Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg in Tirol-Vorarlberg was held by Franz Hofer throughout the Reichsgau's history from 1938 to 1945. At the end of the Second World War, Tirol-Vorarlberg became the French occupation zone in Austria. Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg The Reichsgau Tirol-Vorarlberg (English: "Gau Tyrol-Vorarlberg") was an administrative division of Nazi Germany consisting of Vorarlberg and North Tyrol (both in Austria). It existed from 1938 to 1945. It did not include East Tyrol (Lienz), which was instead part of Reichsgau Kärnten. After the Italian Armistice with the Allies the Italian provinces of Belluno, South Tyrol and Trentino were placed under direct German control as the Operational
Vorarlberg the Swiss French in the 19th century by invitation during the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There has been a sizable minority of Turkish descent since the 1960s. 78% of the population are Roman Catholic, which puts Vorarlberg in line with the national Austrian average of 73.6%. The second-largest denomination, with a share of 8.4%, is Islam, mostly Turks. 7,817 (or 2.2%) of Vorarlberg's inhabitants are Protestants. For several years, the Vorarlberg economy has been performing well above the Austrian average. While the overall Austrian GDP in 2004 rose by 2.0% in real terms, Vorarlberg recorded an increase of 2.9%.