History of the German Reich

German Reich Deutsches Reich
1918–1947
Left: Flag from 1918-1933 Right: Flag from 1933-1945
History
• Armistice of 11 November 1918	1918
• November Revolution	1918-1919
• Treaty of Versailles	1919
• Occupation of the Ruhr	1923-1925
• Beer Hall Putsch	1923
• Mein Kampf published	1925
• Wall Street Crash of 1929	1929
• Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor	1933
• Reichstag fire & Decree	1933
• Enabling Act of 1933	1933
• Hitler becomes a dictator, Nazi Germany is born	1933
• Night of the Long Knives	1934
• Remilitarization of the Rhineland	1936
• Anschluss	1938
• Munich Agreement	1938
• German invasion of Czechoslovakia	1939
• Second World War	1939-1945
• The Holocaust	1941-1945
• German Instrument of Surrender	1945
• Official abolition	1947

The history of the German Reich begins in 1918, following the end of the First World War and the establishment of the Weimar-based German Reich. In 1933, the German Reich was transformed into a fascist state under the rule of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) known as Nazi Germany. The de facto end of the German Reich came on 9 May 1945 when the Nazi military commander Wilhelm Keitel officially surrendered to the United Nations. On 25 February 1947, the Free State of Prussia was officially abolished by Control Council Law No. 46, marking the de jure end of the German Reich. With the end of the German Reich, Allied-occupied Germany existed with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), French Republic, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), and the United States of America (USA) all having occupation zones in Germany.

Background

Rise of the Second Reich (1870-1914)

See main article: German Empire (1871–1918)

Following the defeat of the French Republic and preceeding French Empire by the North German Confederation and their allied German states in the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War, the various German states united to form the German Empire, also called the Second Reich. This was the final resolution to the German national question. The main engineer of the formation of the new German Empire was Otto von Bismarck, a major Prussian political figure who had worked to orchestrate the entire war with France. The French started the war by declaring war on Germany in 1870, causing the southern German states outside of the North German Confederation to side with the Prussians against the French, creating a sense of unity among the German states. The German coalition managed to completely defeat the Emperor of the French Napoleon III in battle, capturing the Emperor and starting the Siege of Paris. The French defeat at Paris led to Wilhelm I being crowned the first Emperor of Germany in 1871. The humilation of France in the Franco-Prussian War also contributed to the establishment of the Paris Commune, history's first dictatorship of the proletariat.

The formation of the German Empire was followed by a massive industrialization of the German state, effectively transitioning the German economy from a feudal one into a capitalist one, completing a bourgeois revolution and establishing a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. This allowed for Germany to become a major power on the world stage as the young nation began participating in global imperialism and establishing several colonies in Asia and Africa.

First World War (1914-1918)

See main article: First World War

Collapse of the Second Reich (1918-1919)

See main article: November Revolution

Rise of Adolf Hitler (1929-1933)

See main article: Adolf Hitler

Second World War (1939-1945)

See main article: Second World War

End of the Reich (1945-1947)

See main article: Allied-occupied Germany

Aftermath