{{Short description|Nazi German occupation regime in Lithuania}} {{Italic title}} {{Infobox Former Subdivision | native_name = {{native name|lt|Lietuvos generalinė sritis}} | conventional_long_name = ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' | common_name = ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' | subdivision = ''[[Bezirk|Generalbezirk]]'' | nation = the ''[[Reichskommissariat Ostland]]'' | year_start = 1941 | date_start = 25 July | year_end = 1944 | date_end = 1 August | era = [[World War II]] | p1 = Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic{{!}}Lithuanian SSR | flag_p1 = Flag of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940-1953).svg | s1 = Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic{{!}}Lithuanian SSR | flag_s1 = Flag of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940-1953).svg | image_flag = Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg | flag_type = Flag | flag = Flag of Germany#Nazi Germany | image_coat = Reichsadler.svg | coa_size = 100px | symbol_type = Emblem | symbol = Coat of arms of Germany#Nazi Germany | image_map = Reichskommissariat Ostland Administrative.png | image_map_caption = Map of ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' (in shades of purple) within the ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' | Government = [[Civil administration]] | title_leader = ''[[Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories|Generalkommissar]]'' | leader1 = [[Adrian von Renteln]] | year_leader1 = 1941–1944 |title_deputy = [[SS and police leader|SS and Police Leader]] |deputy1 = [[Lucian Wysocki]] |year_deputy1 = 1941-1943 |deputy2 = [[Hermann Harm ]] |year_deputy2 = 1943-1944 |deputy3 = [[Kurt Hintze]] |year_deputy3 = 1944 | capital = [[Kaunas|Kauen]] | stat_year1 = 1942 | stat_area1 = 67056 | stat_pop1 = 2,844,000 | coordinates = | political_subdiv = {{Collapsible list | titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal; | title = 6 ''Kreisgebiete'' | [[Kaunas|Kauen-Land]] | [[Kaunas|Kauen-Stadt]] | [[Panevėžys|Ponewesch]] | [[Šiauliai|Schaulen]] | [[Vilnius|Wilna-Land]] | [[Vilnius|Wilna-Stadt]] }} | today = {{flag|Lithuania}}<br>{{flag|Belarus}} }} '''''Generalbezirk Litauen''''' ({{langx|lt|Lietuvos generalinė sritis}}, {{literal translation|General District Lithuania}}) was an [[Administrative division|administrative subdivision]] of the ''[[Reichskommissariat Ostland]]'' of [[Nazi Germany]] that covered [[Lithuania]] from 1941 to 1944. It served as the Nazi [[Civil authority|civilian]] administration for the [[German occupation of Lithuania during World War II|German occupation of Lithuania]] during [[World War II]].
[[Adrian von Renteln]] was the only ''[[Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories|Generalkommissar]]'' of Generalbezirk Litauen during its existence.
== Organization and structure == ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' was established in [[Lithuania]] on 25 July 1941, as one of the [[administrative districts]] of ''[[Reichskommissariat Ostland]]'' along with ''[[Generalbezirk Lettland]]''. It was organized on the territory of [[German occupation of Lithuania during World War II|German-occupied Lithuania]], which had until then been under the military administration of the ''[[Wehrmacht]]'s'' [[Army Group North Rear Area]]. By 1 August 1941, in the wake of further German gains, it expanded to its full extent, when the areas around [[Vilnius]] were added. The capital of ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' was [[Kaunas|Kauen]] (Kaunas).<ref name=territory>[http://www.territorial.de/ostl/litauen/lita.htm Generalbezirk Litauen] in [http://www.territorial.de/index.htm Territorial changes in Germany and German administered areas, 1874-1945] Retrieved 26 May 2022.</ref>
== Administrative divisions == ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' had 6 subdivisions called ''Kreisgebiete'' (County Areas). The seat of administration is in parentheses.<ref name=territory/> *Kauen-Land ([[Kaunas]]) *Kauen-Stadt (Kaunas) *Ponewesch ([[Panevėžys]]) *Schaulen ([[Šiauliai]]) *Wilna-Land ([[Vilnius]]) *Wilna-Stadt (Vilnius)
== Civil and police leadership == Civil administration was led by a ''Generalkommissar'' (General Commissioner) directly appointed by [[Adolf Hitler]], and who reported to Ostland ''[[Reichskommissar]]'' [[Hinrich Lohse]], headquartered in [[Riga]].<ref name=miller>Michael D. Miller & Andreas Schulz: Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925–1945, Volume 2 (Georg Joel - Dr. Bernhard Rust), R. James Bender Publishing, 2017, p. 249, {{ISBN|978-1-932-97032-6}}.</ref> In addition, police and security matters were overseen by an [[SS and Police Leader]] (SSPF) directly appointed by ''[[Reichsführer-SS]]'' [[Heinrich Himmler]], and who reported to the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) ''Ostland und Russland-Nord'' in Riga, SS-''[[Gruppenführer]]'' [[Hans-Adolf Prützmann]] until 1 November 1941, and SS-''[[Obergruppenführer]]'' [[Friedrich Jeckeln]] after that date.<ref name=yerger>Yerger, Mark C.: Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units and Leaders of the General SS (Schiffer Publishing Ltd.), 1997, pp. 23, 44, 59. {{ISBN|0-7643-0145-4}}.</ref>
*''Generalkommissar'': Dr. [[Adrian von Renteln]] (25 July 1941 – August 1944).<ref name=miller/> *[[SS and Police Leader]]: SS-''[[Brigadeführer]]'' [[Lucian Wysocki]] (11 August 1941 – 2 July 1943); SS-''Brigadeführer'' [[Hermann Harm]] (2 July 1943 – 8 April 1944); SS-''Brigadeführer'' [[Kurt Hintze]] (8 April – 15 September 1944).<ref name=yerger/>
== Holocaust == {{main|The Holocaust in Lithuania}} Following the German invasion in June 1941, the death squads of ''[[Einsatzgruppe]]'' A and their [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|Lithuanian collaborators]], including the [[Lithuanian Security Police]], immediately began the systematic murder of [[Lithuanian Jews]]. Out of approximately 208,000 to 210,000 Jews, an estimated 190,000 to 195,000 were murdered before the end of the war, most between June and December 1941. More than 95% of Lithuania's Jewish population was massacred over the three-year German occupation, representing a more complete destruction than befell any other country affected by the Holocaust.<ref name="Bubnys_vanished219">{{cite book|first=Arūnas |last=Bubnys |chapter=Holocaust in Lithuania: An Outline of the Major Stages and Their Results |title=The Vanished World of Lithuanian Jews |publisher=Rodopi |year=2004| isbn=978-90-420-0850-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdXRKbcyi5oC&pg=PA219 |pages=218–219}}</ref>
== Dissolution == On 28 July 1944, the [[Red Army]] launched the [[Kaunas offensive]] as part of [[Operation Bagration]], and ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' effectively ceased to exist when the city fell on 1 August. Administration of those parts of Lithuania still under German occupation reverted to military administration of [[Army Group North]] under the command of ''[[General of the Infantry (Germany)|General der Infanterie]]'' [[Johannes Frießner]]. Renteln disappeared during the German collapse, reportedly being captured by the Red Army and subsequently executed in the [[Soviet Union]] in 1946, but this is unconfirmed.<ref>Ernst Klee: Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945, Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt-am-Main, 2007, p.492 {{ISBN|978-3-596-16048-8}}.</ref> According to another account, Renteln managed to successfully escape to [[South America]].<ref>Christoph Dieckmann: ''Überlegungen zur deutschen Besatzungsherrschaft in Osteuropa 1941–1944: das Beispiel Litauen.'' In: ''Annaberger Annalen.'' 5 (1997), p.41.</ref>
== See also == * [[German occupation of Lithuania during World War II]] * [[The Holocaust in Lithuania]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Holocaust Lithuania}}
[[Category:Generalbezirk Litauen| ]] [[Category:Reichskommissariat Ostland]] [[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1944]] [[Category:States and territories established in 1941]] [[Category:World War II occupied territories]]