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<span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>The difference between "Reich" and "Empire"</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_difference_between_"Reich"_and_"Empire"-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Reich_as_"national_people"_versus_Reich_as_"state_territory"" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Reich_as_"national_people"_versus_Reich_as_"state_territory""> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Reich as "national people" versus Reich as "state territory"</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Reich_as_"national_people"_versus_Reich_as_"state_territory"-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Nazi_perspective_on_the_Weimar_Republic" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Nazi_perspective_on_the_Weimar_Republic"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Nazi perspective on the Weimar Republic</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Nazi_perspective_on_the_Weimar_Republic-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Fall_of_the_Third_Reich" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Fall_of_the_Third_Reich"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Fall of the Third Reich</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Fall_of_the_Third_Reich-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Divided_Germany" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Divided_Germany"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Divided Germany</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Divided_Germany-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Reunified_Germany" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Reunified_Germany"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Reunified Germany</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Reunified_Germany-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading">German <i>Reich</i></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 48 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-48" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">48 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-als mw-list-item"><a href="https://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Reich" title="Deutsches Reich – Alemannic" lang="gsw" hreflang="gsw" data-title="Deutsches Reich" data-language-autonym="Alemannisch" data-language-local-name="Alemannic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Alemannisch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%AE_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A" title="الرايخ الألماني – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="الرايخ الألماني" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-min-nan mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-min-nan.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tek-%C3%AC-ch%C3%AC_Kok" title="Tek-ì-chì Kok – Minnan" lang="nan" hreflang="nan" data-title="Tek-ì-chì Kok" data-language-autonym="閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú" data-language-local-name="Minnan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D1%96_%D1%80%D1%8D%D0%B9%D1%85" title="Германскі рэйх – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Германскі рэйх" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_(1871_%E2%80%93_1945)" title="Германска империя (1871 – 1945) – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Германска империя (1871 – 1945)" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%9Bmeck%C3%A1_%C5%99%C3%AD%C5%A1e" title="Německá říše – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Německá říše" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyske_Rige" title="Tyske Rige – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Tyske Rige" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Reich" title="Deutsches Reich – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Deutsches Reich" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saksa_Riik" title="Saksa Riik – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Saksa Riik" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%93%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%BC%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C_%CE%A1%CE%AC%CE%B9%CF%87" title="Γερμανικό Ράιχ – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Γερμανικό Ράιχ" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reich_alem%C3%A1n" title="Reich alemán – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Reich alemán" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germana_Regno" title="Germana Regno – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Germana Regno" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4_%D8%A2%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86" title="رایش آلمان – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="رایش آلمان" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reich_allemand" title="Reich allemand – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Reich allemand" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fy mw-list-item"><a href="https://fy.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BAtske_Ryk" title="Dútske Ryk – Western Frisian" lang="fy" hreflang="fy" data-title="Dútske Ryk" data-language-autonym="Frysk" data-language-local-name="Western Frisian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Frysk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%8F%85%EC%9D%BC%EA%B5%AD" title="독일국 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="독일국" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A8_%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%87%E0%A4%96" title="जर्मन राइख – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="जर्मन राइख" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reich_Jerman" title="Reich Jerman – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Reich Jerman" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reich_tedesco" title="Reich tedesco – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Reich tedesco" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9A_%D7%94%D7%92%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%99" title="הרייך הגרמני – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="הרייך הגרמני" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kk mw-list-item"><a href="https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%85%D1%96" title="Герман рейхі – Kazakh" lang="kk" hreflang="kk" data-title="Герман рейхі" data-language-autonym="Қазақша" data-language-local-name="Kazakh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Қазақша</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dola_la_Ujerumani" title="Dola la Ujerumani – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Dola la Ujerumani" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kiswahili</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Reich" title="Deutsches Reich – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Deutsches Reich" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latviešu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lb mw-list-item"><a href="https://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A4itscht_R%C3%A4ich" title="Däitscht Räich – Luxembourgish" lang="lb" hreflang="lb" data-title="Däitscht Räich" data-language-autonym="Lëtzebuergesch" data-language-local-name="Luxembourgish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lëtzebuergesch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vokietijos_reichas" title="Vokietijos reichas – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Vokietijos reichas" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A9met_Birodalom" title="Német Birodalom – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Német Birodalom" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%AE_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%89" title="الرايخ الالمانى – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="الرايخ الالمانى" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reich_Jerman" title="Reich Jerman – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Reich Jerman" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mn mw-list-item"><a href="https://mn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8B_%D1%8D%D0%B7%D1%8D%D0%BD%D1%82_%D0%B3%D2%AF%D1%80%D1%8D%D0%BD" title="Германы эзэнт гүрэн – Mongolian" lang="mn" hreflang="mn" data-title="Германы эзэнт гүрэн" data-language-autonym="Монгол" data-language-local-name="Mongolian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Монгол</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duitse_Rijk" title="Duitse Rijk – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Duitse Rijk" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%89%E3%82%A4%E3%83%84%E5%9B%BD" title="ドイツ国 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="ドイツ国" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Reich" title="Deutsches Reich – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Deutsches Reich" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nds mw-list-item"><a href="https://nds.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BC%C3%BCtsch_Riek" title="Düütsch Riek – Low German" lang="nds" hreflang="nds" data-title="Düütsch Riek" data-language-autonym="Plattdüütsch" data-language-local-name="Low German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Plattdüütsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reich_Alem%C3%A3o" title="Reich Alemão – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Reich Alemão" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichul_German" title="Reichul German – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Reichul German" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru badge-Q70894304 mw-list-item" title=""><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%85" title="Германский рейх – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Германский рейх" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sq mw-list-item"><a href="https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajhu_Gjerman" title="Rajhu Gjerman – Albanian" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" data-title="Rajhu Gjerman" data-language-autonym="Shqip" data-language-local-name="Albanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Shqip</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Reich" title="German Reich – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="German Reich" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemeck%C3%A1_r%C3%AD%C5%A1a_(1871_%E2%80%93_1945)" title="Nemecká ríša (1871 – 1945) – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Nemecká ríša (1871 – 1945)" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%8A%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%98%D1%85" title="Њемачки рајх – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Њемачки рајх" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saksan_valtakunta" title="Saksan valtakunta – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Saksan valtakunta" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyska_riket" title="Tyska riket – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Tyska riket" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%9C%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%AF%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D" title="ஜெர்மன் ரெய்க் – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="ஜெர்மன் ரெய்க்" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%8A%E0%B9%8C%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99" title="ไรช์เยอรมัน – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="ไรช์เยอรมัน" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alman_Reich" title="Alman Reich – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Alman Reich" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a 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id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Name for the German state (1871–1945)</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about the historical name for the German nation state. For the Third Reich, see <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a>. For its use in a narrower sense for the period 1871–1933, see <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a> and <a href="/wiki/Weimar_Republic" title="Weimar Republic">Weimar Republic</a>.</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist 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a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile nowraplinks vcard hlist"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title"><div class="sidebar-pretitle" style="margin: -0.2em 0; font-size:69%; font-weight:normal;">Part of <a href="/wiki/Category:History_of_Germany" title="Category:History of Germany">a series</a> on the</div></th> </tr><tr> <th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style=""><a href="/wiki/History_of_Germany" title="History of Germany">History of <span class="fn org label">Germany</span></a></th> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg/90px-Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg.png" decoding="async" width="90" height="116" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg/135px-Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg/180px-Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="396" data-file-height="510" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Topics</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_German_history" title="Timeline of German history">Chronology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Historiography_of_Germany" title="Historiography of Germany">Historiography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military_history_of_Germany" title="Military history of Germany">Military</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Economic_history_of_Germany" title="Economic history of Germany">Economy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_LGBT_history_in_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Timeline of LGBT history in Germany">LGBT</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Germany" title="History of the Jews in Germany">Judaism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_women_in_Germany" title="History of women in Germany">Women</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_Germany" title="Territorial evolution of Germany">Territorial evolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_historic_states_of_Germany" title="List of historic states of Germany">Historic states</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_states_in_the_Holy_Roman_Empire" title="List of states in the Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_German_monarchs" title="List of German monarchs">Monarchs</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_German_queens" title="List of German queens">Queens</a>, <a href="/wiki/List_of_Holy_Roman_empresses" title="List of Holy Roman empresses">Empresses</a>, <a href="/wiki/List_of_German_monarchs_in_1918" title="List of German monarchs in 1918">1918</a>, <a href="/wiki/Family_tree_of_German_monarchs" title="Family tree of German monarchs">Family tree</a>, <a href="/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Austria" title="List of rulers of Austria">Austria</a>, <a href="/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Bavaria" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rulers of Bavaria">Bavaria</a>, <a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Prussia" class="mw-redirect" title="List of monarchs of Prussia">Prussia</a>, <a href="/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Saxony" title="List of rulers of Saxony">Saxony</a>, <a href="/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rulers of Württemberg">Württemberg</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mediatised_houses" title="Mediatised houses">Mediatised</a>)</li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Early history</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Linear_Pottery_culture" title="Linear Pottery culture">Linear Pottery culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/%C3%9An%C4%9Btice_culture" title="Únětice culture">Únětice culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Urnfield_culture" title="Urnfield culture">Urnfield culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Germanic_peoples" title="Germanic peoples">Germanic peoples</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Migration_Period" title="Migration Period">Migration Period</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Barbarian_kingdoms" title="Barbarian kingdoms">Barbarian kingdoms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Francia" title="Francia">Frankish Empire</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Middle Ages</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/East_Francia" title="East Francia">East Francia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Germany" title="Kingdom of Germany">Kingdom of Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ostsiedlung" title="Ostsiedlung">Eastward settlement</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Germany_in_the_early_modern_period" title="Germany in the early modern period">Early Modern period</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kleinstaaterei" title="Kleinstaaterei">Sectionalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/18th-century_history_of_Germany" title="18th-century history of Germany">18th century</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Kingdom of Prussia</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Unification_of_Germany" title="Unification of Germany">Unification</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/German_mediatisation" title="German mediatisation">Mediatisation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Confederation_of_the_Rhine" title="Confederation of the Rhine">Confederation of the Rhine</a></li> <li><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation</a></li><li><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/Zollverein" title="Zollverein">Zollverein</a></i></span></li></ul></div></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_revolutions_of_1848%E2%80%931849" title="German revolutions of 1848–1849">German revolutions of 1848–1849</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_German_Confederation" title="North German Confederation">North German Confederation</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">German Reich</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px 0px;border:none"><tbody><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1871–1918</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/wiki/History_of_Germany_during_World_War_I" title="History of Germany during World War I">World War I</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1914–1918</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/wiki/Weimar_Republic" title="Weimar Republic">Weimar Republic</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1918–1933</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1933–1945</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1939–1945</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Contemporary Germany</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><table style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px 0px;border:none"><tbody><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germany" title="Allied-occupied Germany">Occupation</a></li><li><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/Former_eastern_territories_of_Germany" title="Former eastern territories of Germany">Ostgebiete</a></i></span></li></ul></div></td><td style="text-align:right;">1945–1949/1952</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/wiki/Flight_and_expulsion_of_Germans_(1944%E2%80%931950)" title="Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)">Expulsion of Germans</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">1944–1950</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/West_Germany" title="West Germany">West</a>–<a href="/wiki/East_Germany" title="East Germany">East</a> <a href="/wiki/History_of_Germany_(1945%E2%80%931990)" title="History of Germany (1945–1990)">division</a></li></ul></div></td><td style="text-align:right;">1949–1990</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/German_reunification" title="German reunification">Reunification</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/New_states_of_Germany" title="New states of Germany">New states</a></li></ul></div></td><td style="text-align:right;">1990</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="text-align:left;padding-right:0.65em;"><a href="/wiki/History_of_Germany_(1990%E2%80%93present)" title="History of Germany (1990–present)">Modern history</a></td><td style="text-align:right;">since 1990</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/16px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/24px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/32px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Germany" title="Portal:Germany">Germany portal</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/P_history.svg/16px-P_history.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/P_history.svg/24px-P_history.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/P_history.svg/32px-P_history.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="400" data-file-height="360" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:History" title="Portal:History">History portal</a></span></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:History_of_Germany_sidebar" title="Template:History of Germany sidebar"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:History_of_Germany_sidebar" title="Template talk:History of Germany sidebar"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:History_of_Germany_sidebar" title="Special:EditPage/Template:History of Germany sidebar"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>German <i>Reich</i></b> (<abbr style="font-size:85%" title="literal translation">lit.</abbr><span style="white-space: nowrap;"> </span><span class="gloss-quot">'</span><span class="gloss-text">German Empire, German Realm</span><span class="gloss-quot">'</span> from <a href="/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>: <i lang="de">Deutsches Reich</i>, <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1177148991">.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}</style><span class="IPA-label IPA-label-small">pronounced</span> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="de-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/Standard_German" title="Help:IPA/Standard German">[ˌdɔʏtʃəs<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈʁaɪç]</a></span> <span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-1" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt ext-phonos-PhonosButton-emptylabel oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/a\/a2\/De-Deutsches_Reich.ogg\/De-Deutsches_Reich.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"De-Deutsches Reich.ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt","ext-phonos-PhonosButton-emptylabel"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a2/De-Deutsches_Reich.ogg/De-Deutsches_Reich.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label"></span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/wiki/File:De-Deutsches_Reich.ogg" title="File:De-Deutsches Reich.ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span>) was the constitutional name for the German <a href="/wiki/Nation_state" title="Nation state">nation state</a> that existed from 1871 to 1945. The <i>Reich</i> became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German <i><a href="/wiki/Volk" title="Volk">Volk</a></i> ("national people"), with that authority and sovereignty being exercised at any one time over a unitary German <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">"state territory"</a> with variable boundaries and extent. Although commonly translated as "German Empire", the word <i>Reich</i> here better translates as "realm" or territorial "reach", in that the term does not in itself have monarchical connotations. </p><p>The name "German <i>Reich</i>" was officially <a href="/wiki/Proclamation_of_the_German_Empire" title="Proclamation of the German Empire">proclaimed on 18 January 1871</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Palace_of_Versailles" title="Palace of Versailles">Palace of Versailles</a> by <a href="/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck" title="Otto von Bismarck">Otto von Bismarck</a> and <a href="/wiki/William_I,_German_Emperor" title="William I, German Emperor">Wilhelm I of Prussia</a>. After the <a href="/wiki/Anschluss" title="Anschluss">annexation of Austria to Germany</a> on 12–13 March 1938, the name <b>"Greater German <i>Reich</i>"</b> (<a href="/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>: <i lang="de">Großdeutsches Reich</i>) began to be used alongside with the he official name "German <i>Reich</i>". According to the decree of the Chief of the <a href="/wiki/Reich_Chancellery" title="Reich Chancellery"><i>Reich</i> Chancellery</a> <a href="/wiki/Hans_Lammers" title="Hans Lammers">Hans Lammers</a> of 26 June 1943, the name "Greater German <i>Reich</i>" became mandatory in official documents.<sup id="cite_ref-greater_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-greater-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The German <i>Reich</i> collapsed de facto with the <a href="/wiki/Death_of_Adolf_Hitler" title="Death of Adolf Hitler">death of Adolf Hitler</a> on 30 April 1945,<sup id="cite_ref-fall_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fall-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> when the <a href="/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II" title="Allies of World War II">Allies</a> decided not to recognise <a href="/wiki/Karl_D%C3%B6nitz" title="Karl Dönitz">Karl Dönitz</a> as the <a href="/wiki/President_of_Germany_(1919%E2%80%931945)" title="President of Germany (1919–1945)"><i>Reich</i> President</a> and to grant no legitimacy to the <a href="/wiki/Flensburg_Government" title="Flensburg Government">Flensburg Government</a> he had formed. On 5 June 1945, the Allies signed the <a href="/wiki/Berlin_Declaration_(1945)" title="Berlin Declaration (1945)">Berlin Declaration</a> concerning the defeat of Germany and the assumption of supreme authority over Germany, by which they established the <a href="/wiki/Allied_Control_Council" title="Allied Control Council">Allied Control Council</a> and assumed supreme authority over German territory. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/West_Germany" title="West Germany">Federal Republic of Germany</a> asserted, following its establishment on 23 May 1949, that within its boundaries it was the sole legal continuation of the German Reich, and consequently not a successor state. Nevertheless, the Federal Republic did not maintain the specific title <i>German Reich</i>, and so consistently replaced the prefix <i>Reichs-</i> in all official titles and designations with <i>Bundes-</i> ("Federal"). Hence, for instance, the office of the <i><a href="/wiki/Chancellor_of_Germany#Chancellor_of_the_German_Reich" title="Chancellor of Germany">Reichskanzler</a></i> became the <i><a href="/wiki/Chancellor_of_Germany#Federal_Chancellor_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany_(1949–present)" title="Chancellor of Germany">Bundeskanzler</a></i>. Following <a href="/wiki/German_reunification" title="German reunification">German reunification</a> on 3 October 1990, the expanded Federal Republic describes itself as "United <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a>", emphasizing that it does not now recognize any territories once included in the former German Reich outside its boundaries as having a valid claim to be a part of Germany as a whole. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Use">Use</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Reich&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Use"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In referring to the entire period between 1871 and 1945, the partially translated English phrase "<b>German Reich</b>" (<span class="rt-commentedText nowrap"><span class="IPA nopopups noexcerpt" lang="en-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/-<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span title="/ˈ/: primary stress follows">ˈ</span><span title="'r' in 'rye'">r</span><span title="/aɪ/: 'i' in 'tide'">aɪ</span><span title="'k' in 'kind'">k</span></span>/</a></span></span>) is applied by historians in formal contexts;<sup id="cite_ref-EB_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EB-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> although in common English usage this state was and is known simply as <b>Germany</b>, the English term "German Empire" is reserved to denote the German state between 1871 and 1918. </p><p>The history of the nation state known as the German <i>Reich</i> is commonly divided into three periods: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a> (1871–1918)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Weimar_Republic" title="Weimar Republic">Weimar Republic</a> (1918–1933)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> (1933–1945)</li></ul> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Silhouette_of_German_Empire.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Silhouette_of_German_Empire.svg/220px-Silhouette_of_German_Empire.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="183" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Silhouette_of_German_Empire.svg/330px-Silhouette_of_German_Empire.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Silhouette_of_German_Empire.svg/440px-Silhouette_of_German_Empire.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="747" /></a><figcaption>German Empire (1871-1918)</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Weimar_Republic_Flag_Map.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Weimar_Republic_Flag_Map.jpg/220px-Weimar_Republic_Flag_Map.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="238" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Weimar_Republic_Flag_Map.jpg/330px-Weimar_Republic_Flag_Map.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Weimar_Republic_Flag_Map.jpg/440px-Weimar_Republic_Flag_Map.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="1080" /></a><figcaption>Weimar Republic (1919-1933)</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Nazi_Germany_in_1939.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Nazi_Germany_in_1939.png/220px-Nazi_Germany_in_1939.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="223" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Nazi_Germany_in_1939.png/330px-Nazi_Germany_in_1939.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Nazi_Germany_in_1939.png/440px-Nazi_Germany_in_1939.png 2x" data-file-width="2021" data-file-height="2048" /></a><figcaption>Nazi Germany (in the end of 1939)</figcaption></figure> <p>However the term <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Deutsches Reich</i></span> dates back earlier than all of this. It was occasionally applied in contemporary maps to the <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> (962–1806), also called the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" from 1512. The Holy Roman Empire however was not exclusively German-speaking but constituted a supranational entity extending beyond the frontiers of the German language area (<i><a href="/wiki/Sprachraum" title="Sprachraum">Sprachraum</a></i>). The first attempt to re-establish a "German Empire" during the 1848 <a href="/wiki/Revolutions_of_1848_in_the_German_states" class="mw-redirect" title="Revolutions of 1848 in the German states">March Revolution</a> by the <a href="/wiki/Frankfurt_Constitution" title="Frankfurt Constitution">Frankfurt Constitution</a> ultimately failed: it was aborted by the monarchs of the <a href="/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation</a>, especially by the Prussian aristocracy and the <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">King of Prussia</a> himself, which opposed <a href="/wiki/German_nationalism" title="German nationalism">German nationalism</a>, as then was associated with the idea of <a href="/wiki/Popular_sovereignty" title="Popular sovereignty">popular sovereignty</a>. </p><p>A 1923 book entitled <i><a href="/wiki/Das_Dritte_Reich" title="Das Dritte Reich">Das Dritte Reich</a></i> by <a href="/wiki/Arthur_Moeller_van_den_Bruck" title="Arthur Moeller van den Bruck">Arthur Moeller van den Bruck</a><sup id="cite_ref-TR-N-01_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-TR-N-01-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> counted the medieval <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> as the first, and the <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">1871–1918 monarchy</a> as the second, which was then to be followed by a "reinvigorated" third one. Subsequently the Nazi regime was (unofficially) called the "<a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Third Reich</a>"; this usage was sometimes contemporaneous, but mostly retrospective and applied by non-Germans. </p><p>Following the <i><a href="/wiki/Anschluss" title="Anschluss">Anschluss</a></i> annexation of <a href="/wiki/Federal_State_of_Austria" title="Federal State of Austria">Austria</a> in 1938, Nazi Germany informally named itself the <b>Greater German</b> <i><b>Reich</b></i> (<a href="/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>: <i lang="de">Großdeutsches Reich</i>). This name was made the official state name only during the last two years (1943–1945) of Nazi rule under <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-greater_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-greater-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> although the change was never proclaimed. After <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>, the denotation "German <i>Reich</i>" quickly fell into disuse in <a href="/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germany" title="Allied-occupied Germany">Allied-occupied Germany</a>, however, and the state's continued existence remained a matter of debate; the post-war <a href="/wiki/West_Germany" title="West Germany">Bonn Republic</a> maintained the continued existence of the German <i>Reich</i> as an 'overall state", but dormant while East and West Germany continued to be divided. Nevertheless, when Germany was reunited in 1990 the term "German <i>Reich</i>" was not revived as a title for the <a href="/wiki/History_of_Germany_(1990%E2%80%93present)" title="History of Germany (1990–present)">Berlin Republic</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_difference_between_"Reich"_and_"Empire""><span id="The_difference_between_.22Reich.22_and_.22Empire.22"></span>The difference between "Reich" and "Empire"</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Reich&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: The difference between "Reich" and "Empire""><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Deutsches_Kaiserreich_1893.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Deutsches_Kaiserreich_1893.jpg/220px-Deutsches_Kaiserreich_1893.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="174" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Deutsches_Kaiserreich_1893.jpg/330px-Deutsches_Kaiserreich_1893.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Deutsches_Kaiserreich_1893.jpg/440px-Deutsches_Kaiserreich_1893.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3049" data-file-height="2411" /></a><figcaption><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Deutsches Reich</i></span>, 1893 map</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Reich" title="Reich">Reich</a></div> <p>The German word <i>Reich</i> translates to the English word "empire"; it also translates to such words as "realm" or "domain." However, this translation was not used throughout the full existence of the German Reich. Historically, only Germany from 1871 to 1918—when Germany was under the rule of an emperor (<i><a href="/wiki/Kaiser" title="Kaiser">Kaiser</a></i>)—is known in English as the "German Empire" (<i>Deutsches Kaiserreich</i> in German historiography), while the term "German Reich" describes Germany from 1871 to 1945.<sup id="cite_ref-EB_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EB-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> As the literal translation "German Empire" denotes a monarchy, the term is used only in reference to Germany before the <a href="/wiki/German_Revolution_of_1918%E2%80%931919" class="mw-redirect" title="German Revolution of 1918–1919">fall of the monarchy</a> at the end of <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> in 1918. </p><p>After the <a href="/wiki/Unification_of_Germany" title="Unification of Germany">unification of Germany</a>, under the reign of the Prussian king <a href="/wiki/William_I,_German_Emperor" title="William I, German Emperor">Wilhelm I</a> and his Chancellor <a href="/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck" title="Otto von Bismarck">Otto von Bismarck</a>, the historic German states (<i>e.g.</i> <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Bavaria" title="Kingdom of Bavaria">Bavaria</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Saxony" title="Kingdom of Saxony">Saxony</a>) were united with <a href="/wiki/Prussia" title="Prussia">Prussia</a> under imperial rule, by the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Hohenzollern" title="House of Hohenzollern">Hohenzollern dynasty</a>. On 18 January 1871, Wilhelm I was proclaimed "German Emperor" at the <a href="/wiki/Hall_of_Mirrors" title="Hall of Mirrors">Hall of Mirrors</a> in <a href="/wiki/Versailles" class="mw-redirect" title="Versailles">Versailles</a>, the German Reich was officially declared <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Deutsches Reich</i></span>, or "German Empire",<sup id="cite_ref-1910collision_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1910collision-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> explicitly harking back to the extinct <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>. The title "German Emperor" was a compromise; Wilhelm I had wanted the title of "Emperor of Germany", but Bismarck refused this, so as to avoid implying a claim to extended monarchical authority over non-Prussian German kingdoms. On 14 April 1871, the <a href="/wiki/Reichstag_(German_Empire)" title="Reichstag (German Empire)">Reichstag</a> parliament passed the <a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_the_German_Empire" title="Constitution of the German Empire">Constitution of the German Empire</a> (<i>Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches</i>), which was published two days later. </p><p>However, originating from the <a href="/wiki/North_German_Confederation" title="North German Confederation">North German Confederation</a>, the Empire never comprised all "German" lands; as it excluded <a href="/wiki/Luxembourg" title="Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a>, and those <a href="/wiki/Cisleithania" title="Cisleithania">Cisleithanian</a> crown lands of <a href="/wiki/Austria-Hungary" title="Austria-Hungary">Austria-Hungary</a> which had been part of the former <a href="/wiki/German_Confederation" title="German Confederation">German Confederation</a> until 1865. Moreover, it included the whole of the <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Kingdom of Prussia</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Prussia_(region)" title="Prussia (region)">eastern parts of which</a> had never been included in historic German lands. The unification under Prussian leadership manifested Bismarck's "Lesser German" solution of the <a href="/wiki/German_question" title="German question">German question</a> after the <a href="/wiki/Austro-Prussian_War" title="Austro-Prussian War">Austro-Prussian War</a> of 1866, realised with the support of his <a href="/wiki/National_liberalism" title="National liberalism">national liberal</a> allies. On the other hand, the German Reich of 1871 comprised extended Prussian territories with large non-German sections of the population, like <a href="/wiki/Province_of_Posen" title="Province of Posen">Posen</a>, <a href="/wiki/Province_of_West_Prussia" class="mw-redirect" title="Province of West Prussia">West Prussia</a> or <a href="/wiki/Province_of_Schleswig-Holstein" title="Province of Schleswig-Holstein">Schleswig</a>, and also territories with predominantly German populations which had never been constitutionally "German" (Holy Roman), such as <a href="/wiki/Province_of_East_Prussia" class="mw-redirect" title="Province of East Prussia">East Prussia</a>. </p><p>Bismarck was otherwise unable, however, to avoid the term <i>German Reich</i> acquiring connotations from the English term "empire" or the Dutch term "rijk" in the context of <a href="/wiki/German_colonial_empire" title="German colonial empire">German colonial expansion</a> during the <a href="/wiki/New_Imperialism" title="New Imperialism">New Imperialism</a> period. Following in the example of other <a href="/wiki/History_of_colonialism" title="History of colonialism">European colonial empires</a>, Imperial Germany (against Bismarck's intentions) started to rapidly acquire overseas colonies, including possessions in Africa, Oceania and China; the <a href="/wiki/Imperial_German_Navy" title="Imperial German Navy">Imperial German Navy</a> underwent a rapid expansion concurrently to protect these new colonies. At the same time strong <a href="/wiki/Pan-Germanism" title="Pan-Germanism">Pan-Germanic</a> political forces emerged, pressing for the borders of the <i>Reich</i> to be extended into a multiethnic German-led <a href="/wiki/Central_Europe" title="Central Europe">Central European</a> empire, emulating and rivalling <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Imperial Russia</a> to the east.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (December 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>Before and during the events of <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a>, the German state was called an "empire" in English and <a href="/wiki/Wilhelm_II,_German_Emperor" class="mw-redirect" title="Wilhelm II, German Emperor">Wilhelm II</a> was titled "His Imperial and Royal Majesty the German Emperor." After the War and the abolition of the monarchy during the <a href="/wiki/German_Revolution_of_1918%E2%80%9319" class="mw-redirect" title="German Revolution of 1918–19">German Revolution of 1918–1919</a>, however, when Wilhelm was forced to abdicate, the official English name for Germany was the "German Reich": <i>Reich</i> was left untranslated and no longer referred to an "empire" but, instead, took on the connotation of "Realm" or "State", its original (1871) definition. "German Reich" was used in legal documents and English-language international treaties—for example, the <a href="/wiki/Kellogg%E2%80%93Briand_Pact" title="Kellogg–Briand Pact">Kellogg–Briand Pact</a><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the <a href="/wiki/Geneva_Conventions" title="Geneva Conventions">Geneva Conventions</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Apart from official documents, post-World War I Germany was referred to as the "German Reich"—never as the "German Empire"—for example, by British politicians<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>—and in the aftermath of World War II the word "Reich" was used untranslated by Allied prosecutors throughout the <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_Trials" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuremberg Trials">Nuremberg Trials</a>, with "German Empire" only used to describe Germany before it became a federal republic in 1918. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Reich_as_"national_people"_versus_Reich_as_"state_territory""><span id="Reich_as_.22national_people.22_versus_Reich_as_.22state_territory.22"></span>Reich as "national people" versus Reich as "state territory"</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Reich&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Reich as "national people" versus Reich as "state territory""><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>At the 1871 Unification of Germany (aside from Austria), the Reich was established constitutionally as a federation of monarchies, each having entered the federation with a defined territory; and consequently the unitary nationalism of the 'German Reich' was initially specified (at Article 1 of the 1871 constitution) in territorial terms, as the lands within the former boundaries of this particular subset of German monarchies.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This geographical understanding of the Reich became steadily superseded in the period up to the first World War by an understanding of the German Reich as a unitary nation state identified with the German national people according to the principle of <i><a href="/wiki/Jus_sanguinis" title="Jus sanguinis">jus sanguinis</a></i>, and drawing on the rhetoric of "the sovereignty of the nation" in the <a href="/wiki/Frankfurt_Constitution" title="Frankfurt Constitution">Frankfurt Constitution</a><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>—albeit that many ethnic "<a href="/wiki/Germans" title="Germans">Germans</a>" (as with the German-speaking peoples of Austria) remained outside the national people constituting the German Empire of 1871 and also that the Empire of 1871 included extensive territories (such as <a href="/wiki/Province_of_Posen" title="Province of Posen">Posen</a>) with predominantly non-German populations. This transition became formalised in the <a href="/wiki/Weimar_Constitution" title="Weimar Constitution">constitution of the Weimar Republic</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> where Article 1 identifies the Reich as deriving its authority from the German national people, while Article 2 identifies the state territory under the Reich as the lands which, at the time of the constitution's adoption, were within the authority of the German state. The identity of Reich and people ran both ways—not only did the institutions of the German state derive their legitimacy from the German people, so, too, the German people derived their inherent identity and patriotic duties from their being collectively constituted as an organ and institution of the German Reich.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Subsequently the term "German Reich" continued to be applied both as identifying with the national people, and also with the state territory; but increasingly, the application of the term to the German national people came to be seen as primary.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Following the Second World War, the term "German Reich" fell out of use in constitutional formulations, being replaced by the term "nation as a whole", as applied to denote the state as a totality of the German national people; and the term "Germany as a whole", as applied to denote the state as a totality of German national territory. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Nazi_perspective_on_the_Weimar_Republic">Nazi perspective on the Weimar Republic</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Reich&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Nazi perspective on the Weimar Republic"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Weimar_Republic" title="Weimar Republic">1918–1933 republic</a>, which was also called the 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 "<i>Republik von Weimar</i>" (Republic of Weimar, after the city (<a href="/wiki/Weimar" title="Weimar">Weimar</a>) which held its constitutional assembly) at a rally in Munich with the term later becoming mainstream during the 1930s both within and outside Germany.<sup id="cite_ref-EvMaSchnurr_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EvMaSchnurr-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Nazis also contemptuously referred to it as "<a href="/wiki/The_System_(Nazism)" title="The System (Nazism)">the System</a>".<sup id="cite_ref-berning_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-berning-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Fall_of_the_Third_Reich">Fall of the Third Reich</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Reich&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Fall of the Third Reich"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On 8 May 1945, with the <a href="/wiki/German_Instrument_of_Surrender" title="German Instrument of Surrender">capitulation</a> of the German armed forces, the <a href="/wiki/Oberkommando_der_Wehrmacht" title="Oberkommando der Wehrmacht">supreme command</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Wehrmacht" title="Wehrmacht">Wehrmacht</a> was handed over to the <a href="/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II" title="Allies of World War II">Allies</a>. The Allies refused to recognise <a href="/wiki/Karl_D%C3%B6nitz" title="Karl Dönitz">Karl Dönitz</a> as <i>Reichspräsident</i> or to recognise the legitimacy of his <a href="/wiki/Flensburg_Government" title="Flensburg Government">Flensburg Government</a> (so-called because it was based at <a href="/wiki/Flensburg" title="Flensburg">Flensburg</a> and controlled only a small area around the town) and, on 5 June 1945, the four powers signed the <a href="/wiki/Berlin_Declaration_(1945)" title="Berlin Declaration (1945)">Berlin Declaration</a> and assumed de jure supreme authority with respect to Germany.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The declaration confirmed the complete legal extinction of the <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Third Reich</a> with the <a href="/wiki/Death_of_Adolf_Hitler" title="Death of Adolf Hitler">death of Adolf Hitler</a> on 30 April 1945, but asserted the continued subsequent existence of a German people and a German national territory; although subject to the four signatory powers also asserting their authority to determine the future boundaries of Germany.<sup id="cite_ref-fall_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fall-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>At the <a href="/wiki/Potsdam_Conference" title="Potsdam Conference">Potsdam Conference</a>, <a href="/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germany" title="Allied-occupied Germany">Allied-occupied Germany</a> was defined as comprising "Germany as a whole"; and was divided into <a href="/wiki/British_occupation_zone" class="mw-redirect" title="British occupation zone">British</a>, <a href="/wiki/French_occupation_zone" class="mw-redirect" title="French occupation zone">French</a>, <a href="/wiki/American_occupation_zone" class="mw-redirect" title="American occupation zone">American</a> and <a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_zone" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet occupation zone">Soviet</a> occupation zones; while the Allied Powers exercised the state authority assumed by the Berlin Declaration in transferring the <a href="/wiki/Former_eastern_territories_of_Germany" title="Former eastern territories of Germany">former eastern territories of the German Reich</a> east of the <a href="/wiki/Oder%E2%80%93Neisse_line" title="Oder–Neisse line">Oder–Neisse line</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Polish_People%27s_Republic" title="Polish People's Republic">Republic of Poland</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Divided_Germany">Divided Germany</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Reich&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Divided Germany"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In 1973, in a review of the previous year's <a href="/wiki/Basic_Treaty,_1972" title="Basic Treaty, 1972">Basic Treaty between East and West Germany</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Federal_Constitutional_Court_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Federal Constitutional Court of Germany">German Federal Constitutional Court</a> (<i>Bundesverfassungsgericht</i>) ruled that according to the <a href="/wiki/Basic_Law_for_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany" title="Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany">Basic Law</a> of the <a href="/wiki/West_Germany" title="West Germany">Federal Republic of Germany</a> the German <i>Reich</i> had outlasted the collapse in 1945, and hence had continued to exist as an “overall state”, albeit one not itself capable of action. The court ruled that since 1949 the Federal Republic (FRG) had been partially identical with the German <i>Reich</i> and not merely its <a href="/wiki/Succession_of_states" title="Succession of states">successor</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The court further elaborated that the 'partial identity' of the FRG was limited to apply only within its current <i>de facto</i> territory; and hence the Federal Republic could not claim an <a href="/wiki/Exclusive_mandate" title="Exclusive mandate">exclusive mandate</a> for the territory of the <i>Reich</i> then under the <i>de facto</i> government of the German Democratic Republic; "identity does not require exclusivity". This was explained as being because the German Democratic Republic was beyond FRG authority and because the Allied powers still had jurisdiction where "Germany as a whole" was concerned. Nevertheless, the Court insisted that within the territory of the Federal Republic, the GDR could only be considered as one <i>de jure</i> German state amongst others, on the analogy of the pre-existing <i>de jure</i> German states that in 1949 had come together as the Federal Republic; and hence, like them, could never be accorded by the organs of the Federal Republic full recognition as a state in international law; even though the Federal Constitutional Court recognised that, within international law, the GDR was indeed an independent sovereign state. The constitutional status of the GDR under the Basic Law still differed from that of the <i><a href="/wiki/Bundesland_(Germany)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bundesland (Germany)">Länder</a></i> of the Federal Republic, in that the GDR had not declared its accession to the Basic Law; but the Constitutional Court maintained that the Basic Treaty was consistent with the GDR declaring its accession at some time in the future in accordance with its own constitution; and hence the Court determined that in recognising the GDR as a <i>de jure</i> German State, the Basic Treaty could be interpreted as facilitating the reunification of the German <i>Reich</i> (as indeed it eventually did). So long as any <i>de jure</i> German state remained separated from the rest, the German <i>Reich</i> could continue to exist only in suspension; but should the GDR be reunited with the Federal Republic, the <i>Reich</i> would once more be fully capable of action as a sovereign state. </p> <blockquote><p>"In Article 6 the Contracting Parties agree that they shall base themselves on the principle that the sovereign power of each of the two States be confined to its State territory and that they will respect the independence and autonomy of each of the two States in domestic and foreign affairs. This agreement too is compatible with the Basic Law only if interpreted to the effect that for the Federal Republic of Germany the basis of this Treaty is the continued existence of Germany, which has according to the Basic Law to be recognized as a State (albeit not organized and therefore not capable of action), and that accordingly the mutual restriction of sovereign power to the territory of the State and respect for the independence and autonomy of each of the two States in domestic and foreign affairs has its reference to the special situation in which both States find themselves vis-à-vis each other as sub-States of Germany as a whole."</p></blockquote> <p>After 1973, however, the claimed identity of the Federal Republic with the German <i>Reich</i> was not recognised by most other countries of the world. The Soviet Union, the three Western allies, and most other Western countries regarded the German <i>Reich</i> as still being one nation—not synonymous with either the West or East German state but rather the two states in collective. Other countries tended to regard the German <i>Reich</i> as having been divided into two distinct states in international law, and accordingly accorded both states full diplomatic recognition. As of 1974, East Germany's official stance was that the GDR was a new state that is German in nature, a successor of the German Reich,<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and that there were then two German states that were different nations. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Reunified_Germany">Reunified Germany</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Reich&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Reunified Germany"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>When the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_on_the_Final_Settlement_with_Respect_to_Germany" title="Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany">Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany</a> between Germany and the wartime Allies was signed on 12 September 1990, there was no mention of the term <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Deutsches Reich</i></span>, however the Allies paraphrased the international legal personality of Germany as "Germany as a whole" in the English version of the text. Instead the <a href="/wiki/States_of_Germany" title="States of Germany">states of the Federal Republic of Germany</a> (<a href="/wiki/West_Germany" title="West Germany">West Germany</a>, FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (<a href="/wiki/East_Germany" title="East Germany">East Germany</a>, GDR) agreed to be bound by certain conditions which they had to ratify, one of which was the recognising the reunification of East Germany, West Germany and Berlin as constituting the full achievement of a united Germany. On meeting these conditions under Article 7.2 "The United Germany [has] accordingly full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs."<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Under Article 1 of the Treaty on Final Settlement, the new united Germany committed itself to renouncing any further territorial claims beyond the boundaries of East Germany, West Germany and Berlin; "The united Germany has no territorial claims whatsoever against other states and shall not assert any in the future." Furthermore the <a href="/wiki/Basic_Law_for_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany" title="Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany">Basic Law of the Federal Republic</a> was required to be amended to state explicitly that full German unification had now been achieved, such that the new German state comprised the entirety of Germany, and that all constitutional mechanisms should be removed by which any territories outside those boundaries could otherwise subsequently be admitted; these amendments being bound by treaty not to be revoked. Article 23 of the Basic Law was repealed, closing off the possibility for any further states to apply for membership of the Federal Republic; while Article 146 was amended to state explicitly that the territory of the newly unified republic comprised the entirety of the German people; "This Basic Law, which since the achievement of the unity and freedom of Germany applies to the entire German people, shall cease to apply on the day on which a constitution freely adopted by the German people takes effect". This was confirmed in the 1990 rewording of the preamble; "Germans..have achieved the unity and freedom of Germany in free <a href="/wiki/Self-determination" title="Self-determination">self-determination</a>. This Basic Law thus applies to the entire German people." In place of the former Article 23 under which the former GDR had declared its accession to the Federal Republic, a new Article 23 embedded the accession of the Federal Republic to the European Union within the Basic Law; hence with the subsequent accession of Poland to the EU, the constitutional bar on pursuing any claim to territories beyond the <a href="/wiki/Oder%E2%80%93Neisse_line" title="Oder–Neisse line">Oder–Neisse line</a> was reinforced. Insofar as the German Reich may be claimed to continue in existence as 'Germany as a whole', the <a href="/wiki/Former_eastern_territories_of_Germany" title="Former eastern territories of Germany">former eastern territories of Germany</a> in Poland or Russia, and the western territories, such as the <a href="/wiki/East_Cantons" class="mw-redirect" title="East Cantons">East Cantons</a> or <a href="/wiki/Alsace-Lorraine" class="mw-redirect" title="Alsace-Lorraine">Alsace-Lorraine</a>, are now definitively and permanently excluded from ever again being united within this Reich under the Basic Law. </p><p>Hence, although the GDR had by the <a href="/wiki/Volkskammer" title="Volkskammer">Volkskammer</a>'s declaration of accession to the Federal Republic, initiated the process of reunification; the act of reunification itself (with its many specific terms and conditions; including the fundamental amendments to the Basic Law required by the Treaty of Final Settlement) was achieved constitutionally by the subsequent Unification Treaty of 31 August 1990; that is through a binding agreement between the former GDR and the Federal Republic now recognising each another as separate sovereign states in international law.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This treaty was then voted into effect by both the Volkskammer and the <a href="/wiki/Bundestag" title="Bundestag">Bundestag</a> by the constitutionally required two-thirds majorities; effecting on the one hand, the extinction of the GDR, and on the other, the agreed amendments to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic. Hence, although the GDR had nominally declared its accession to the Federal Republic under Article 23 of the Basic Law, this did not imply its acceptance of the Basic Law as it then stood; but rather of the Basic Law as subsequently amended in line with the Unification Treaty and the Treaty of Final Settlement. These amendments had the effect of removing all those clauses by which the Federal Constitutional Court had formerly maintained the identity of the Federal Republic with the historic 'German Reich', specifically including the very Article 23 that had provided the basis for the Volkskammer's declaration of accession. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Reich&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/National_colours_of_Germany" title="National colours of Germany">National colours of Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Germany_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Germany (disambiguation)">Germany (disambiguation)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_Empire_(1848%E2%80%9349)" class="mw-redirect" title="German Empire (1848–49)">German Empire (1848–49)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greater_Germanic_Reich" title="Greater Germanic Reich">Greater Germanic Reich</a> – a conceptual entity that the Nazis planned to establish during World War II</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Reich&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-greater-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-greater_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-greater_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Decree RK 7669 E of the <i>Reichsminister</i> and head of the <i>Reich</i> chancellery <a href="/wiki/Hans_Lammers" title="Hans Lammers">Hans Lammers</a>, 26 June 1943.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-fall-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-fall_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-fall_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFKelsen1947" class="citation journal cs1">Kelsen, Hans (1947). "Is a peace treaty with Germany legally Possible and Politically Desirable?". <i>American Political Science Review</i>. <b>41</b> (6): 1188–1193. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fs0003055400261108">10.1017/s0003055400261108</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=American+Political+Science+Review&rft.atitle=Is+a+peace+treaty+with+Germany+legally+Possible+and+Politically+Desirable%3F&rft.volume=41&rft.issue=6&rft.pages=1188-1193&rft.date=1947&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1017%2Fs0003055400261108&rft.aulast=Kelsen&rft.aufirst=Hans&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-EB-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-EB_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-EB_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">"Germany" in the <i><a href="/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica" title="Encyclopædia Britannica">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-TR-N-01-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-TR-N-01_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><i>The man who invented the Third Reich: the life and times of Arthur Moeller van den Bruck</i>. Npi Media Ltd. May 1, 1999. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-75-091866-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-75-091866-4"><bdi>978-0-75-091866-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+man+who+invented+the+Third+Reich%3A+the+life+and+times+of+Arthur+Moeller+van+den+Bruck&rft.pub=Npi+Media+Ltd&rft.date=1999-05-01&rft.isbn=978-0-75-091866-4&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-1910collision-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1910collision_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.admiraltylawguide.com/conven/collisions1910.html">"Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law with respect to Collisions between Vessels"</a>. Brussels. 23 September 1910. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140319123326/http://www.admiraltylawguide.com/conven/collisions1910.html">Archived</a> from the original on 19 March 2014<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">6 August</span> 2007</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Convention+for+the+Unification+of+Certain+Rules+of+Law+with+respect+to+Collisions+between+Vessels&rft.place=Brussels&rft.date=1910-09-23&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.admiraltylawguide.com%2Fconven%2Fcollisions1910.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span>—an example of a legal document in which Germany is officially referred to as "the German Empire"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120509201753/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/kbpact.htm">"Full text of the Kellogg–Briand Pact"</a>. 27 August 1928. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/kbpact.htm">the original</a> on 2012-05-09.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Full+text+of+the+Kellogg%E2%80%93Briand+Pact&rft.date=1928-08-27&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yale.edu%2Flawweb%2Favalon%2Fimt%2Fkbpact.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1931/7.html">"Full text of the Geneva Convention"</a>. 27 July 1929. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171117195201/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1931/7.html">Archived</a> from the original on 17 November 2017<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">30 August</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Full+text+of+the+Geneva+Convention&rft.date=1929-07-27&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.austlii.edu.au%2Fau%2Fother%2Fdfat%2Ftreaties%2F1931%2F7.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071016032222/http://yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/bluebook/blbk09.htm">"Speech by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain"</a>. 17 March 1939. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/bluebook/blbk09.htm">the original</a> on 16 October 2007.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Speech+by+British+Prime+Minister+Neville+Chamberlain&rft.date=1939-03-17&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yale.edu%2Flawweb%2Favalon%2Fwwii%2Fbluebook%2Fblbk09.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHeun2011" class="citation cs2">Heun, Werner (2011), <i>The Constitution of Germany</i>, Hart, p. 14</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Constitution+of+Germany&rft.pages=14&rft.pub=Hart&rft.date=2011&rft.aulast=Heun&rft.aufirst=Werner&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHeun2011" class="citation cs2">Heun, Werner (2011), <i>The Constitution of Germany</i>, Hart, p. 16</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Constitution+of+Germany&rft.pages=16&rft.pub=Hart&rft.date=2011&rft.aulast=Heun&rft.aufirst=Werner&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHeun2011" class="citation cs2">Heun, Werner (2011), <i>The Constitution of Germany</i>, Hart, p. 17</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Constitution+of+Germany&rft.pages=17&rft.pub=Hart&rft.date=2011&rft.aulast=Heun&rft.aufirst=Werner&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHeun2011" class="citation cs2">Heun, Werner (2011), <i>The Constitution of Germany</i>, Hart, p. 88</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Constitution+of+Germany&rft.pages=88&rft.pub=Hart&rft.date=2011&rft.aulast=Heun&rft.aufirst=Werner&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHeun2011" class="citation cs2">Heun, Werner (2011), <i>The Constitution of Germany</i>, Hart, p. 33</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Constitution+of+Germany&rft.pages=33&rft.pub=Hart&rft.date=2011&rft.aulast=Heun&rft.aufirst=Werner&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-EvMaSchnurr-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-EvMaSchnurr_14-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFEva-Maria_Schnurr2014" class="citation magazine cs1 cs1-prop-long-vol">Eva-Maria Schnurr (September 2014). "Der Name des Feindes: Warum heißt die erste deutsche Demokratie eigentlich "Weimarer Republik?"<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span>". <i><a href="/wiki/Der_Spiegel" title="Der Spiegel">Der Spiegel</a></i>. Vol. 5/2014 (Der Spiegel - Geschichte 3 Hausmitteilung 137 Impressum ed.). p. 20.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Der+Spiegel&rft.atitle=Der+Name+des+Feindes%3A+Warum+hei%C3%9Ft+die+erste+deutsche+Demokratie+eigentlich+%22Weimarer+Republik%3F%22&rft.volume=5%2F2014&rft.pages=20&rft.date=2014-09&rft.au=Eva-Maria+Schnurr&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-berning-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-berning_15-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Cornelia Schmitz-Berning: <i>Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus.</i> 2. durchges. u. überarb, Aufl. Berlin 2007, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-11-019549-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-3-11-019549-1">978-3-11-019549-1</a>, pp. 597-598.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/ger01.htm">Declaration Regarding the Defeat of Germany and the Assumption of Supreme Authority by Allied Powers</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070218151523/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/ger01.htm">Archived</a> 2007-02-18 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></i>, 5 June 1945</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">BVerfGE 36, 1: Verdict of the <a href="/wiki/Federal_Constitutional_Court_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Federal Constitutional Court of Germany">Federal Constitutional Court</a> (<i>Bundesverfassungsgericht</i>) regarding the <a href="/wiki/Basic_Treaty,_1972" title="Basic Treaty, 1972">East–West Basic Treaty</a> — <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/dfr/bv036001.html#Rn078">in German</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070807001034/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/dfr/bv036001.html#Rn078">Archived</a> 2007-08-07 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> and <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://law.utexas.edu/transnational/foreign-law-translations/german/case.php?id=589">in English</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161220152049/https://law.utexas.edu/transnational/foreign-law-translations/german/case.php?id=589">Archived</a> 2016-12-20 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>, 31 July 1973</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Donald M. McRae, <i>Canadian Yearbook of International Law 2005</i>, Vol. 43, University of British Columbia, Vancouver 2006, p. 431.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/2plusfour8994e.htm">Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120507180629/http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/2plusfour8994e.htm">Archived</a> 2012-05-07 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>, U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany. Updated: November 2003</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKommers2012" class="citation cs2">Kommers, Donald P (2012), <i>The Constitutional Jursiprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany</i>, Duke University Press, p. 309</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Constitutional+Jursiprudence+of+the+Federal+Republic+of+Germany&rft.pages=309&rft.pub=Duke+University+Press&rft.date=2012&rft.aulast=Kommers&rft.aufirst=Donald+P&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGerman+Reich" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a 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