Areas annexed by Nazi Germany


There were many areas annexed by Nazi Germany both immediately before and throughout the course of World War II. Territories that were part of Nazi Germany before the annexations were known as the "Altreich".

Fully annexed territories

The territories listed below are those that were fully annexed into Germany proper.
Date of annexationAnnexed areaSucceeded by
1935-03-01 Territory of the Saar Basin Gau Palatinate-Saar
1938-03-12 Federal State of Austria Reichsgau Carinthia
1938-03-12 Federal State of Austria Reichsgau Lower Danube
1938-03-12 Federal State of Austria Reichsgau Salzburg
1938-03-12 Federal State of Austria Reichsgau Styria
1938-03-12 Federal State of Austria Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg
1938-03-12 Federal State of Austria Reichsgau Upper Danube
1938-03-12 Federal State of Austria Reichsgau Vienna
1938-10-01 Sudetenland, Bohemia, Czechoslovak Republic Gau Bavarian Eastern March
1938-10-01 Sudetenland, Bohemia, Czechoslovak Republic Reichsgau Upper Danube
1938-10-01 Sudetenland, Bohemia, Czechoslovak Republic Reichsgau Lower Danube
1938-10-01 Sudetenland, Bohemia, Czechoslovak Republic Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of the Sudetenland
1938-10-01 Sudetenland, Moravia-Silesia, Czechoslovak Republic Reichsgau Lower Danube
1938-10-01 Sudetenland, Moravia-Silesia, Czechoslovak Republic Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of the Sudetenland
1939-03-16 Bohemia, Czechoslovak Republic Gau Bavarian Eastern March
1939-03-16 Bohemia, Czechoslovak Republic Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
1939-03-16 Moravia-Silesia, Czechoslovak Republic Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
1939-03-16 Moravia-Silesia, Czechoslovak Republic Reichsgau Lower Danube
1939-03-16 Bohemia, Czechoslovak Republic Reichsgau Lower Danube
1939-03-16 Bohemia, Czechoslovak Republic Reichsgau Sudetenland
1939-03-16 Moravia-Silesia, Czechoslovak Republic Reichsgau Sudetenland
1939-03-16 Bohemia, Czechoslovak Republic Reichsgau Upper Danube
1939-03-23 Klaipėda Region, Republic of Lithuania Gau East Prussia
1939-09-02City of Danzig.png" /> Free City of Danzig Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Danzig
1939-10-08 Military Administration in Poland Gau East Prussia
1939-10-08 Military Administration in Poland Gau Silesia
1939-10-08 Military Administration in Poland Reichsgau Posen
1939-10-08 Military Administration in Poland Reichsgau West Prussia
1940-05-18 Eupen-Malmedy, Liège, Wallonia, Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France Gau Cologne-Aachen
1940-07-29 Military Administration of Luxembourg Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Luxembourg
1940-08-02 Moselle, French State Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Lorraine
1940-08-02 Bas-Rhin, French State Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Alsace
1940-08-02 Haut-Rhin, French State Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Alsace
1941-04-17 Military Administration in Yugoslavia Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Carinthia and Carniola
1941-04-17 Military Administration in Yugoslavia Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Lower Styria
1941-07-22 Military Administration in the Soviet Union Territory of the Chief of Civil Administration of Bialystok
1944-12-18 – 1944-12-25 Dunkirk, Nord, Provisional Government of the French Republic Reichsgau Flanders
1944-12-18 – 1944-12-25 Wallonia, Kingdom of Belgium Reichsgau Wallonia

Partially incorporated territories

The territories listed below are those that were partially incorporated into the Greater German Reich.
Date of establishmentPreceded bySucceeded by
1939-10-12 Military Administration in Poland General Government for the Occupied Polish Territories
1941-08-01 Military Administration in the Soviet Union District of Galicia, General Government
1941-08-01 Military Administration in the Soviet Union Kraków District, General Government

Date of establishmentPreceded bySucceeded by
1943-09-10 Province of Gorizia, Kingdom of Italy Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral
1943-09-10 Province of Ljubljana, Kingdom of Italy Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral
1943-09-10 Province of Pola, Kingdom of Italy Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral
1943-09-10 Province of Fiume, Kingdom of Italy Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral
1943-09-10 Province of Trieste, Kingdom of Italy Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral
1943-09-10 Province of Udine, Kingdom of Italy Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral
1943-09-10 Province of Belluno, Kingdom of Italy Operational Zone of the Alpine Foothills
1943-09-10 Province of Bolzano, Kingdom of Italy Operational Zone of the Alpine Foothills
1943-09-10 Province of Trento, Kingdom of Italy Operational Zone of the Alpine Foothills

Planned annexations

In the coming Nazi New Order, other lands were considered for annexation sooner or later, for instance North Schleswig, German-speaking Switzerland, and the zone of intended German settlement in north-eastern France, where a Gau or a Reichskommissariat centred on Burgundy was intended for creation, and which Heinrich Himmler wanted to turn into the SS's very own fiefdom. The goal was to unite all or as many as possible ethnic Germans and Germanic peoples, including non-Germanic speaking ones considered "Aryans", in a Greater Germanic Reich.
The eastern Reichskommissariats in the vast stretches of Ukraine and Russia were also intended for future integration into that Reich, with plans for them stretching to the Volga or even beyond the Urals, where the potential westernmost reaches of Imperial Japanese influence would have existed, following an Axis victory in World War II. They were deemed of vital interest for the survival of the German nation, as it was a core tenet of Nazism that Germany needed "living space", creating a "pull towards the East" where that could be found and colonized.
North-East Italy was also eventually to be annexed, including both the Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral and the Operational Zone of the Alpine Foothills, but also the Venice region. Goebbels went as far as to suggest taking control of Lombardy as well:
The annexation of the entire North Italy was also suggested in the long run.