kreisleiter

{{Short description|Nazi Party political rank}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Infobox military rank

| name = Kreisleiter

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| country = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}

| service branch = {{flagicon image|Flag of the NSDAP (1920–1945).svg}} Nazi Party

| abbreviation =

| rank = Political rank

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| higher rank = Gauleiter

| lower rank = Ortsgruppenleiter

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}}

File:Organisationsbuc00nati 0 orig 0123 ORGANISATIONSBUCH DER NSDAP 1943 Parteigenossen Politische Leiter Uniformen Symbole Tafel 21 Dienststellungsabzeichen Armbinde Kraftwagenstander Kreisleitung Public domain EDITED.jpg

{{lang|de|Kreisleiter}} ({{IPA|de|ˈkʁaɪsˌlaɪtɐ}}; "District Leader") was a Nazi Party political rank and title which existed as a political rank between 1930 and 1945 and as a Nazi Party title from as early as 1928. The position of {{lang|de|Kreisleiter}} was first formed to provide German election district coordination and, after the Nazi assumption of power, the position became one of county municipal government, effectively replacing the traditional German government establishment.

The rank of {{lang|de|Kreisleiter}} was phased out of the Nazi Party in 1939, to be replaced by one of several paramilitary political ranks. After this time, the position of {{lang|de|Kreisleiter}} was denoted by a special armband.

The rank of {{lang|de|Kreisleiter}} was originally the fourth tier in the Nazi Party hierarchy after the {{lang|de|Führer}}, {{lang|de|Reichsleiter}}, and {{lang|de|Gauleiter}}. The fifth level beneath the {{lang|de|Kreisleiter}} were the {{lang|de|Ortsgruppenleiters}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-06-organization.html |title=The Organization of the Nazi Party & State |website=nizkor.org |publisher=The Nizkor Project |access-date=26 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109221505/http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-06-organization.html |archive-date=9 November 2016 |url-status=dead }}