landrate of Memel-Land The Kreis of Memel - since 1918 Memel-Land - was created in 1818. 1834 - 1850 Wilhelm Martin Waagen 1850 - 1851 ... Frenzel-Beyme* 1851 - 1862 Friedrich Wilhelm Theodor Dieckmann 1862 - 1868 Friedrich Gustav Edmund Hugo Schultz (*1862 - 1864) 1868 - 187. ... von Röder* 187. - 1883 Alfred Julius von Gramatzki 1884 - 1918 Friedrich Heinrich Georg Cranz 1918 - 1920 Hans Honig __________________________________________________________________________________GERMAN (PRUSSIAN) PROVISIONAL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE TERRITORY OF MEMEL
Imperial (Prussian) State Commissioner for the Memel Territory 1920 Georg Franz Wilhelm Freiherr von der Wenge und Graf von Lambsdorff 1863 - __________________________________________________________________________________ALLIED (FRENCH) ADMINISTRATORS
Commander of the Allied Occupation Forces and Civilian Commissioner 1920 - 1921 BrigGen. Dominique Joseph Odry 1865 - 1962 Civil Commissioner 1921 - 1923 Jean Gabriel Petisné 1881 - 1931 Commander(s) of the Allied Occupation Forces ... 192. - 1923 Maj. ... Thibaut __________________________________________________________________________________DIRECTORY OF THE MEMEL TERRITORY
In 1920 Gen. Odry converted a pre-existing Managing Council (Arbeitsausschuss) into the Directory of the Territory of Memel (Direktorium des Memelgebietes), which was to remain the indigenous government of the territory until 1939. Presidents Präsidenten 1920 - 1921 Arthur Altenberg 1862 - 1921 - 1923 Wilhelm Stepputat 1868 - 1941
LITHUANIAN AUTONOMOUS TERRITORY OF KLAIPEDA - MEMEL
Chronology 1923 Jan 09 : A "Supreme Lithuania Minor Liberation Committee" [Vyriausias Mazosios Lietuvos Gelbejimo Komitetas / VMLGK - Chairman : Martynas Jankus (1858 - 1946)] already secretly established in 1922, assumed power in Heydekrug with the intention to unite the territory with Lithuania. It appointed a Directory [President : Erdmonas Simonaitis (1888 - 1969)] and called for Lithuanian help. Jan 10 : A Lithuanian Freecorps, headed by Jonas Polovinskas-Budrys (1889 -1964), hereupon invaded the territory, securing all of it - except the city of Memel - by Jan 11. Jan 15 : The city of Memel was also occupied and the Lithuanians assumed de facto power in the whole territory. Feb 16 : The Allied Conference of Ambassadors agreed to place the Memel area under the sovreignty of Lithuania on condition that it was granted autonomy. Feb 19 : The allied administration was formally abolished and in the course of the following months the territory was gradually integrated into Lithuania (3) May 07 : The Memel Convention granting the territory autonomy in internal affairs was signed between the Allies and Lithuania. (4) (3) March 03 : the Lithuanian currency was introduced, March 15 : the territory was formally renamed Klaipeda, Aug 15 : the railway administration was taken over by Lithaunia. (4) It formally only came into effect on Aug 25 1925 after the deposit of the final ratifications. __________________________________________________________________________________LITHUANIAN ADMINISTRATORS
Lithuanian Plenipotentiaries for Klaipeda - Memel 1923 Jonas Polovinskas-Budrys s.a. 1923 - 1924 Antanas Smetona 1874 - 1944 Governors 1924 - 1925 Jonas Polovinskas-Budrys s.a. 1925 - 1926 Jonas Zilius 1870 - 1932 1926 - 1927 Karolis Zalkauskas 1892 - 1961 1927 - 1932 Antanas Merkys 1887 - 1955 1932 - 1933 Vytautas Gylys 1886 - 1959 1933 - 1935 Jonas Navakas 1896 - 1935 - 1936 Vladas Kurkauskas 1895 - 1936 - 1938 Jurgis Kubilius 1875 - 1961 1938 - 1939 Viktoras Gailius 1893 - 1956 __________________________________________________________________________________DIRECTORY OF THE KLAIPEDA - MEMEL TERRITORY
Presidents Präsidenten 1923 Erdmonas Simonaitis s.a. 1923 - 1925 Viktoras Gailius s.a. 1925 - 1926 Endrius Borchertas 1891 - 1957 1926 Erdmonas Simonaitis (2x) 1926 - 1927 Vilius Falkas 1927 V. Svelnys 1927 - 1930 Otto Kadgiehn 1930 - 1931 Martinas Reizgys 1886 - 1942 1931 - 1932 Otto Böttcher 1872 - 1932 1932 J. Tolisius* 1932 Eduardas Simaitis 1897 - 1942 1932 - 1934 Ottomar Schreiber 1889 - 1955 1934 Martinas Reizgys (2x) 1934 - 1935 Jurgis Bruvelaitis 1900 - 1995 1935 - 1939 Augustas Baldzius 1883 - 1952 1939 Wilhelm "Willy" Bertuleit 1904 - 1941
GERMAN MEMEL 1939 - 1945
Chronology 1939 Mar 15 : As soon as the news of the German occupation of Prague reached Memel the Germans started claiming the return of the city and its territory to the German Empire. Manifestions and agitations went on during the next days, but the Lithuanians refused all negociations. Mar 20 : The German government issued an ultimatum stating that unless the territory wasn't immediately returned to the Reich, war would be the consequence Mar 21 : As the Lithuanian civilians started leaving the town, the militia of Ernst Neumann, Leader of the Memeldeutscher Kulturverband (1888 - ...) assumed power in parts of the city taking control of banks, transport facilities, etc.. Mar 22 : The Lithuanian administrators and military left the city. Governor Gailius handed over his powers to the German dominated Landtag [President : ... Dietschmons (?)] A Convention between Germany and Lithuania was signed : in return for some economic advantages (a free zone in the harbor, ...) and some financial compensation for the roads build during the Lithuanian period, Memel had to be returned to the German Empire. Mar 23 : Memel was united with the German Empire (with retroactive effect on Mar 22) and German troops entered the territory. The region was immediately annexed to the Regierungsbezirk Gumbinnen in the province East Prussia and was divided into the Kreise of : - Memel-Stadt - Memel-Land - Heydekrug - Pogegen, whose territory was however soon attached to Kreise Tilsit- Stadt and Tilsit-Ragnit (already existing Kreise in German Gumbinnen) THE END OF GERMAN MEMEL In 1944 the Memel Territory was encircled by Soviet troops and reduced to the city of Memel itself. In Oct 1944 the German authorities decided to evacuate the civil population - including the civilian administrators - and to turn the area into a "Festung" (Fortress) that had to be held to the last man. German Commander Commander of the XXVIII Army Corps 1944 - 1945 InfGen. Hans Gollnick 1892 - 1970 In Jan 1945 the XXVIII Corps escaped to East Prussia and Soviet troops entered the city. After a short period of Soviet rule the Klaipeda region was divided between : - the Lithuanian SSR : the Klaipeda and Heydekrug (Lith. : Situlé) areas - the Russian SFSR : the Tilsit (Rus.: Sovietsk) and Ragnit (Rus.: Neman) areas which became part of the Kaliningrad Oblast. Commanders of the Soviet troops Commander(s) of the 1st Baltic Front 1943 - 1945 Marsh. of the SU Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan 1897 - 1982 ... __________________________________________________________________________________GERMAN LOCAL ADMINISTRATORS OF THE MEMEL AREA
(all subordinated to the Regierungspräsidenten of Gumbinnen) Oberbürgermeister of Memel 1939 - 1944 See below Landrate of Memel-Land 1939 - 1940 ... 1940 - 1944 Gerhard Kolhoff (* 1940 - 1941) ... Landrate of Heydekrug 1939 ... Buttkereit* 1939 Otto Bochum* 1939 ... Noack* 1939 - 1940 Helmut Damerau 1906 - 2000 1940 ... Seiler* 1940 - 1942 ... Scmidt* 1942 - 1943 Helmut Damerau (2x) 1943 - 194. Gerhard Kolhoff s.a. Landrate of Pogegen 1939 Heinrich von Schlenter 1939 Friedrich Brix* Oberbürgermeister of Tilsit 1937 - 1943 Friedrich Nieckau 1943 - 194. ... Landrat of Tilsit-Ragnit 1933 - 194. Friedrich Brix s.a. __________________________________________________________________________________PARTY LEADERS
LOCAL LEADERS OF THE NSDAP IN THE MEMEL AREA The NSDAP of the Memel area was divided into 4 Kreise, part of the Gau Ostpreussen. Kreisleiter of Memel-Stadt 19.. - 194. See below Kreisleiter of Memel-Land (= administrative Kreis Memel-Land) 19.. - 194. Erich Karschies Kreisleiter of Heydekrug (= administrative Kreis Heydekrug) 19.. - 194. Fritz Bingau Kreisleiter of Tilsit-Ragnit (= administrative Kreise of Tilsit-Ragnit and of Tilsit-Stadt) 19.. - 194. Alfons Tresp
CITY OF MEMEL - KLAIPEDA
The town of Memel (Lith.: Klaipeda) was founded in 1252. It was succesively part of the possessions of the Swordbrothers Order, of the Teutonic Order, of the Duchy and later Kingdom of Prussia (Province of East Prussia, District of Königsberg, Kreis of Memel until 1918, when it became a separate Kreis). The town was an important cultural center and a major trading place and it also was the capital of the Memel Territory from 1920 to 1945, whereafter it became part of the SSR Lithuania (1). (1) First postwar city administrator : Chairman of the City Council of Klaipeda 1945 - 1947 Viktoras Bergas 1906 - __________________________________________________________________________________CHIEF ADMINISTRATORS
Bürgermeister 1846 - 1855 ... Zimmermann 1855 – 1879 Leopold Krüger 1879 – 1883 Gustav Koenig Oberbürgermeister 1883 - 1892 Gustav Koenig s.a. 1893 – 1919 Arthur Altenberg 1862 - 1919 - 1931 Robert Grabow 1931 - 1934 Wilhelm Brindlinger, deposed by the Lithuanian authorities 1934 - 1935 Erdmondas Simonaitis*, imposed by the Lithuanian Governor 1888 - 1869 1935 - 1936 Viktoras Gailius* imposed by the Lithuanian Governor 1893 - 1956 1936 - 1944 Wilhelm Brindlinger (2x), evacuated with the rest of the civil population in 1944. __________________________________________________________________________________PARTY LEADER
Kreisleiter of the NSDAP for Memel-Stadt 19.. - 194. Kurt Grau
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