Reichskommissariate

Reichskommissariate were administrative territories established by Nazi Germany during World War II to govern occupied areas in Eastern Europe. These territories were placed under the control of Reichskommissars who held absolute authority and reported directly to Adolf Hitler. The primary Reichskommissariate included Ostland, encompassing the Baltic states and parts of Belarus and Russia; Ukraine; and Norway. Additional planned territories like Moskowien and Kaukasus were proposed but never fully established.

The Reichskommissariate were intended to be permanently incorporated into the Greater German Reich through a process of Germanization. Administrators implemented policies of ruthless exploitation of resources and labor, along with the systematic persecution and extermination of local populations, particularly Jews. The civilian administration of these territories was separate from the military and was characterized by brutal oppression.

The Reichskommissars were responsible for implementing the Nazi regime's racial policies, establishing German settlements, and suppressing local resistance movements. The administration varied between territories but generally followed a pattern of centralized control with regional offices. These administrative structures represented Nazi Germany's efforts to consolidate control over conquered lands and realize its expansionist and racial objectives.