Need a little help. Why is Nazi Germany called the Third Reich?

Before you reply think about the question. Read it carefully. I know about the first and the second Reich. I know why Hitler called it, as we would say the 'The Third Reich.'. What I can't figure out is why we use a English word and then a German word. We don't call it 'Dritte Reich' nor Third Empire. Napoleon III's empire we refer to it as the Second Empire. We don't mix languages. Why on this occasion?
 
According to wiki:

What were the First and Second Reich?
The first reich is the Holy Roman Empire. The second reich is the German empire 1871-1918. The third reich is Germany under the nazis (1933-1945). In terms of your "who" question, the most important individual in the formation of the German empire would probably be Otto von Bismarck.
 
Languages adopt use of foreign words all the time. There's nothing especially strange or unusual about borrowing the word "reich" here.

Or to put it another way, we do mix languages quite frequently.
 
Languages adopt use of foreign words all the time. There's nothing especially strange or unusual about borrowing the word "reich" here.

Or to put it another way, we do mix languages quite frequently.

Indeed. Borrowing the German word makes it clear were talking about Germany, otherwise we'd have to say something like the third German Empire if we translated everything into English. It's similar logic to why we talk about the Soviet Union rather than the Union of Councils for the USSR.
 

NoMommsen

Donor
Reich doesn't mean empire, it would be more accurate to say it translates to realm
Well recognized. :)

The first as well as the second german ... empires/'Reiche' were much more of a federal or confederational make-up, than every other 'Empire' of history (I know of).

The other empires were more of a straight downwards 'rule' or 'authoritarian', if you like.

"Empire" comes from the latin word "imperium" which comes from the verb for 'command'. Hence in an empire the emperor 'commands' through the downward chain of his subordinates.

In the german versions, the 'emperor' was at first constrained by juridical laws, which clearly defined, what he was able to do and order and ... what not.
Because :
for becomming ... and staying emperor he was dependant on a whole bunch of other nobles, dukes, etc., who all were very keen to keep their own power.

IMHO the most important difference to other empires was the juridical side. Even the emperor was bound to law, made not by him, with detailed insrtructions how such laws were to be made, whereas in 'ordinary' empies the emperor was also the source of law by himself, he 'set' or 'made' law.


Irony of history : the "Third Reich" was from its internal politics and functioning much more like the 'ordinary' empires, than the first and secong derman empires or ... "Reiche".
 

Perkeo

Banned
Yep. Hitler regarded the Weimar Republic as illegitimate, so they didn't count. Which is a good thing because now you can answer "Fourth Reich" with "Three Reichs and you're out!"
The more modern interpretation is to count the Weimar Republic as a continuation of the Second Reich - which is another delegitimization of the democracy that did after all survived several heavy crisis caused by the predecessor regime and would have managed the Great Depression as well if only the Germans had a couple of months more patience.
 
Well recognized. :)

The first as well as the second german ... empires/'Reiche' were much more of a federal or confederational make-up, than every other 'Empire' of history (I know of).

The other empires were more of a straight downwards 'rule' or 'authoritarian', if you like.

"Empire" comes from the latin word "imperium" which comes from the verb for 'command'. Hence in an empire the emperor 'commands' through the downward chain of his subordinates.

In the german versions, the 'emperor' was at first constrained by juridical laws, which clearly defined, what he was able to do and order and ... what not.
Because :
for becomming ... and staying emperor he was dependant on a whole bunch of other nobles, dukes, etc., who all were very keen to keep their own power.

IMHO the most important difference to other empires was the juridical side. Even the emperor was bound to law, made not by him, with detailed insrtructions how such laws were to be made, whereas in 'ordinary' empies the emperor was also the source of law by himself, he 'set' or 'made' law.


Irony of history : the "Third Reich" was from its internal politics and functioning much more like the 'ordinary' empires, than the first and secong derman empires or ... "Reiche".
In German "Imperium" is just a more fancy version of "Reich", it can mean both realm and empire, usually empire, for example we say Roman reich, Russian tsarreich, Japanese kaiserreich, Osmanenreich, Soviet reich to name a few of the empires by commonly used names. "Empire" with E is only ever used when directly talking about the British Empire. "Realm" directly translated is more like "Gebiet" or "Bereich" (area, sector, zone etc), like "Ostzone", the old Soviet occupied area.
 
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