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Reich is the German word for " realm" or " empire", cognate with Scandinavian rike and Dutch rijk. It is the word traditionally used for sovereign entities, including Germany. For instance, any country with a King or Queen as head of state, such as Britain, is a Königreich (kingdom). It is still used as a suffix in certain country names, for instance Frankreich ( France).
The term Reich was part of the official names of Germany over centuries. The German name for " Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" (mid 10th century – 1806) is Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation. Later, Deutsches Reich was the official name of Germany from 1871Events January January 18 The member-states of the North German Confederation unite into a single nation-state known as the German Empire. The King of Prussia is declared the first German Emperor as Wilhelm I of Germany. January 28 France surrenders to en to 1945Events January January 5 The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland. January 7 British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge. January 12 World War II:, although its three very different political systems are commonly referred to as the German EmpireThe term German Empire (the translation from German of Deutsches Reich commonly refers to Germany, from its consolidation as a unified nation-state in January 1871, until the abdication of Kaiser ( Emperor) Wilhelm II in November 1918. Germans, when refer ( 1871Events January January 18 The member-states of the North German Confederation unite into a single nation-state known as the German Empire. The King of Prussia is declared the first German Emperor as Wilhelm I of Germany. January 28 France surrenders to en– 1918Events January January 8 President Woodrow Wilson announces his " Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. February February 3 The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long).), the Weimar RepublicThe period of German history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the Weimar Republic (in German Weimarer Republik ). It is named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after Germany's defeat in World War I. ( 1919Events January January 1 Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company January 5 Spartacist uprising Socialist demonstrations in Berlin turn into attempted communist revolution with Spartacist League in the forefront January 9 Spartacus– 1933Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years: 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 See also 1933 in aviation 1933 in film 1933 in literature 1933 in mu), and finally the Third Reich (Nazi Germany) ( 1933– 1945).
The Nazis, eager to present their rule as a continuation of a Germanic past, used the term Das Dritte Reich ("The Third Reich"), counting the Holy Roman Empire as the first and the 1871 Empire as the second. They also used the political slogan "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer" ("One people, one country, one leader").
A number of words used by the Nazis which earlier were neutral have later taken on a negative connotation in German (e.g. Führer or Heil); the word "Reich" is usually not one of them, although in certain contexts it does carry a connotation of German imperialism and/or strong nationalism - mainstream modern Germans would not refer to their country as the Reich for that reason. The word is still used with the Reichstag building, which again, since 1999, houses the German federal parliament (today called Bundestag), and for the old Reichstag institution.
The German name of Austria is Österreich, or "Eastern Reich", and France is called Frankreich.
The German version of the Lord's Prayer uses the words Dein Reich komme for "thy kingdom come".