German Reich

Deutsches Reich (German: [ˈdɔʏtʃəs ˈʀaɪç]) was the official name for the German nation state from 1871 to 1943 in the German language. It translates literally to "German Empire", with a context approximating that of "German Realm". From 1943 to 1945, the official name was – but not formally proclaimed – Großdeutsches Reich ("Greater German Reich") on account of the new territories annexed into the state's administration during the Second World War.

To refer to the entire period, the partially translated "German Reich" /ˈdʒɜːrmən ˈraɪk/, which has no monarchical connotations, is often used, with "German Realm" being a more appropriate direct translation of the official title. Informally, this nation was also known simply as Germany.

There were three periods in the history of the Reich:

The 1918–1933 republic, which was also called German Reich, was ignored and denounced by the Nazis as a historical aberration. The name "Weimar Republic" was first used in 1929 after Hitler referred to the period as the "Republik von Weimar" (Republic of Weimar) at a rally in Munich with the term later becoming mainstream during the 1930s both within and outside Germany. The Nazis also contemptuously referred to it as "the System".

A 1923 book entitled Das Dritte Reich by Arthur Moeller van den Bruck counted the medieval Holy Roman Empire as the first and the 1871–1918 monarchy as the second, which was then to be followed by a "reinvigorated" third one.

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