German Reich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Deutsches Reich was the name for Germany from 1871 to 1945 in the German language. Its direct literal translation in English is "German Empire", however this full translation is only used when describing Germany under Hohenzollern rule (until 1918). For the entire 1871-1945 period, the English name given for Germany was the partially translated "German Reich" (pronounced /ˈdʒɝmən ˈraɪx/).[1] Following the German Kaiser's abdication of the German Empire after World War I, the word "Empire" was dropped and the official name used in English was the "German Reich". Informally, this nation was also known simply as Germany from 1871 to 1945.
The history of Germany during the time of the German Reich is conventionally broken into three distinct periods:
- the monarchy under Hohenzollern rule, known in English as the German Empire (1871-1918)
- the democratic republic, known retrospectively as the Weimar Republic (1919-1933)
- the totalitarian dictatorship commonly known as the Third Reich or Nazi Germany (1933-1945)
Following the de facto annexation of Austria in 1938, Germany informally named itself the Greater German Reich (German: Großdeutsches Reich). This name was made the official state name only during the last two years (1943-1945) of Nazi rule.[2]
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[edit] The difference between "Reich" and "Empire"
- See also: Reich
While the German word "Reich" translates to the English word "empire" (it also translates to similar words such as "realm" or "domain"), this translation was not performed throughout the full existence of the German Reich. Historically, only 1871-1918 Germany - where Germany was under the rule of an Emperor - is known in English as the "German Empire", while the term "German Reich" describes Germany from 1871 to 1945.[1]
Under Hohenzollern rule, the German Reich was officially known as the German Empire.[3] After the events of World War I, the official English name for Germany was the "German Reich" and this name was used as such on legal documents and English-language international treaties - for example, the Kellogg-Briand Pact[4] and the Geneva Convention.[5] If "Empire" were still a valid word at this point, it would have been used on these documents instead of "Reich".
Apart from official documents, post-WWI Germany was referred to as the "German Reich" - never as the "German Empire" - for example, by British politicians[6] and the word "Reich" was used untranslated by Allied prosecutors throughout the Nuremberg Trials, with "German Empire" only used to signify pre-1918 Germany.
The fact that the word "Reich" was never translated to "Empire" after 1918 has to do with the somewhat untranslatable nature of the word. In German, "Reich" does not presuppose a monarchical form of government, but in English, the word "Empire" almost certainly does, notwithstanding the fact that the Latin word imperium, from which "empire" is derived, does not actually connote a monarchy.
[edit] Heads of state
| German Empire (1871-1918) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Emperor | Wilhelm I | 18 January 1871 - 9 March 1888 |
| Emperor | Frederick III | 9 March 1888 - 15 June 1888 |
| Emperor | Wilhelm II | 15 June 1888 – 9 November 1918 |
| Weimar period (1919-1933) | ||
| President | Friedrich Ebert | 11 February 1919 - 28 February 1925 |
| President | Paul von Hindenburg | 12 May 1925 - 2 August 1934 |
| Nazi period (1933-1945) | ||
| Führer | Adolf Hitler | 2 August 1934 – 30 April 1945 |
| President | Karl Dönitz | 30 April – 23 May 1945 |
[edit] The German Reich since 1945
- See also: Legal status of Germany
[edit] End of World War II
On 8 May 1945, the commencement of the capitulation of the German armed forces, the supreme command of the Wehrmacht was handed over to the Allies. The Allies decided not to recognise Karl Dönitz as Reichspräsident or to recognise the legitimacy of his Flensburg government (so-called because it was based at Flensburg and controlled only a small area around the town), and on 5 June 1945 the four powers signed the "Declaration Regarding the Defeat of Germany" in Berlin, creating the Allied Control Council and assumed de jure supreme authority with respect to Germany.[7]
[edit] Divided Germany
In its 1973 review of the 1972 Basic Treaty between East and West Germany, the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) ruled that the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) is identical with the German Reich and not merely its legal successor.[8] The court also emphasized that the FRG had only partial identity in questions concerning the territory because the German Democratic Republic and the Polish and USSR occupied territories were outside of FRG territory.
[edit] Reunified Germany
When the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany between Germany and the war time Allies was signed on September 12, 1990 there was no mention of the term Deutsches Reich, however the Allies paraphrased the international legal personality of Germany as "Germany as a whole" in the English version of the text. Instead the states of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany, GDR) agreed to be bound by certain conditions which they had to ratify, one of which was the creation of a united Germany which to come into existence had to also agree to certain conditions agreed in the treaty. On meeting these conditions under Article 7.2 "The United Germany [has] accordingly full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs."[9]
[edit] References
- ^ a b See "Germany" entry of the Encyclopaedia Britannica
- ^ Decree RK 7669 E of the Reichsminister and head of the Reich chancellery, 26 June 1943
- ^ Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law with respect to Collisions between Vessels (1910-09-23). - an example of a legal document where Germany is officially referred to as "the German Empire"
- ^ Full text of the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928-08-27).
- ^ Full text of the Geneva Convention (1929-07-27).
- ^ Speech by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1939-03-17).
- ^ Declaration Regarding the Defeat of Germany and the Assumption of Supreme Authority by Allied Powers, June 5 1945
- ^ BVerfGE 36, 1: Verdict of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) regarding the East-West Basic Treaty - in German and in English, 31 July 1973
- ^ Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany/Public Affairs/Information Resource Centers Updated: November 2003)
