Reichsleiter Explained

German: Reichsleiter
Image3:	Reich-Reichsleiter armband.svg
Image Size3:	100px
Caption3:	Armband
Service Branch:	Nazi Party
Abbreviation:	RL
Rank:	Paramilitary rank
Formation:	2 June 1933
Abolished:	8 May 1945
Higher Rank:	German: [[Führer]]
Lower Rank:	German: [[Gauleiter]]

German: Reichsleiter was the second-highest political rank in the Nazi Party (NSDAP), subordinate only to the office of German: [[Führer]]. German: Reichsleiter also functioned as a paramilitary rank within the NSDAP and was the highest rank attainable in any Nazi organisation.^[1]

Each German: Reichsleiter reported directly to the German: Führer, Adolf Hitler. Men of the rank German: Reichsleiter collectively formed part of the Reichsleitung (Reich leadership) of the NSDAP, which was originally located in the "Brown House" in Munich. Each German: Reichsleiter was in charge of a broad area of responsibility in the party. Hitler originally established the rank of German: Reichsleiter on 2 June 1933 and appointed 16 individuals to that rank.^[2] Subsequently, a further 6 individuals were appointed to the rank between 1933 and 1938: von Epp, Frick, Bormann, Lutze, Hierl and Huhnlein.^[3]

List of Reichsleiters

This is the list of men of the rank of German: Reichsleiter in the Nazi Party set forth in the National Socialist Yearbook:^[4]

• Max Amann, Head of the Party Publishing House, Eher-Verlag.
• Martin Bormann, Chief of the Party Chancellery.
• Philipp Bouhler, Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP.
• Walter Buch, Chairman of USCHLA, the Supreme Party Court (Oberstes Parteigericht der NSDAP).
• Ricardo Walther Oscar Darré, Chief of the NSDAP Agrarian Office.
• Otto Dietrich, Reich Press Chief of the NSDAP.
• Franz Ritter von Epp, Chief of the NSDAP Office of Colonial Policy (Kolonialpolitisches Amt)
• Karl Fiehler, Chief of the NSDAP Main Office for Municipal Politics.
• Hans Frank, Chief of the NSDAP Legal Office.
• Wilhelm Frick, Leader of the NSDAP parliamentary bloc in the Reichstag.
• Joseph Goebbels, Reich Propaganda Leader of the NSDAP.
• Wilhelm Grimm, Chairman of the Second Chamber of USCHLA, the Supreme Party Court (Oberstes Parteigericht der NSDAP).
• Rudolf Hess, Deputy Führer.
• Konstantin Hierl, Leader of the Reich Labor Service.
• Heinrich Himmler, and Chief of the German Police.
• Adolf Hühnlein, Korpsführer of the NSKK.
• Robert Ley, Reich Organization Leader of the NSDAP and head of the German Labor Front.
• Viktor Lutze, Chief of Staff of the Sturmabteilung (SA) 1934–1943.
• Ernst Röhm, Chief of Staff of the Sturmabteilung (SA) 1931–1934.
• Alfred Rosenberg, Chief of the NSDAP Office of Foreign Affairs.
• Baldur von Schirach, Reich Youth Leader, Reichsjugendführer of the Hitler Youth (HJ) until August 1940.
• Franz Xaver Schwarz, Reich Treasurer (Reichsschatzmeister) of the NSDAP.

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Organization of the Nazi Party & State . nizkor.org . . 13 April 2016 . 9 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161109221505/http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-06-organization.html . dead .
2. Dietrich Orlow: The Nazi Party 1919-1945: A Complete History, Enigma Books, New York, 2010, p. 263. .
3. https://www.axishistory.com/books/182-germany-political-organizations/nsdap/4943-reichsleiters-of-the-nsdap "Reichsleiters of the NSDAP"
4. Web site: The Nazi Party Leadership Corps. nizkor.org. The Nizkor Project. 15 April 2016. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195558/http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-02/nca-02-15-criminality-02-01.html. dead.