German Empire
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The German Empire ("Deutsches Reich" or "Deutsches Kaiserreich" in the German language) is the name for a group of German countries from from January 18, 1871 to November 9, 1918. This is from the day Wilhelm I of Prussia was made German Emperor to when the third Emperor Wilhelm II was removed from power at the end of the First World War. It was once called the "Second Reich".
The name of Germany was "Deutsches Reich" until 1945. "Reich" can mean "richness" or "wealth".
At different times there were three groups of smaller countries, each group was later called a "Reich" by some Germans. The first was the Holy Roman Empire. The second was the German Empire. The third was the Third Reich.
The words "Second Reich" were used for the German Empire by Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, a nationalist writer in the 1920s. He was trying to make a link with the earlier Holy Roman Empire which had once been very strong. Germany had lost a war and was in great diffculties and he wanted to start a "Third Reich" to unite the country. These words were later used by the Nazis to make themselves appear stronger.
[edit] See also
- Germany
- Holy Roman Empire
- Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich
