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Saarland is one of the 16 states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1.045 million inhabitants. In both area and population it is the smallest of the German Flächenländer ("area states"), i.e., those that are not City States (Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg). History
In 1920 the Saargebiet was created in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles. It comprised portions of the Prussian Rhine Province and the Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate. The area was put under the control of the League of Nations represented by the following Chairmen of the Commission of Government:
It was in practice administered by France for 15 years. In 1933, a considerable number of anti-Nazi Germans fled to the Saar, as it was the only remaining part of Germany that was not under the political control of the Third Reich. As a result, anti-Nazi groups campaigned heavily for the Saarland to remain under French control as long as Adolf Hitler ruled Germany, but only a small number of people favored that condition. When the original 15-year-term was over, a plebiscite was held in the territory on 13 January 1935: 90.3% of those voting favored joining Germany. The Nazis appointed Josef Bürckel (b. 1895 – d. 1944) on 1 March 1935 as Reichskommissar für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes. When the reincorporation was considered accomplished, his title was changed (after 17 June 1936) to Reichskommissar für das Saarland. A further change was made after 8 April 1940 to Reichskommissar für die Saarpfalz; finally, after 11 March 1941, he was made Reichsstatthalter in der "Westmark" (the region's new name, meaning "Western March or Border"), till 28 September 1944, when he was succeeded by Willi Stöhr (b. 1903, also NSDAP), until 21 March 1945. Research Tips
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