Adolf Hitler - decree concerning the administration of the

Sudeten German territories

 

 

Berlin, October 1, 1938

 

§1 Upon the occupation of the Sudeten German territories by German troops, the German Reich assumes responsibility for the administration of the area.

 

§2 The administration in the Sudeten German territories will be headed by the “Reichskommissar for the Sudeten German territories.” This shall take effect as soon and insofar as I shall withdraw the powers of attorney to administer the said territories from the Commander in Chief of the Army, in whom these are vested for the interim time period. The Reichskommissar will be responsible for all branches of the administration. The Reich Minister of the Interior, in agreement with the appropriate Reich Minister, will decide upon the transfer of all respective branches of the administration to the existing Reich Special Administration (Reichssonderverwaltungen).

 

§3 The Reichskommissar is directly subordinate to me. He shall see to the implementation of my general instructions with regard to the political organization, as well as carry out the specific instructions received from the Reich Ministers concerning the administrative, economic, and cultural organization of the Sudeten German territories.

 

§4 Within the Sudeten German territories, the Reichskommissar is empowered to issue instructions to the administrative departments of the state, the municipal authorities, and other public corporations. This also applies to general instructions by the Deputy of the Fuhrer pertaining to the offices of the Sudeten German Party, its subdivisions, and connected associations. The Reichskommissar supervises all public corporations in the Sudeten German territories.

 

§5 The present laws in the occupied territories shall remain in force, excepting those laws which conflict with the interests acquired by the German Reich as a result of its occupation of the Sudeten German territories. With the approval of the responsible Reich Ministers and the Reich Minister of the Interior, the Reichskommissar shall have the right to revise the law via ordinance.

 

Ordinances shall be published in the official gazette for the Sudeten German territories. Unless otherwise noted, they shall take effect as of the day subsequent to their publication.

 

§6 As Reichskommissar for the Sudeten German territories, I appoint the leader of the Sudeten German Party, Konrad Henlein.

 

§7 The Reich law shall be introduced to the Sudeten German territories either by myself or by the responsible Reich Minister in accordance with the Reich Minister of the Interior.

 

§8 The Reich Minister of the interior shall be responsible for the transfer of the Sudeten German territories.

 

§9 The Reich Minister of the Interior shall issue the legal and administrative regulations necessary to the implementation and supplementation of this decree.

Berlin, October 1, 1938

 

The Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor, Adolf Hitler

The Reich Minister of the Interior, Dr. Frick

The Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery, Dr. Lammers