Who were the 1st & 2nd Reich?

Question

If Hitlers Germany was the 3rd Reich then who were the 1st & 2nd ?

Answer 1

The First Reich was the Holy Roman Empire (the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Heiliges Römisches Reich deutscher Nation, not the ancient Roman Empire), 800 - 1806. Charlemagne (Charles the Great) was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome on Christmas Day 800, this is normally seen as the founding of the Empire, but sometimes the year of 962 is used, that was when Otto I (Otto the Great) was crowned.

The Empire existed almost in name only following the Peace of Westphalia at the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, but was not formally dissolved until 6 Aug 1806 when Emperor Francis II (Franz II) abdicated.



The Second Reich was the Hohenzollern Germany, from the unification of Germany following the Franco-Prussian War (1870 - 1871) and crowning of Wilhelm I as German Emperor at the Palace of Versailles, with Otto von Bismarck as the first Reichskanzler, to the abdication of Wilhelm II in 1919 following the German defeat in the First World War.

Answer 2

The 1st Reich was very short; only lasted from 1870-1871.

The 2nd Reich was the longest; lasting from 1871-1918.

I remember seeing a Monument in Germany many years ago with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Reich years showing on them.

My dad translated the German for me, informing me that is what the three crosses were for, honoring the 3 Reiches.

Answer 3

2nd Reich

Answer 4

The word Reich means "empire" or "kingdom". Here is a brief answer to your question from Wikipedia"

The Nazis sought to legitimise their power historiographically by portraying their rule as a continuation of a Germanic past. They coined the term Das Dritte Reich ("The Third Empire" – usually rendered in English in the half-translation "The Third Reich"), counting the Holy Roman Empire as the first and the 1871-1918 monarchy as the second. They also used the political slogan Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer ("One people, one Reich, one leader"). Although the term "Third Reich" is in common use, the terms "First Reich" and "Second Reich" for the earlier periods are seldom found outside Nazi propaganda. To use the terms "First Reich" and "Second Reich", as some commentators did in the post-war years, is generally frowned upon as accepting Nazi historiography. The term Altes Reich (old Reich) is sometimes used to refer to the Holy Roman Empire.

Answer 5

first Holy Roman Empire, second German Empire (Kaiser Wilhelm Bell).

Answer 6

The Fourth Reich is the Neo-Con Bush Administration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFpxjdsE1AE

Answer 7

I have always wondered that.