Reich

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 1871 to 1945, although its three very different political systems are commonly referred to as German Empire (1871-1918), Weimar Republic (1919-1933), and finally 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 Empire'), 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; the word "Reich" is not one of them unlike Führer or Heil.

The word is still used with the Reichstag building, which, since 1999, houses the German federal parliament again (today called Bundestag), and for the old Reichstag institution.

The Lord's Prayer (first translated into in Germanic language by Bishop Ulfilas) uses the words in the German version Dein Reich komme (thy kingdom come).

Etymology

• Swedish: Rike.
• Old High German: richi
• Anglo-Saxon: rice
• English: rich
• Indo European: reg
• Latin: regalis, regere, rex
• Prussian: reiks
• Indian: Raj
• Old Norse: rike (as in Gardarike).

Referenced By