What does the THIRD REICH mean?

The Third Reich, or Nazi Germany, It is one of the best known empires in the history of humanity, largely due to the enormous crimes against humanity that they caused in their years of existence. Yet many people do not know what the word means Reich, being a very important term in German history, but that we usually relate only to the Nazi era. To talk about all of this in depth, in this one-teacher lesson we need to talk about what What does Third Reich mean?.

Index

1. What was the Third Reich?
2. The First Reich and the Second Reich of Germany
3. Brief summary of the Third Reich

the third reich, also know as Nazi Germany or on rare occasions National Socialist Germany, is what is called the historical period comprised between 1933 and 1945, when Germany was ruled by the Nazi party and led by the Führer Adolf Hitler.

Therefore, we can define Third Reich as a totalitarian and fascist state that sought to control all aspects of German life, carrying out numerous repressions through the police and the army to cut off everyone's freedom.

Hitler regarded his Germany as an evolving empire, so his idea from the beginning was the imperialist expansion throughout Europe, trying to dominate as much territory as possible to make Germany a great empire again and could control and dominate Europe.

To understand the reasons that led Hitler to name his government as the Third Reich, we must talk about whats Reich that existed and about the word itself, to understand the historical importance that this term had for the Germans.

First of all we must understand that the word Reich it means empire in German, being, therefore, a word used to refer to the great German empire, although it was used differently. generalized way to officially name the German state as the German Empire between the years 1871 and 1945. Thus, we can say that the word Reich has been used in historiography to refer to the imperial periods of the germans and in the case of the Third Reich to give themselves the relevance of considering themselves a great empire.

Having commented on what the Reichs are, we must talk about the first two of them, to understand the enormous importance that this word had for the Germans and the reasons that led the Nazis to want to call themselves that.

First Reich

The term First Reich is used to name the Holy Germanic Empire, being one of the longest-lived empires in the world, ranking chronologically between 806 and 1806. More than a state as such, it was a set of imperial states directed by princes and all led by an emperor who had a non-hereditary position. It was one of the main forces in central and western Europe, until Napoleon forced them to disband in numerous battles in the early 19th century.

Second Reich

The Second Reich is the name given to the German period comprised between 1871 and 1918, starting with the unification of germany due to the important liberal revolutionary movements that devastated Europe during the 19th century and ending with the defeat in the First World War. It was one of the most powerful and rich nations in Europe, and is therefore considered one of the pioneers of the industrial revolutions.

To continue with this lesson on what the Third Reich means, we must briefly summarize the history of the Third Reich, in order to understand what we are referring to when we use this word.

After the Second Reich, Germany entered a historical period known as Weimar Republic, being a parliamentary democracy. After Hitler's victory In the 1933 elections, the Third Reich was born, replacing German democracy with a dictatorial and totalitarian state, disappearing all the rights of the Germans.

Hitler named himself Fuhrer, the leader of the Third Reich, and occupying all relevant political positions, so the dictator became someone above the law and untouchable. The idea of ​​​​Hitler is that he was a kind of emperor of the new Germany and, therefore, he was above everything.

The idea of ​​the Third Reich was to form a great empire and therefore began the Second World War, initiating attacks on many European populations, and with Hitler in mind to control all of Europe. Hitler defended the idea that Germany was biologically superior to the rest of the nations, and especially superior to other races such as the Jews or the gypsies, for which Hitler considered it necessary for his empire to expand.

In 1945 the Germans lost the war, ending the so-called Third Reich and slowly returning Germany to democracy. Being, for now, the last of the Reich that Germany has had.

If you want to read more articles similar to What does Third Reich mean - summary, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Burleigh, M. (2013). The Third Reich: A New History. Taurus.
• Bolano, R. (2016). the third reich. Alfaguara.
• Mosse, G. L. (2005). The nationalization of the masses: political symbolism and mass movement in Germany from the Napoleonic Wars to the Third Reich. Martial Pons History.