Following the referendum, the Council of the League of Nations decided that the Saar should return to Germany.[1] The Saar once again became part of Germany on 1 March 1935,[12] with Josef Bürckel as Reichskommissar. In 1936, it was incorporated into the Gau of Pfalz (Palatinate) to form the Gau Pfalz-Saar (renamed Saarpfalz in 1937 and Westmark in 1940).