German Reich Deutsche Reich | ||||||
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Anthem Das Lied der Deutschen "The Song of the Germans" Horst-Wessel-Lied "The Horst Wessel Song" | ||||||
Germany's territorial control at its greatest extent during World War II in 1942:
German Reich Civilian-administered occupied territories Military-administered occupied territories | ||||||
Capital | Berlin | |||||
Languages | German | |||||
Government | Unitary Nazi one-party fascist republic under a totalitarian dictatorship (1933–1934) Unitary Nazi one-party fascist constitutional monarchy under a totalitarian dictatorship (1934–1945) | |||||
President | ||||||
- | 1933–1934 | Paul von Hindenburg | ||||
Monarch | ||||||
- | 1934–1941 | Wilhelm II | ||||
- | 1941–1945 | Wilhelm III | ||||
Chancellor | ||||||
- | 1933–1945 | Adolf Hilter | ||||
Legislature | Reichstag | |||||
History | ||||||
- | Seizure of power | 30 January 1933 | ||||
- | Enabling Act | 23 March 1933 | ||||
- | Restoration of monarchy | 15 October 1934 | ||||
- | Anschluss | 12 March 1938 | ||||
- | WWII began | 1 September 1939 | ||||
- | Forced diestablishement | 12 May 1945 | ||||
Currency | Reichsmark |
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany quickly became a totalitarian state where nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the government. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", alluded to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which Hitler and the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945 after just 12 years when the Allies defeated Germany, ending World War II in Europe.