| ||||||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Berlin | |||||||||
| Language official |
German | |||||||||
| others | Dutch, Danish, Polish, Ukrainian, Slovenian | |||||||||
| Government | National Socialist Meritocracy | |||||||||
The Großdeutsches Reich (originally Deutsches Reich but most commonly called the Third Reich or Nazi Germany) comprised, at its maximum extent, the current countries of Germany, Crimea, Denmark, Galicia, Luxembourg, Moldavia, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Ukraine, as well as parts of Norway and northern Belgium.
The Reich was established in 1933 as the Deutsches Reich (German Empire/Realm), comprising originally Germany proper. By 1938, the Reich had included the former countries of Austria and Bohemia.
The invasion of Poland caused the Second Great War. In the first years of the War, the Reich invaded and annexed Denmark, southern Norway, and the Netherlands. The Reich also invaded Belgium and France, divided Belgium annexing the northern part and annexed Luxembourg.
In 1942, the Reich attacked the Soviet Union, completing the invasion of Poland, and invading and annexing Ukraine and parts of Romania (divided between the Reich, Hungary and Bulgaria).
Finally, in 1944, when controlling a rebellion against the friendly government in Yugoslavia, the Third Reich invaded Yugoslavia and annexed Slovenia.
In 1950, ten years after the invasion, southern Norway was returned to the Norwegian Kingdom. At this time, the Reich was in control of most of continental Europe, either as puppet regimes, or Axis allies. Some neutral countries such as Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Sweden, plus the British Allies of Finland, Estonia, and northern Norway were the only parts not in control by the Reich. Norway was unified on the condition to become neutral.
From 1950, the control of Europe begins to fade. The Reich policies begin to focus on consolidation, letting more autonomy to the Axis allies, or creating puppet states from occupied territory. Eventually some axis allies opted for neutrality or alliance with Britain, some times after civil wars.
In 1979, a civil war started after a succession conflict, prompting separatist movements in most regions.
In 1980, Slovenia issued a declaration of independence, and was soon recognized by Yugoslavia and the United Kingdom. Originally uncontested, when the Reich government attempted to crush the rebellion in 1981, a well-trained and British-supported Slovenian army defeated the demoralized Reich army.
The other separatist movements were controlled by one of the factions of the Nazi contenders. This situation lasted until 1986, when the governors of the Netherlands, Lower Saxony, Bavaria and Prussia banned the Nazi party and declared the end of the Reich. Given the popular support of these Land governments, they managed to convoke most army divisions to shut down the Nazi and SS offices. Soon separatist movements in Denmark, Galicia, Moldavia, Poland and Ukraine supported the declaration. By the end of the year the Reich was over.
Reich States[]
The Reich was divided in Germany proper, sister countries, and occupied territories, and all of them would be considered integral parts of the Reich. There would also be overseas territories.
Germany proper was further divided in Gaue (sg. Gau), with very limited autonomy, and who were mainly electoral districts for the NSDAP. From 1933 to 1979, several occupation territories were eventually integrated as Gaue, and therefore as part of Germany proper, including the Netherlands, Poland, Bohemia, Moldavia, and parts of Ukraine.
In 1959, the Gaue were grouped into administrative regions, based on proximity and cultural history. Some of the regions and Gaue at 1979 were:
| Region | Gau | Capital | Notes | Pre-war | Post-war |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Elsaß | Baden | Karlsruhe | |||
| " | Elsaß | Strasbourg | France | Germany | |
| Bayern | Bavarian Ostmark | Bayreuth | |||
| " | Franconia | Nuremberg | |||
| " | Main-Franconia | Würzburg | |||
| " | Munich-Upper Bavaria | Munich | |||
| " | Swabia | Augsburg | |||
| Böhmen-Mähren | Bohemia | Prague | Czechoslovakia | Germany | |
| " | Moravia | Brno | Czechoslovakia | Germany | |
| Brandenburg | Berlin | Berlin | |||
| " | March of Brandenburg | Berlin | |||
| Dänemark | Denmark | Copenhagen | Denmark | Denmark | |
| Donauland | Lower Danube | Krems | Austria | Germany | |
| " | Upper Danube | Linz | Austria | Germany | |
| " | Vienna | Vienna | Austria | Germany | |
| Hamburg | Hamburg | Hamburg | |||
| Hannover | Eastern Hanover | Lüneburg | |||
| " | Souhtern Hanover-Brunswick | Hanover | |||
| Hessen | Electoral Hesse | Kassel | |||
| " | Hesse-Nassau | Frankfurt | |||
| Krim | Crimea | Simferopol | Soviet Union (Russia) | Crimea | |
| Lothringen-Saar | Westmark | Metz | Germany and France | Germany | |
| Mecklenburg | Mecklenburg | Schwerin | |||
| Niederlande | Flanders-Antwerp | Antwerp | Belgium | Belgium | |
| " | Friesland | Leeuwarden | Netherlands | Netherlands | |
| " | Holland | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Netherlands | |
| Ostpreußen | East Prussia | Königsberg | |||
| " | New East Prussia | Bialystok | Poland | Poland | |
| Pommern | Pomerania | Stettin | |||
| Rheinland | Cologne-Aachen | Cologne | |||
| " | Düsseldorf | Düsseldorf | |||
| " | Essen | Essen | |||
| " | Moselland | Koblenz | Germany and Luxembourg | Germany and Luxembourg | |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | Halle-Merseburg | Halle | |||
| " | Magdeburg-Anhalt | Dessau | |||
| Sachsen | Saxony | Dresden | |||
| Schlesien | East Sudetenland | Ostrava | Czechoslovakia | Germany | |
| " | Lower Silesia | Breslau | |||
| " | New Silesia | Poland | Germany | ||
| " | Upper Silesia | Kattowitz | |||
| Schleswig-Holstein | Schleswig-Holstein | Kiel | includes Lübeck | ||
| Slowenien | Slovenia | Ljubljana | Yugoslavia, Austria, and Italy | Slovenia | |
| Steiermark | Styria | Graz | Austria | Germany | |
| Südpreußen | South Prussia | Warsaw | Poland | Poland | |
| Tirol-Salzburg | Carinthia | Klagenfurt | Austria | Germany | |
| " | Tirol-Vorarlberg | Innsbruck | Austria and Italy | Germany | |
| " | Salzburg | Salzburg | Austria | Germany | |
| Thüringen | Thuringia | Weimar | |||
| Weser-Ems | Weser-Ems | Oldemburg | includes Bremen | ||
| Westphalia | Westphalia-North | Münster | |||
| " | Westphalia-South | Dortmund | |||
| Westpreußen | Danzig-West Prussia | Danzig | Poland and Danzig | Germany | |
| " | Wartheland | Posen | Poland | Germany | |
| Württemberg | Württemberg-Hohenzollern | Stuttgart | |||
| Reichskommissariat | Capital | Notes | Pre-war | Post-war | |
| Galizien | Lviv | Poland and Soviet Union (Ukraine) | Galicia | ||
| Moldau | Odessa | Romania and Soviet Union (Ukraine) | Moldavia | ||
| Ostland | Vilnius | Poland and Soviet Union (Belarussia) | Poland | ||
| Ukraine | Kiev | Soviet Union (Ukraine) | Ukraine | ||