gau
gau — noun
1. In early Germanic societies, the main territorial division of a tribe, comprisin
In early Germanic societies, the main territorial division of a tribe, comprising several smaller settlements and governed by a local leader under the tribal assembly.
Tacitus recorded that each gau elected its own leaders at a gathering of free men.
passive: gau + elected + leaders
The Saxon gau of Westphalia sent warriors to support the rebellion against Frankish rule.
The Chatti tribe's gau had its western boundary along the Weser River, separating it from neighbouring tribes.
Wulfric owed military service to the gau where his family had lived for three generations.
Charlemagne abolished many old gaus and replaced them with counties run by his own officials.
文法句型
gau + of + place name
the + place name + gau
用法筆記
This sense appears almost exclusively in historical writing about pre-medieval Germanic peoples, especially in translations of Tacitus' Germania. The plural form gaus is standard; the German plural Gaue is occasionally used in English academic texts.
2. Under the Nazi regime (1933–1945), a major administrative region for party organ
Under the Nazi regime (1933–1945), a major administrative region for party organisation, each led by a Gauleiter who held both political and governmental authority.
Albert Speer was appointed as the Gauleiter of the Vienna gau in 1943.
In the town of Hanau, the gau leader appointed all local officials and police chiefs.
pattern: gau leader + appointed + officials
Each gau contained its own party headquarters, propaganda office, and branch of the Hitler Youth.
After Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Austria was divided into several new gaus under German administration.
Historian Ian Kershaw used Nazi gau files to show how local officials enforced racial laws in Dachau.
- party district
a direct description of what a gau was in the Nazi context
- administrative region
more general; misses the specifically party-political nature of a gau
文法句型
the + place name + gau
gau of + place name
用法筆記
The Nazi gau was distinct from the traditional German states (Länder) — it was an internal party boundary, not a constitutional division. The leader of a gau, the Gauleiter, reported directly to Hitler or to the party chancellery. Most English historical writing capitalises Gau when referring to this Nazi sense.