other · Scandinavia and the Baltic

Ober Ost

1915 CE – 1918 CE · capital Kovno

German military state in occupied Lithuania, Courland and western Belarus during the First World War, run by Hindenburg and Ludendorff's staff.

Origins

After the German offensives of 1915 drove Russian armies out of Courland, Lithuania and the Grodno-Białystok region, the territory was placed under the Supreme Commander in the East, Oberbefehlshaber Ost, Paul von Hindenburg, with Erich Ludendorff as chief of staff. The headquarters moved to Kovno (Kaunas).

Rule and society

Ober Ost was a military administration that tried to remake the land according to German plans: it requisitioned food, timber and livestock, imposed forced labour and controlled movement through passes. It also sponsored newspapers, schools and surveys among Lithuanians, Latvians, Poles, Jews and Belarusians, seeing the region as a German colony.

Decline and legacy

After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, Germany allowed client institutions, including the Lithuanian Taryba, which had declared independence in February 1918, and planned a Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1918). Germany's defeat in November 1918 ended the administration, and the Republic of Lithuania and Republic of Latvia emerged.

Connections (2)

More states of Scandinavia and the Baltic →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ober Ost. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ober-ost
MLA
“Ober Ost.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ober-ost. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ober Ost.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ober-ost.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ober Ost’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ober-ost (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻