Gau Swabia - Aftermath

Aftermath

Almost all of Swabia, like the rest of Bavaria, became part of the American occupation zone. Lindau, at the very south-west of the Gau, became part of the French occupation zone. Political power, at first laying with the occupation authorities, was soon returned to the new Bavarian government. The Regierungsbezirk Swabia, never having formally been dissolved, took control of the civil administration of the region again. Its most pressing issue was the reconstruction of the destroyed cities and the refugee problem, nearly a quarter of the population of Augsburg after the war being refugees and displaced persons.

Karl Wahl, Gauleiter of Swabia for almost 17 years, only served a light sentence after the war. He died in 1981, aged 88.