third empire, third kingdom - the name of the regime of Nazi Germany. The term is borrowed from the medieval mystical teachings of the three kingdoms. The myth of the third, or thousand-year Reich (the “Holy Roman Empire” and the German Empire of 1871 - 1918 were declared the historical embodiment of the first two), was the ideological justification for the claims of fascism, which declared itself the “final”, “highest” stage of social development, on the world domination.
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Third Reich
"Third Reich" (Third Reich) (1933-45), the period when the Nazi regime ("Nazis") was in power in Germany. In January 1933, the period of political and economic chaos ended and Adolf Hitler became chancellor. After Hindenburg's death in 1934 he took the post of president, concentrating all the power in his hands. The arson of the Reichstag, for which the blame was placed on the communists, led to the adoption of the law on emergency powers, which granted Hitler dictatorial power, and then to the dissolution of parliament. "T.r." became one of the most anti-democrats. regimes in European history. Germany turned from a federal state into a unitary one, and non-Aryans and opponents of Nazism were fired from the state. services. The judicial system subordinate to the Nazi regime conducted secret trials, where an expanded interpretation of the concept of state was allowed. treason and death sentences were imposed indiscriminately. Concentration camps were created for political prisoners. Everything was political, the parties were liquidated, there was unity, the National Socialist Party was recognized as a legal party. Anti-Semitism became a legal norm, enshrined in the Nuremberg Laws. Both Protestants and Catholics were persecuted. church. The Hitler Youth was created, designed to educate young people in the spirit of Nazi ideology. The Nazis achieved the support of the majority of industrialists. workers, quickly solving the problem of unemployment due to the growth of the military. production and other government-funded projects. Most of the industry was under state control. control, and small farmers became more closely tied to the land. The four-year plan of 1936 was aimed at achieving economic independence of Germany from foreign countries. peace in case of war. In 1935, after the return of the Saarland by the League of Nations, Hitler introduced compulsory military service in the country. After leaving the disarmament conference, he tore up the Locarno Treaties, sending troops into the Rhineland; annexed Austria (Anschluss) and captured the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. Hitler sought to prevent the creation of a k.-l. unions in the East. Europe. In the spring and summer of 1939, he entered into an alliance with the Mussolini regime, putting the old dispute over the Polish Corridor on the agenda, and also signed the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact. 1 Sep. In 1939, he attacked Poland without declaring war, and the entry into the war of Great Britain and France marked the beginning of World War 2. Soon Germany occupied most of continental Europe, and by 1941 the territory under its control. extended from the Arctic Circle and the English Channel to the North. Africa and Russia. Great Britain remained a unified enemy of Germany from June 1940 to June 1941. when Hitler attacked the USSR. In the beginning 1942 Germany announced total mobilization, and the production of weapons in the country increased, despite frequent massive Allied air raids on industry. and citizen objects. The SS, led by Himmler, actually concentrated supreme power in their hands. Despite all efforts, starting in 1943, German. the troops were forced to constantly retreat, and by May 1945 "T.r." lay in ruins.
And the history of Russia in the twentieth century is closely connected with such events as the First World War, the October Revolution, the Great Patriotic War, stagnation, perestroika, and the collapse of the USSR. The most significant and terrible event in history, of course, was the war of 1941-1945, in which a victory was won over Nazi Germany, led by Hitler and the rule of which is closely associated with the concept of the Third Reich. But if we are talking about the third, it means that earlier there were both the first and second Reichs, about which practically nothing is known.
The first and, according to historians, the most powerful Reich existed in the period from 962, when the East Frankish king Otto I proclaimed the territory of Germany as the Holy Roman Empire. This happened after the Germans captured Italy and, according to Otto I, it was his state that should bear the name and continue the great traditions of the Romans. It is worth recognizing that subsequent generations of Germans did not destroy the hopes of the great king. They continued their victorious march, annexing new territories across Europe to Germany. In particular, Italy, Burgundy, Belgium, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Alsace, Silesia, the Netherlands, and Lorraine were occupied and named German territory. Unlike other countries, where power, as a rule, was transferred either by inheritance or as a result of coups in the new Roman Empire created by the Germans, the new emperor was elected by a college of electors and, by the way, had very limited rights. Starting from the end of the 15th century, the main power became the Reichstag - the highest body of the imperial estates, which performed judicial and legislative functions. During the same period of time, a postscript was added to the name “Holy Roman Empire” - “German nation”, obviously so that the Germans would not be confused with representatives of ancient Rome. But gradually Germany, like many empires before, increasingly lost its supremacy in the world, and with it most of the territories that were trying in every possible way to get out from under the occupation yoke. It was Napoleon who finally destroyed the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation or the First Reich.
The history of the Second Reich begins in 1871, 65 years after the collapse of the First. It was in this year that King William I of Prussia and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck announced the beginning of the creation of a new German Empire. The motive for this was the defeat of the French army in the Franco-Prussian War in the period 1870-1871. Firstly, defeated France paid indemnities amounting to five billion francs, which significantly strengthened the Prussian economy and military power. Secondly, the victory raised the authority of Prussia to a high level, and other German states began to join it. Even Austria, which at one time refused to become one of the components of the German Empire, subsequently entered into a long-term military alliance with it. But during this period of time, the economy of European states largely depended on the number of colonies they captured. Despite the fact that by the end of the 19th century Germany had founded its own colonies in Africa and Asia, this was not enough, and it was extremely difficult for the young empire to compete with the powerful England, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and other states that were much earlier began to colonize territories around the world. The German Empire's desire for economic and political dominance in Europe was the main reason for the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. But it is worth recognizing that the beginning of the war was also the beginning of the collapse of the Second Reich, which ceased to exist four years later in 1918.
In 1934, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, who pursued one goal - the world domination of Germany. He believed that there was only one race on the planet that was worthy to exist - the Aryans; all other peoples, in the Fuhrer's opinion, were created to serve. Hitler was inspired to create a unified German state by the book “The Third Reich” published in 1922, authored by Arthur Möller van den Broek. This idea was painful and extremely important for Germany at that time. The defeat in the First World War, started by the Germans themselves, gave rise to an economic crisis in Germany that dragged on for many years. The country, weakened by the war, lost most of the territories of organized colonies, production collapsed, agriculture fell into decay. Moreover, according to the Versailles Peace Treaty, the Germans were forced to pay huge reparations to the victorious states every year. The economic crisis that occurred throughout the world in the late 20s and early 30s brought hunger, poverty, and unemployment to the already weak Germany. But still, the once great people did not give up hopes of taking revenge for such a shameful defeat. Radical sentiments formed and grew in the state. Perhaps for this reason, in 1932, for the first time in elections in the Weimar Republic, the Communist Party received a majority of votes, and more and more people showed a desire to join the National Socialist Workers' Party (NSDAP). One thing was obvious - the days of the Weimar Republic were numbered. Now Germany had to make a choice which path of development to follow next: National Socialist or Communist. The main influence on the choice was the fire that occurred in the Reichstag building at the end of winter 1933. The Communists were accused of organizing the arson, which practically knocked the Communist Party out of the political race; as a result, in 1934, power was completely in the hands of representatives of the NSDAP, led by the inadequate and, in the opinion of most modern scientists, mentally ill Adolf Hitler. From that moment on, the history of the formation of the Third Reich began, which lasted until 1945.
But all of the above are real historical facts, but today there are versions about the possibility of the emergence of the Fourth Reich. They first started talking about this in 1990 after the famous Berlin Wall was destroyed and the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic began. This fact caused serious concern and many wondered whether unification would be the first step towards the creation of another Reich and subsequently to the Third World War? Literally two months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in a personal conversation with USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, expressed open concerns about this. But today’s German policy is not hostile, and this has to some extent calmed everyone down, and now almost no one is talking about the creation of the Fourth Reich.
In the story of the Fourth Reich, there is also a mythical version, which most experts call absurd, but there are also those who not only believe in it, but also provide reasoned evidence that the Fourth Reich exists. The founders of the new German Empire are called the Nazis, who managed to escape death after the fall of Nazi Germany.
Unconfirmed rumors that the Germans were building a secret base in Antarctica appeared back in the late 30s of the twentieth century. Germany then organized expeditions to the crowded continent, and during the Second World War German ships, including submarines, were sent there quite often. For what? Many were convinced that the Third Reich was developing the territories to create the so-called New Swabia, where scientists, service personnel, military personnel, as well as prisoners of war were brought in and used as labor. According to supporters of the creation of such a base, it was here at the South Pole that the Nazis who escaped in 1945 found their refuge.
According to data unconfirmed by officials, in 1946 the United States attempted to destroy New Swabia, for which a squadron of warships was sent to the shores of Antarctica. But a year later, the United States refused to continue the operation and its ships returned to their main bases. There is information that not all ships returned. Perhaps the Americans were met by significant German forces who fought back. There is also an incredible version according to which the US government entered into a deal with the top of New Swabia and as a result of this agreement, the Americans received access to new technologies, and the Nazis received a guarantee that they would not be disturbed.
In the version with the Fourth Reich in Antarctica, there are many inaccuracies and obvious conjectures that completely refute even the theoretical possibility of the existence of New Swabia. First of all, this is the assertion that the Wehrmacht hidden in the ice of Antarctica is led by none other than Adolf Hitler. But this cannot be. The fact is that when Soviet troops entered Berlin in 1945, the Fuhrer’s body was never found. Two burned corpses were discovered in the garden of the Reich Chancellery, believed to be those of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. But a year later there were rumors that Hitler managed to escape. In order to confirm or refute such rumors, Soviet scientists conducted thorough excavations at the supposed site of the Fuhrer’s death and identified a jaw bone there, as well as a fragment of the skull. After checking Hitler's medical records, the researchers concluded that the bones belonged to the Nazi leader. And not so long ago, information was published that shocked the world: in fact, the discovered remains, which are stored in the FSB archive, belong to a woman! A similar conclusion was reached by US archaeologist Nick Bellantoni, who analyzed the DNA of the bones. Perhaps in 1946, Soviet scientists deliberately manipulated the facts with the sole purpose of stopping the spread of rumors about the possibility that Hitler survived and thereby reassure the people.
Historical dates of the collapses of the existing Reichs:
The glorious history of the First Reich ended in 1806, shortly after French troops led by Napoleon defeated the German army at the Battle of Austerlitz, as a result of which the last Emperor of Germany, Franz II, was forced to formally abdicate the throne.
The Second Reich ceased to exist in November 1918. This happened as a result of the fact that Germany lost the First World War and the people rebelled to overthrow Emperor Wilhelm, who was forced to leave the country, and the German Empire was renamed the Weimar Republic.
In May 1945, the Third Reich came to an end. Germany lost the outbreak of World War II, and its territory was divided among the Allies. As a result, two states of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic appeared on the map of Europe.
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We are used to calling Nazi Germany led by Hitler the Third Reich. Where did the previous two go?
The history of Germany is the history of three republics (Weimar, East Germany and the Federal Republic of Germany) and three empires - Reichs in German. The First Reich was the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation - a huge state with almost a thousand years of history, which at the moments of its greatest greatness ruled most of Catholic Europe. It appeared in 962, when King Otto I of Germany was ordained emperor for the first time since the fall of Rome, and lasted until 1806. Only Napoleon was able to finally destroy this majestic empire. Entering Germany, he not only brought his troops into the country, but also brought the ideas of the Enlightenment and liberalism to it. Since then, German politics has been characterized by a struggle between two principles: democratic and imperialist. The first of them gave birth to a galaxy of great German philosophers and formed a strong tradition of German humanism. The second - that same restless "Prussian spirit", always dissatisfied with the insufficiently great position of the nation in the world and inspiring it to new conquests - provoked two world wars. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, these two traditions replaced each other four times, cruelly destroying what they replaced. The first such triumph of the “Prussian spirit” in 1871 was the creation of the Second Reich - the German Empire. The Third Reich took a lot from the Second, but these were two completely different states.
Dream of the greatness of the previous empire
Both the German Empire and Nazi Germany owe their formation to the powerful popular longing for the greatness of the nation and its state. In the 19th century, Germans yearned for the strength and power of the Holy Roman Empire and wanted revenge on other Europeans (in this case, the French) for humiliating their imperial dignity. It was precisely such sentiments in society that contributed to the consolidation of all German kingdoms. However, the ideological inspirer of the unification of Germany was the liberal-minded bourgeoisie - in 1848 it tried to make the Prussian king emperor of Germany.
The Germans of the Weimar Republic experienced similar feelings. They were humiliated and robbed by the victorious countries of the First World War and were nostalgic for the times of Kaiser Wilhelm, whom all of Europe feared. But instead of the liberal townspeople of 1848, conservative-minded peasants and townsfolk, full of prejudices and delusions, stood up for the former greatness of Germany in the 1920s and 1930s.
Gathering Lands
Both Reichs pursued the goal of unifying Germany - but they did it in different ways. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Germany ceased to exist as a single state. It was divided into many small principalities, over which two large German states, Austria and Prussia, fought for influence. For almost the entire 19th century, Prussia tried to rally these small German states around itself through diplomatic and economic means. In 1864, this process was completed: Prussia carried out a series of military operations against Denmark and Austria, as a result of which by 1871 it took all German lands under its rule, with the exception of Austria.
The Nazis acted in similar ways, but much more brutally. They did not waste time on the skillful diplomacy and politics of cajoling that created the Second Reich. They prefer the tactics of tank divisions on the border to it. In 1938, the Third Reich annexed the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia and annexed Austria.
Political system
The German Empire was a dualistic monarchy. This means that power was concentrated in two centers: the monarch and parliament. In fact, the emperor single-handedly headed an independent executive branch, appointed a chancellor, but had no leverage over the legislative process, he only signed laws. And the parliament of the German Empire - the Reichstag - was a completely democratic body to which deputies of completely different views could be elected. And although Chancellor Otto von Bismarck fought against liberal ideas, in many ways he was powerless in front of the system and could not ban everything.
The Third Reich was structured completely differently. There was no democracy in it, all parties except the ruling National Socialist German Workers' Party were banned, and all power was concentrated in the hands of the Fuhrer.
Attitude towards national minorities
In the German Empire, the rights of ethnic groups were not infringed. Both the Polish and Danish minorities were constantly represented in the Reichstag. The life of Jews in the empire was not limited by any prohibitions, despite the fact that in German society in the second half of the 19th century, anti-Semitism was not only strong, but also fashionable. According to Moshe Zimmerman, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bismarck himself was an anti-Semite. But this did not prevent him from constantly contacting large businessmen of Jewish origin and appointing representatives of this people to government positions. The enlightened spirit of the era did not allow anti-Semitism to break out at the state level. Jewish business, as well as anti-Semitic discourse, flourished in Bismarck's Germany.
Perhaps it was precisely this policy of half measures and the desire to please everyone that made it possible for the Nazis to come to power with their misanthropic theory. In the Second Reich, many said that it was time to deal with the Jews, but they only said so. In the Third Reich, those who listened to them carefully made their “dreams” come true.
Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich - officially called Deutsches Reich and then Großdeutsches Reich, which means Greater German Empire - existed in Germany from 1933 to 1945. The country was under the dictatorship of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Since 1934, the head of state - Adolf Hitler - began to be called the Fuhrer.
The policies pursued by Nazi Germany are based on the concept of racial purity, anti-Semitism, and anti-communism. The result of this policy was the mass murder of Jews, known as . About eleven million people became victims of the Third Reich, of whom about six million were Jews. Under the rule of Nazi Germany there were also territories inhabited by ethnic Germans: Austria, the Sudetenland, Memel. Other regions were annexed after the conflict began, but were part of Imperial Germany until the Treaty of Versailles and were also inhabited by Germans: Eupen-Malmedy, Alsace-Lorraine, Danzig and parts of Poland.
Nazi ideology
The ideological basis of the Nazi regime was the ideas of pan-Germanism, anti-Semitism and social Darwinism. The main task of the Third Reich was the creation of a “racially pure state” and the conquest of “vital space” (German: Lebensraum).
Social policy of the Third Reich
The social policy of the Third Reich was also subordinated to the desire to create an “ideal” race. Racist laws were passed that approved social welfare policies in the interests of “Aryan” Germans, and residents of the country of other nationalities were excluded from these programs. By September 1939, more than 200,000 thousand Jews had left Germany, and the property they left behind became state property. In addition, sexual minorities and people with physical and mental disabilities were persecuted.
The Nazis adopted programs aimed at exterminating "unfit" people, such as the T-4 Euthanasia Program, which killed tens of thousands of disabled and sick Germans in an attempt to "preserve the purity of the German race." According to a law passed in 1933, more than 400,000 people with hereditary defects, from mental illness to alcoholism, underwent mandatory sterilization. Key to maintaining the loyalty of Nazi Germany's citizens was the functioning of the National Labor Service and the Hitler Youth Organization, the former compulsory and the latter involving almost six million children.
Economic policy of the Third Reich
The Reichsmark acquired significant value during the Third Reich. When the Nazis came to power, the most significant problem was the high unemployment rate - about 30%. Under the leadership of Hjalmar Schacht, a new economic policy was developed. One of the first actions was to destroy trade unions and impose strict wage controls. The government then increased the money supply in circulation.
At the same time, the government set an interest rate ceiling of 4.5%, which led to a significant lack of borrowed capital. To solve this problem, fictitious companies were created that pay for goods with bills of exchange. The most famous of these is the MEFO company, whose bills of exchange used as currency became known as MEFO bills. These complex maneuvers also helped to hide military expenditures that violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. According to economic theory, price controls combined with a large increase in the money supply should have led to the development of a huge black market, but severe punishment for violators, including concentration camps or execution, prevented its emergence.
The new policy also limited imports of consumer goods and was export-oriented. International trade fell significantly, amounting to about a third of 1929 levels, throughout the existence of the Third Reich. Economic policies have been successful in sharply reducing unemployment. Most industrial enterprises were not nationalized, but their activities were strictly regulated by quotas and the requirement to use internal resources.
Art and culture in the Third Reich
The Nazi regime restored traditional values in culture. All attempts at “artistic experimentation” and “sexual freedom” were suppressed. In the visual arts, the emphasis was on promoting racial purity, obedience, militarism, heroism, power and strength. Works of modern abstract art were removed from museums and shown in exhibitions as “degenerate art” subject to ridicule.
One striking example was the exhibition of works of this “degenerate art” on March 31, 1937 in Munich, which attracted crowds of people, while a parallel exhibition of 900 works approved by Hitler himself was attended by very few people.
In 1936, the Summer Olympic Games were held in Germany, where it was planned to show all the superiority of the Aryan race. German athletes were carefully selected to participate in the games. The selection criterion was, in addition to physical indicators, Aryan appearance. African-American Jesse Owens won the 100-meter race. According to the rules of the games, Hitler had to shake his hand, which the Fuhrer categorically refused to do. Subsequently, the black athlete won 3 more medals, at the presentation of which Hitler was not even present.
On May 9, 1945, World War II, started by Hitler on September 1, 1939, ended. The Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany came into force. The Berlin Declaration of June 5, 1945 ended the de jure existence of the Third Reich.
John Woods was a good executioner. When his victim hung in the air, he grabbed her by the legs and hung with her, reducing the suffering of the one dangling in the noose. But this is in his native Texas, where he has already executed more than three hundred people.
On the night of October 16, 1946, Woods abandoned his principles.
The American pro had to hang the bosses of the Third Reich: Goering, Ribbentrop, Keitel, Kaltenbrunner, Jodl, Sauckel, Streicher, Seys-Inquart, Frank, Frick and Rosenberg. In this group prison photo they are almost in full force.
The Nuremberg prison where the Nazis were held was in the American zone, so the executioner was also provided by the US government. In this photo, American Sergeant John Woods demonstrates his know-how - his legendary 13-knot loop.
Goering was supposed to be the first to ascend the scaffold, followed by Ribbentrop, but two hours before the execution, the Reichsmarshal committed suicide by taking a capsule of potassium cyanide, which (according to one possible version) his wife gave him with a farewell kiss during their last meeting in prison.
How Goering found out about the upcoming execution is unknown; its date was kept strictly secret from the condemned and the press. Before death, the convicts were even fed, offering one of two dishes to choose from: sausages with salad or pancakes with fruit.
Goering bit into the ampoule during dinner.
They were executed after midnight in the gym of Nuremberg prison. Woods built the gallows in just 24 hours: just the day before, the soldiers were still playing basketball in the hall. The idea seemed good to him: three gallows, replaceable ropes, body bags and, most importantly, hatches in the platforms under the feet of the guilty, into which they immediately had to fall when hanged.
No more than three hours were allotted for the entire execution, including the last word and conversation with the priest. Woods himself later proudly recalled that day: “Ten people in 103 minutes. That’s fast work.”
But the downside (or upside?) was that Woods hurriedly miscalculated the size of the hatches, making them very small. Falling inside the gallows, the executed person touched the edges of the hatch with his head and died, let’s say, not immediately...
Ribbentrop wheezed in the loop for 10 minutes, Jodl - 18, Keitel - 24.
After the execution, representatives of all the Allied powers examined the corpses and signed death certificates, and journalists photographed the bodies with and without clothes. Then the executed were loaded into spruce coffins, sealed and, under heavy escort, transported to the crematorium of the Eastern Cemetery of Munich.
On the evening of October 18, the mixed ashes of the criminals were poured into the Isar Canal from the Marienklausen Bridge.
Interior view of the solitary cell where the main German war criminals were kept.
People like Goering
Lunch of the defendants of the Nuremberg trials.
Goering at lunch in his cell.
Goering during lunch during a break in the Nuremberg trials in the common dining room for the accused.
Opposite him is Rudolf Hess
Goering, who lost 20 kg during the process.
Goering during a meeting with his lawyer.
Goering and Hess
Goering on trial
Kaltenbrunner in a wheelchair
The Foreign Minister of the Third Reich, Joachim von Ribbentrop, was the first to be hanged.
Colonel General Alfred Jodl
Chief of the SS Reich Security Directorate Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Chief of the Wehrmacht High Command Wilhelm Keitel
Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia Wilhelm Frick
Gauleiter of Franconia Julius Streicher
Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the NSDAP Alfred Rosenberg
Reichskommissar of the Netherlands Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Gauleiter of Thuringia Friedrich Sauckel
Governor General of Poland, NSDAP lawyer Hans Frank
The corpse of Heinrich Himmler. The Reichsführer SS committed suicide on May 23, 1945, while being detained in the city of Luneburg, by taking potassium cyanide.
The corpse of German Chancellor Joseph Goebbels. He committed suicide with his wife Magda, having previously poisoned his six children.
Chairman of the German Labor Front, Reichsleiter Robert Ley during his arrest.
