German Reich
German Reich
German Reich (lit. 'German Empire' or 'German Realm', from German: Deutsches Reich) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The Reich became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German Volk ("national people"), with that authority and sovereignty being exercised at any one time over a unitary German "state territory" with variable boundaries and extent. Although commonly translated as "German Empire", the word Reich here better translates as "realm" or territorial "reach", in that the term does not in itself have monarchical connotations.
German Reich
The name "German Reich" was officially proclaimed on 18 January 1871 at the Palace of Versailles by Otto von Bismarck and Wilhelm I of Prussia. After the annexation of Austria to Germany on 12–13 March 1938, the name "Greater German Reich" (German: Großdeutsches Reich) began to be used along with the official name "German Reich". According to the decree of the Chief of the Reich Chancellery Hans Lammers of 26 June 1943, the name "Greater German Reich" became mandatory in official documents.
Use
In referring to the entire period between 1871 and 1945, the partially translated English phrase "German Reich" () is applied by historians in formal contexts; although in common English usage this state was and is known simply as Germany, the English term "German Empire" is reserved to denote the German state between 1871 and 1918.
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