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Saar (League of Nations)
Encyclopedia
The Territory of the Saar Basin (in French
: Le Territoire du Bassin de la Sarre, in German
: Saarbeckengebiet), also referred as the Saar or Saargebiet, was a region of Germany that was occupied and governed by Britain and France from 1920 to 1935 under a League of Nations mandate
, with the occupation originally being under the auspices of the Treaty of Versailles
. Its population in 1933 was 812,000, and its capital was Saarbrücken
. It corresponds to the modern German state
of Saarland
, but is slightly smaller in area. After a plebiscite was held in 1935, it was restored to Germany
.
the highly industrialized Saarland was to be occupied and governed by Britain
and France under a League of Nations
mandate for a period of 15 years, and its coalfields ceded to France
. During this time the Saarland was governed by a 5 person Commission made up of representatives of the occupation forces. Under the terms of the mandate the Commission had to include at least one French person and one German resident of the Saar. At the end of that time a plebiscite was to determine the Saar's future status. It comprised portions of the Prussia
n Rhine Province
and the Bavaria
n Palatinate of the Rhine
. It had a currency, the Saar franc
, and a postage stamp
during this period.
In 1933, a considerable number of political opponents of National Socialism moved to the Saar, as it was the only part of Germany that remained under foreign occupation following the First World War. As a result, anti-Nazi groups agitated for the Saarland to remain under British and French occupation under a League of Nations mandate. However, with most of the population being German, the mandate was unpopular. A plebiscite was held in the territory on 13 January 1935.
With Adolf Hitler
anxious for the propaganda advantages of the return of the Saar to Germany, Joseph Goebbels
designed a concerted campaign to sway voters. The support of the local Catholic authorities for a return also helped, as did concerns about Bolshevism, against which Hitler was seen as a bulwark. With a voter participation of 98%, the result of the plebiscite was that the overwhelming majority, 90.73%, voted to re-join the German Reich, with only 8.86% wanting to retain the status quo. A third option of joining France received 0.41% of the vote.
Following the vote, Hitler announced that Germany "had no further territorial demands to make of France."
On 17 January 1935, the territory's re-union with Germany
was approved by the League Council. On March 1, Germany re-integrated the region into the German Reich, appointing Josef Bürckel
as Reichskommissar
für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes, "Imperial Commissioner for the re-union of Saarland
".
Many opponents of National Socialism who had taken refuge in the territory and former politicians and office holders of the Saar who had collaborated with the occupation were imprisoned.
When re-incorporation was considered complete, the governor
's title was changed again to Reichskommissar
für das Saarland, "Imperial Commissioner of Saarland
" on 17 June 1936. As the new Gau
was extended to the Rhine, including the historic Palatinate, the region's name was changed again on 8 April 1940 to Saarpfalz, "Saar-Palatinate".
After the Battle of France
, the re-annexed French
département of Moselle
was incorporated in the Reichsgau
. The region's name was finalized on 11 March 1941 as Westmark, meaning "Western March
" or "Western Boundary", with its governor styled as Reichsstatthalter
in der Westmark, "Imperial Lieutenant of Western March
". On 28 September 1944 Josef Bürckel
committed suicide
, and he was succeeded by Willi Stöhr
until 21 March 1945, when the region was again occupied by France.
was established within similar (but not identical) borders, under strong French economic influence. A referendum was held on 23 October 1955 which ended (direct or indirect) French rule and shortly thereafter the Saarland once again re-joined Germany
.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Le Territoire du Bassin de la Sarre, in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Saarbeckengebiet), also referred as the Saar or Saargebiet, was a region of Germany that was occupied and governed by Britain and France from 1920 to 1935 under a League of Nations mandate
League of Nations mandate
A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League...
, with the occupation originally being under the auspices of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. Its population in 1933 was 812,000, and its capital was Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
. It corresponds to the modern German state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
, but is slightly smaller in area. After a plebiscite was held in 1935, it was restored to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Commission of Government
Under the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
the highly industrialized Saarland was to be occupied and governed by Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France under a League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
mandate for a period of 15 years, and its coalfields ceded to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. During this time the Saarland was governed by a 5 person Commission made up of representatives of the occupation forces. Under the terms of the mandate the Commission had to include at least one French person and one German resident of the Saar. At the end of that time a plebiscite was to determine the Saar's future status. It comprised portions of the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
and the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n Palatinate of the Rhine
Palatinate of the Rhine
The Palatinate , historically also Rhenish Palatinate , is a region in south-western Germany. It occupies more than a quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate .-Geography:...
. It had a currency, the Saar franc
Saar franc
The franc was the currency of the Saar Protectorate and, later, the state of Saarland in West Germany between 20 November 1947 and 6 July 1959...
, and a postage stamp
Postage stamps and postal history of the Saar
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the German territory of the Saar. As a border region contested between France and Germany, the Saar has a somewhat complicated philatelic history...
during this period.
Chairman of the Commission
The Saar region was governed by the following Chairman of the Commission of Government:- Victor Rault, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(26 February 1920 - 31 March 1926) - George Washington StephensGeorge Washington Stephens (junior)George Washington Stephens was a Canadian politician.Born in Montreal, the son of George Washington Stephens and Elizabeth McIntosh, Stephens was educated at Montreal High School, McGill University, the University of Geneva, University of Marburg, and the University of Hanover. He worked with the...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(1 April 1926 - 9 June 1927) - Sir Ernest Colville Collins WiltonErnest WiltonSir Ernest Colville Collins Wilton, KCMG was a British diplomat and 1927-1932 as President of the Commission for the Government of the Saar Basin under the League of Nations mandate....
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(9 June 1927 - 31 March 1932) - Sir Geoffrey George Knox, United Kingdom (1 April 1932 - 28 February 1935)
Plebiscite
With Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
anxious for the propaganda advantages of the return of the Saar to Germany, Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
designed a concerted campaign to sway voters. The support of the local Catholic authorities for a return also helped, as did concerns about Bolshevism, against which Hitler was seen as a bulwark. With a voter participation of 98%, the result of the plebiscite was that the overwhelming majority, 90.73%, voted to re-join the German Reich, with only 8.86% wanting to retain the status quo. A third option of joining France received 0.41% of the vote.
Following the vote, Hitler announced that Germany "had no further territorial demands to make of France."
National Socialist rule
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
was approved by the League Council. On March 1, Germany re-integrated the region into the German Reich, appointing Josef Bürckel
Josef Bürckel
Joseph Bürckel was a German politician and a member of the German parliament...
as Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar , in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and the Nazi Third Reich....
für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes, "Imperial Commissioner for the re-union of Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
".
Many opponents of National Socialism who had taken refuge in the territory and former politicians and office holders of the Saar who had collaborated with the occupation were imprisoned.
When re-incorporation was considered complete, the governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
's title was changed again to Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar , in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and the Nazi Third Reich....
für das Saarland, "Imperial Commissioner of Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
" on 17 June 1936. As the new Gau
Gau (German)
Gau is a German term for a region within a country, often a former or actual province. It was used in medieval times, when it can be seen as roughly corresponding to an English shire...
was extended to the Rhine, including the historic Palatinate, the region's name was changed again on 8 April 1940 to Saarpfalz, "Saar-Palatinate".
After the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, the re-annexed French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
département of Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
was incorporated in the Reichsgau
Reichsgau
A Reichsgau was an administrative subdivision created in a number of the areas annexed to Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945...
. The region's name was finalized on 11 March 1941 as Westmark, meaning "Western March
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
" or "Western Boundary", with its governor styled as Reichsstatthalter
Reichsstatthalter
The term Reichsstatthalter was used twice for different offices, in the imperial Hohenzollern dynasty's German Empire and the single-party Nazi Third Reich.- "Statthalter des Reiches" 1879-1918 in Alsace-Lorraine :...
in der Westmark, "Imperial Lieutenant of Western March
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
". On 28 September 1944 Josef Bürckel
Josef Bürckel
Joseph Bürckel was a German politician and a member of the German parliament...
committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, and he was succeeded by Willi Stöhr
Willi Stöhr
Willi Stöhr , German NSDAP official, was born in Wuppertal-Elberfeld. He joined the NSDAP in 1923. In 1932 he was made a senior official of the Hitler Youth movement, and in 1933, when the National Socialist movement came to power, he was appointed to administrative position in Frankfurt am Main,...
until 21 March 1945, when the region was again occupied by France.
French Protectorate
After the Second World War a French protectorateSaar (protectorate)
The Saar Protectorate was a German borderland territory twice temporarily made a protectorate state. Since rejoining Germany the second time in 1957, it is the smallest Federal German Area State , the Saarland, not counting the city-states Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen...
was established within similar (but not identical) borders, under strong French economic influence. A referendum was held on 23 October 1955 which ended (direct or indirect) French rule and shortly thereafter the Saarland once again re-joined Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
See also
- SaarlandSaarlandSaarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
- SaarSaar (protectorate)The Saar Protectorate was a German borderland territory twice temporarily made a protectorate state. Since rejoining Germany the second time in 1957, it is the smallest Federal German Area State , the Saarland, not counting the city-states Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen...
, a protectorate under French control (1947–1956) - SarreSarre (département)Sarre is the name of a department of the First French Empire which is now part of Germany and Belgium. It is named after the river Saar. It was formed in 1798, when the left bank of the Rhine was annexed by France. Prior to the occupation, its territory was divided between the Archbishopric of...
, a département of France (1798–1814) - Saar RiverSaar RiverThe Saar is a river in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Vosges mountains on the border of Alsace and Lorraine and flows northwards into the Moselle near Trier. It has two headstreams , that both start near Mont Donon, the highest peak...
- Nazi GermanyNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...