Birth of the Third Reich. The meaning of the phrase “third Reich 3rd Reich all about it
Das Dritte Reich - "The Third Empire" - the official Nazi name for the regime of government that existed in Germany from January 1933 to May 1945. Hitler regarded Nazi rule as a logical continuation of the two previous German empires. The First Reich - the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation - existed from 962, from the coronation in Rome of Otto the Great, the second ruler of the Saxon dynasty, until its conquest by Napoleon in 1806. The Second Reich was founded by Otto von Bismarck in 1871 and existed until 1918 until the end of the Hohenzollern dynasty. In 1923, German nationalist writer Arthur Möller van den Broek used the term "Third Reich" for the title of his book. Hitler enthusiastically accepted this name to designate a new empire, which, in his opinion, would last a thousand years. This name also attracted him because it had some mystical connection with the Middle Ages, when the “third kingdom” was considered thousand-year-old.
Origin of the term
German word "Reich"(German) Das Reich) can be translated into Russian both as a state and as an empire. The creator of the concept of the “Third Reich” is considered to be the German writer and translator Arthur Möller van den Broek, who held nationalist views, and so named his book published in 1923. In Meller van den Broek's view, the Reich is a single state that should become a common home for all Germans. According to this concept, the First Reich was the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. It existed from 962, when Otto I the Great was proclaimed emperor at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, in a move meant to emphasize continuity from the Roman Empire, and ceased to exist in 1806 after a series of defeats inflicted on it by Napoleon's troops. The Second Reich was the German Empire, proclaimed in 1871 during the reign of Wilhelm I of Hohenzollern and liquidated as a result of the November Revolution of 1918. The Third Reich was supposed to replace the weak Weimar Republic.
Hitler adopted the idea of the Third Reich from Meller van den Broek. The writer himself personally met with Hitler and had a low opinion of him. In 1925, Meller van den Broek committed suicide.
The Third Reich is often called the "Thousand Year Reich" (German). Tausendjähriges Reich). This name came into use after Hitler's speech at the party congress in Nuremberg in September 1934. Hitler's Thousand Year Reich echoes Christian mysticism.
Story
The global economic crisis of 1929 marked the beginning of the end of the Weimar Republic. Already in the summer of 1932, the number of unemployed reached 6 million. The political situation in the country has become greatly radicalized. Most ordinary Germans wanted strong power in the country, but were afraid of the communists, being impressed by the “Red Terror” and dispossession in the Soviet Union. In addition, the Germans wanted to restore national pride. Therefore, the popularity of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) grew.
In July 1932, the National Socialists collected 37% of the vote - more than all the others combined. But this was not enough to create a government. Therefore, repeat elections were scheduled for November 1932, in which the NSDAP received even fewer votes - 34%. During 1932, President Hindenburg repeatedly invited Hitler to join the government, including inviting him to take the post of vice-chancellor. But Hitler agreed only to the post of Reich Chancellor, and also demanded the post of Reich Minister of the Interior for one of the members of the NSDAP and emergency powers for himself as head of government. Only at the end of January 1933 did Hindenburg agree to these conditions of Hitler.
On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler became Reich Chancellor. This event marked the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of the Third Reich.
On February 1, 1933, the Reichstag was dissolved. Decree of the Reich President "On the Defense of the German People" of February 4, 1933 became the basis for the ban on opposition newspapers and public speeches. Using the Reichstag fire on February 27, 1933 as a pretext, Hitler began mass arrests. Due to a lack of prison space, concentration camps were created. Re-elections were called.
In the elections to the Reichstag, held on March 5, 1933, the NSDAP emerged as the victorious party. The votes cast for the communists were annulled. The new Reichstag, at its first meeting on March 23, retroactively approved Hitler's emergency powers.
Part of the intelligentsia fled abroad. According to the law of July 14, 1933, all parties except the Nazi one were banned. However, activists of right-wing parties were not only not arrested, but many of them became part of the NSDAP. Trade unions were dissolved and banned. Instead, the German Labor Front was created, led by one of Hitler's associates, Reichsleiter Robert Ley. Strikes were prohibited, entrepreneurs were declared the owners of enterprises. Soon compulsory labor service was introduced.
At the end of June 1934, Hitler liquidated the senior leadership of the SA assault troops, led by Chief of Staff Ernst Röhm, who demanded a “second revolution”, socialist in spirit, as well as the creation of a “people's army”. Hitler accused the leadership of the SA of treason and declared them enemies of the state. During these events, called the “Night of the Long Knives,” a considerable number of people disliked by the Nazis who had no relation to the SA and its leadership were eliminated. Thus, the former Reich Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and Hitler's former deputy in the party Gregor Strasser were killed.
Thanks to the end of the Great Depression, the destruction of all opposition and criticism, the elimination of unemployment, propaganda that played on national feelings, and later territorial acquisitions, Hitler increased his popularity. In addition, he achieved major successes in the economy. In particular, under Hitler, Germany came out on top in the world in the production of steel and aluminum.
In 1936, the Anti-Comintern Pact was concluded between Germany and Japan. Italy joined it in 1937, and Hungary and Spain in 1939.
On November 9, 1938, a pogrom against Jews occurred, known as Kristallnacht. It was from this time that mass arrests and extermination of Jews began.
In 1938, Austria was captured, in October 1938 - part of the Czech Republic, and in March 1939 - the whole Czech Republic.
Higher administration of the Third Reich before the war
Its structure was extremely confusing, and the areas of competence of the individual branches of government were not only extremely poorly defined, but in many cases overlapped each other. This greatly complicated state leadership and, in particular, the specific management of combat operations in a future war.
The Second World War
On September 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland. Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. During 1939-1941, Germany defeated Poland, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Greece, and Yugoslavia, but failed to capture British territory. In 1941, the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union and occupied part of its territory.
There was a growing labor shortage in Germany. Recruitment of civilian guest workers was carried out in all occupied territories. In Slavic territories, mass deportations into slavery in Germany were also carried out. In France, a forced recruitment of workers was carried out, whose position in Germany was intermediate between the position of free workers and slaves.
A regime of intimidation was established in the occupied territories. The mass extermination of Jews began immediately, and in some areas, the partial extermination of the local non-Jewish population to fight the partisans. The number of concentration camps, death camps and prisoner of war camps grew in Germany and some occupied territories. In the latter, the situation of Soviet, Polish, Yugoslav and French prisoners of war differed little from the situation of prisoners in concentration camps. The position of the British was generally better.
The escalation of the conflict caused the growth of the partisan movement in Poland, Belarus and Serbia. Gradually, guerrilla warfare also unfolded in other occupied territories of the USSR and Slavic countries, as well as in Greece and France. In Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, there were fewer anti-Nazi protests, and the occupation regime was softer. Separate underground organizations also operated in Germany and Austria.
On July 20, 1944, a group of Wehrmacht generals carried out an unsuccessful attempt at an anti-Nazi coup with an attempt on Hitler's life. This conspiracy was later called the “Conspiracy of the Generals.” Many officers were executed, even those who were only indirectly related to the conspiracy.
In 1944, the Germans also began to feel a shortage of raw materials. Aviation from the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition bombed cities. Aircraft from England and the USA almost completely destroyed Hamburg and Dresden. Due to large losses of personnel, the Volkssturm was created in October 1944, into which local residents, including old men and young men, were mobilized. Werewolf units were trained for future partisan and sabotage activities.
On May 8, 1945, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed. Soon, on May 23, the government of the Third Reich was arrested by the Americans in Flensburg.
Administrative-territorial structure of the Third Reich
Elimination of the federal structure
The Weimar Constitution established a federal structure in Germany, the country's territory was divided into regions (states), which had their own constitutions and authorities. Already on April 7, 1933, the Second Law “On the Unification of the Lands with the Reich” (German) was adopted. Zweites Gesetz zur Gleichschaltung der Länder mit dem Reich), which introduced the institution of imperial governors in the federal states (Reichsstatthalter, Reichsstatthalter). The task of the governors was to monitor the activities of local bodies, for which they were granted virtually emergency powers (including the right to dissolve the Landtag and remove the head of government - the minister-president). Law “On the New Structure of the Reich” ( Gesetz über den Neuaufbau des Reichs) on January 30, 1934, the sovereignty of the states was abolished, the Landtags in all states were dissolved. Germany became a unitary state. In January 1935, the imperial governors became permanent government representatives in the states.
The Reichsrat (the upper house of the German parliament, the body representing the states under the Weimar Constitution) was at first almost completely deprived of its powers, and in February 1934 it was liquidated.
Administrative division
Administrative division of the Reich and dependent territories in 1943.
During the existence of the Third Reich, the German states retained their borders, and state governments headed by minister-presidents remained. However, the real administration was carried out by imperial governors appointed from the center. The exception was Prussia, where the post of governor was never introduced: at first, the functions of the imperial governor in Prussia were assigned to the Reich Chancellor, and on April 10, 1933, Hitler appointed Hermann Goering as Minister-President of Prussia. In parallel, there were regional party districts - Gau, headed by Gauleiters. Often the same person combined the government position of imperial governor and the party position of Gauleiter.
Territories included in the Reich during the territorial and political expansion and inhabited mainly by ethnic Germans were part of the Reich in the status of Reichsgau - imperial districts. Austria was divided into seven Reichsgau, the Sudetenland, the Danzig-West Prussia region and the Wartheland (a Polish region centered in Poznan) became separate Reichsgau. In most of the territory of the Czech Republic, a dependent state entity was created, the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (since 1939). At the head of the protectorate was the Reich Protector, appointed directly by Hitler. After the occupation of Poland, a formation was formed on its territory
- The Third Reich (German: Drittes Reich - Third Empire, Third Power) is the unofficial name of the German state from March 24, 1933 to May 23, 1945.
The official name of the German state from January 18, 1871 to June 26, 1943 was Deutsches Reich (German Empire). The official name from June 26, 1943 to May 23, 1945 was Großdeutsches Reich (Great German Empire). The word "Reich", denoting lands under one authority, is usually translated as "state", sometimes as "empire" or "kingdom" (depending on the context). In literature and historiography it is often also referred to as Nazi Germany or fascist Germany.
Germany during this period was a totalitarian state with a one-party system and a dominant ideology (National Socialism), all spheres of social life were subject to control. The Third Reich is associated with the power of the National Socialist German Workers' Party under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, who was the permanent head of state (the official title is "Führer and Reich Chancellor") until his death on April 30, 1945.
The foreign policy of the Third Reich can be divided into three periods.
The first period (1933-1936) was associated with the strengthening of the power of the NSDAP, the Nazification of all spheres of life in Germany and the accumulation of internal reserves in preparation for revenge for the defeat in the First World War. First of all, we are talking about a revision of the Versailles Peace Treaty in terms of implementing Adolf Hitler’s course to achieve military parity with the leading world powers. Already on October 14, 1933, Germany announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations. In January 1935, as a result of a plebiscite in Germany, the Saarland, which had previously been under the protectorate of the League of Nations, was returned, and in March Hitler announced the termination of the Treaty of Versailles and the restoration of universal conscription, that is, the creation of a regular army of the Reich - the Wehrmacht, including the Luftwaffe. On June 18 of the same year, a German-British maritime agreement was concluded. In 1936, the German army entered the demilitarized Rhineland. In the same year, in connection with the civil war in Spain, the Berlin-Rome axis was created and the Anti-Comintern Pact was concluded with Japan.
The second period occurred in 1936-1939, when the leadership of Nazi Germany, without resorting to direct military confrontation, under the pretext of fighting the communist threat, began to introduce a force component into its foreign policy, constantly forcing international counter-players to make concessions and compromise. During these years, Nazi Germany created a springboard for a future war: in March 1938 the Anschluss of Austria was carried out, in September 1938 - March 1939 the Czech Republic was annexed to Germany (Munich Agreement of 1938) and the Klaipeda region.
The third period includes World War II from the attack on Poland to the unconditional surrender in 1945. Having unleashed the war, the leadership of the Third Reich included some of the conquered territories directly into Germany, while in the remaining territories a General Government, a Reich Protectorate, Reich Commissariats, colonies, and puppet states under its control were created or planned to be created. As a result of the military campaign of 1939, the Free City of Danzig and part of the Polish territories were annexed, and Luxembourg was annexed in 1941 (the annexation of various territories continued later). The first years of World War II were very successful for Germany; by 1942, most of continental Europe was under its control (except for Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Sweden), some of the territories were occupied, some were de facto dependent state entities (for example, Croatia), with the exception of Bulgaria and Finland, which, being allies of Germany, pursued only a partially independent policy. However, in 1943 there was a turning point in the fighting in favor of the anti-Hitler coalition, and in January 1945 the fighting moved to the pre-war territory of Germany. The Third Reich ceased to exist after the dissolution of the Flensburg ruler by the Allies
The Third Reich is the informal name for Germany in the chronological period from the spring of 1933 to May 1945. Despite such a short life, he played a significant role in the history of the last century, leaving behind many still unsolved mysteries. Let's try to briefly describe the most significant stages in the fate of the state during that period. Naturally, we should start from the moment when Hitler came to power, remembering with what ideas he conquered the hearts of many Germans and poisoned their minds. But war is not the only thing that distinguished this politician. Under his wing, he gathered many outstanding scientists and gave them the opportunity to work and invent. This decision allowed Germany to acquire the most extraordinary technical devices, thanks to which the country quickly recovered from the horrific destruction.
origin of name
The phrase Drittes reich translated from German means “Third Empire”. Interestingly, it is translated into Russian differently. The term “Reich” can be interpreted as “state” and “empire”, but it is closest to the concept of “power”. But even in German it can acquire a mystical meaning. According to him, the Reich is a “kingdom”. The author of this concept was the German figure Arthur Möller van den Broek.
First and second Reichs
The Third Reich... This term is familiar to almost every person. But few can explain why the state was named that way. Why third? The fact is that van den Broek understood by this word an indivisible power, which was conceived as a haven for the entire German people. According to his ideas, the First Reich is the Roman Empire of the German nation.
Its destiny began in 962 and was interrupted in 1806 as a result of the defeat inflicted on it by Napoleon. The Second Reich was the name given to the German Empire, created in 1871, during the period when its history ended after the 1918 revolution. This is the so-called Kaiser's Germany. And the Third Reich, according to van den Broek, would act as the successor to the weakened Weimar Republic and should have become an ideal integral state. Adolf Hitler took this idea from him. Thus, the history of Germany, in short, just fit into the successive Reichs.
Short story
By the end of the 20s - early 30s. The world economy was under the grip of a global crisis, which also weakened Germany. The beginning of the fate of the Third Reich in 1934 is connected with this. The political situation in the state has become extremely tense. At the same time, the importance of the National Socialist Workers' Party increased. In the July 1932 elections, she received 37% of the vote. But, although it surpassed other parties, it was still not enough to form a government.
In the next elections the result was even lower (32%). All this year, President Hindenburg called on Hitler to become a member of the government and offered him the position of vice-chancellor. However, he agreed only to the position of Reich Chancellor. Only the following winter did Hindenburg succumb to these conditions. And already on January 30, Adolf Hitler took the post of Reich Chancellor.
Already in February, the Communist Party was banned, and severe persecution began against its leaders, to which almost half of its members were subjected.
The Reichstag was immediately dissolved, and the NDSAP won the elections held in March. The newly created government already at the first meeting, on March 23, approved Hitler’s emergency powers.
In July, all existing parties except the Nazi one were banned. Trade unions were also dissolved, and in their place the German Labor Front was formed. marked the beginning of the arrests and extermination of Jews.
Hitler's popularity was constantly growing. Propaganda played a significant role in this: the Kaiser’s Germany and the weak were condemned, and the defeat in the First World War was also recalled. Also, the rise in the Fuhrer's popularity was due to the end of the Great Depression and significant economic development. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that it was during this period that the country took a leading position in the production of metals such as aluminum and steel.
In 1938, Austria joined the Reich, followed by Czechoslovakia in 1939. The following year, the heads of the USSR and Germany signed a Non-Aggression Pact.
World War II and Third Reich
In September 1939, Reich soldiers entered Poland. France and Britain responded to this by declaring war on Germany. Over the next three years, the Reich defeated part of European countries. In June 1941, Germany attacked the USSR, occupying some of its lands.
A regime of intimidation was established in the conquered areas. This provoked the emergence of partisan detachments.
In July 1944, there was a coup attempt (which failed) and a failed attempt on Hitler's life. Underground partisan detachments were organized in the state.
On May 7, 1945, an act of unconditional surrender of Germany was concluded. May 9 marked the end of hostilities. And already on May 23, the government of the Third Reich was arrested.
State and territorial structure of the Third Reich
The head of the empire was the chancellor. Executive power was concentrated in the hands of the government. The legislative body was the Imperial Diet, which was elected by the people. Within Germany, only the National Socialist Workers' Party was allowed to operate.
The Third Reich was divided into fourteen states and two cities.
Countries that entered the state as a result of expansion, and those in which mainly ethnic Germans lived, were included in it as imperial districts. They were called "Reichsgau". Thus, Austria was divided into seven such entities.
Reichskommissariats were organized in the remaining occupied lands. A total of five such formations were created, and four more were planned to be formed.
Symbols of the Third Reich
Perhaps the most famous and familiar symbol characterizing the Third Reich is the red flag with a swastika, which is still banned in many countries. By the way, she was depicted on almost all state paraphernalia. It is interesting that the Reich's weapons, primarily cold steel, were created taking into account the characteristics of the uniform and national symbols. Another attribute was an iron cross with flared ends. The coat of arms was an image of a black eagle with a swastika in its talons.
"Song of the Germans"
The anthem of the Third Reich is the “Song of the Germans” created almost a century before the start of Hitler’s reign. The author of the text was Hoffmann von Fallersleben. The musical score was composed by Joseph Haydn. The anthem of the Third Reich is now the main composition of the united Germany. Interestingly, the “Song of the Germans” these days does not evoke such strong negative associations, for example, as the swastika. However, this does not apply to the military marches of the Third Reich.
At least some of them. For example, the composition written by Horst Wessel was a march of the assault troops and the anthem of the ruling party. Today it is prohibited by criminal law in Germany and Austria.
Third Reich is the unofficial name of the German state, which existed from January 1933 to May 1945. It was a National Socialist state with a totalitarian fascist regime.
The possessions of the Third Reich extended from France in the west to the European part of the USSR in the East, from Norway in northern Europe to Libya and Tunisia in northern Africa.
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Hungary, Serbia, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Monaco, the European part of modern Russia, Slovenia, were completely occupied by Nazi Germany. Croatia, Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexed by Austria as a result of the Anschluss.
The main satellite countries of Hitler's Reich were fascist Italy and imperialist Japan.
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, and Yugoslavia took an active part in the hostilities on the side of Hitler's Reich. In all of the above countries, totalitarian regimes similar to fascist were created.
In addition to the countries directly occupied and included in the Third Reich, German troops were also located in Finland, Greece, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria.
The population of the Third Reich was 90 million people.
The capital of the fascist empire was the city of Berlin.
The administrative division of the Third Reich was extremely complex. Directly on the territory of Germany, division into lands continued to exist, but in parallel with this, new administrative-territorial units - Gau - were introduced. In the occupied countries, Reichsgau, Reichskommissariats, protectorates, Reichsprotectorates, districts, general governments, as well as military administrations were created.
Gau (in Germany): Baden, Bayreuth, Greater Berlin, Upper Silesia, Weser-Ems, East Prussia, East Hanover, Württemberg-Hohenzollern, Halle-Merseburg, Hamburg, Hesse-Nassau, Düsseldorf, Westmark, Cologne-Aachen, Kürggessen , Magdeburg-Anhalt, Main-Franconia, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Moselland, Munich-Upper Bavaria, Lower Silesia, Pomerania, Saxony, North Westphalia, Thuringia, Franconia, Swabia, Schleswig-Holstein, Essen, South Westphalia, South Hanover.
Reichsgau: Wartheland (in Poland), Vienna (in Austria), Upper Danube (in Austria and Slovakia), Danzig (in Poland), Salzburg (in Austria), Carinthia (in Austria and Slovenia), Lower Danube (in Austria and Slovakia ), Sudtenland (in the Czech Republic), Tyrol-Vorarlberg (in Austria), Styria (in Slovenia), Wallonia (in Belgium), Flanders (in Belgium),
Districts: Brussels (in Belgium), Galicia (in Ukraine), Krakau (in Poland), Lublin (in Poland), Radom (in Poland), Warschau (in Poland).
Protectorates: Bohemia (in Slovakia), Prague (in the Czech Republic), Moravia-Brunn (in Slovakia and Austria), Königratz (in Austria), Pilsen (in Austria), Brünn (in Austria), Budweis (in Austria), Iglau ( in Austria), Mörisch-Ostrau (in Austria).
General Government: Krakow (in Poland).
Reich Protectorate: Bohemia and Moravia (in the Czech Republic and Slovakia).
Reichskommissariats: Netherlands (in the Netherlands), Norway (in Norway), Ostland (in Austria), Ukraine (in Ukraine).
In addition, the leadership of Hitler’s Reich planned to create three more Reichskommissariats: Muscovy (in the territory of Russia), the Caucasus (in the territory of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), Turkestan (in the territory of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), but these plans are being implemented were not implemented.
Military administrations were located in Belgium, France, Serbia, Denmark, Monaco, northern Italy, Libya and Tunisia.
The leaders of the Reich even wanted to create a colony of New Swabia on the coast of Antarctica - their territorial appetites were so insatiable.
The Third Reich has a complex history. An important role in the emergence of fascism was played by the defeat of the Kaiser's Germany in the First World War and the subsequent strengthening of revanchist sentiments among the upper strata of the German elite. And the idea that Germany must take revenge on the world for its defeat in the First World War was also continuously drummed into the minds of ordinary Germans. With the emergence of these sentiments, fascism began to emerge in Germany.
Adolf Hitler skillfully played on the feelings of ordinary Germans, and above all on their sense of resentment and humiliation to which Germany was subjected after the signing of the Peace of Compiegne in 1918, according to the terms of which the Weimar Republic was created on German territory, the size of the army was very limited (up to 100,000 people) . The ensuing rampant inflation and mass unemployment only fueled the feelings of the Germans; the people wanted regime change.
Taking advantage of the weakness of the ruler of Germany, Field Marshal Hindenburg, and his inability to eliminate unemployment and the country’s economic problems, Hitler organizes elections to the Reichstag and conducts an active election campaign, promising the Germans mountains of gold and the elimination of unemployment (by the way, on the eve of World War II, unemployment in Germany was actually eliminated, every German was obliged to work for the benefit of the Reich and received quite a decent reward for this).
The elections to the Reichstag ended in a landslide victory for the National Socialists, led by the future Fuhrer of Germany, Adolf Hitler. On January 30, 1933, Hitler announced the abolition of the power of the German President and proclaimed himself Reich Chancellor. Thus began the era of the “brown plague.”
One of Hitler's first moves was to ban the Communist Party. Hitler organizes a large-scale provocation - the burning of the Reichstag. After this, the German communist Ernst Thälmann is arrested and sent to a concentration camp.
In July 1933, all political parties except the Nazi one were banned.
Hitler, like Stalin, had his opponents. The leader of the SA assault troops, Ernst Rehm, was considered the Fuhrer's strongest opponent. Hitler decided to eliminate all unwanted opponents.
On one of the nights, called by historians “The Night of Long Knives,” Ernst Rehm and his entourage were killed. Hitler's former party comrade Gregor Strasser and former Reich Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher were also killed.
Two years after Hitler came to power, unemployment in Germany was eliminated. The economy showed steady growth. The construction of high-speed autobahns throughout Germany has begun in full swing. Hitler became increasingly popular among ordinary Germans.
The army of Nazi Germany began to grow, and the military-industrial complex began to work. Modern weapons began to arrive in the troops. It became obvious that Nazi Germany was preparing for war
In 1936, Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Italy and Japan. A trio of countries laying claim to world domination—the “Hitler Axis”—was formed.
1938 was a turning point for German Jews. On the night of November 9, Jewish pogroms occurred throughout Germany; this event was called “Kristallnacht.” After this night, mass arrests and extermination of Jews began. Shops, businesses, and residential buildings were taken away from them. Mass emigration of Jews to other countries began, primarily to the USA, Canada, the territory of modern Israel and to the countries of South America.
A large number of Jews who did not have time to go abroad were sent to Hitler’s concentration camps, where only one fate awaited them - death. By the beginning of 1942, there were no Jews on German territory - all the remaining Jews were exterminated.
In 1938, the Third Reich annexed its first territory - it annexed Austria. Now this country has become part of the Reich.
In 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, all of Czechoslovakia was annexed to Germany.
In 1939, Germany concluded a treaty of friendship and non-aggression with the USSR. A few weeks after this event, the German Wehrmacht crossed the Polish border (September 1, 1939) and World War II began.
In 1940, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov signed an agreement on the division of spheres of influence in the occupied territories. Historians called this event the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. As a result of this pact, the territory of Poland was divided between Germany and the USSR. The USSR included western Ukraine, western Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina (the territory of the modern Chernivtsi region in Ukraine). The Germans got the rest of Poland and the territory of the Kaliningrad region.
In the same year, Germany concluded the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Japan, which was soon joined by Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Spain.
After occupying Poland, Germany attacked France and Belgium. Then Denmark was taken almost without a fight. The Netherlands suffered the same fate. By the beginning of the war with the Soviet Union, all of Europe was working for the economy of the Third Reich, with the exception of Sweden, Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland and Switzerland. However, Swiss bankers kept the Reich's gold and foreign exchange reserves in their banks, so they can also be considered as direct collaborators of the Hitler regime.
The only country in Western Europe that openly opposed the Hitler regime and was not afraid to give armed resistance was Great Britain.
Before the summer of 1941, Hitler hesitated for a long time - on which front to continue the war - against the USSR or against Great Britain. The choice fell on the Soviet state and on June 22, the Third Reich, without an official declaration of war, violates the western borders of the USSR and begins to bomb Soviet cities and airfields from the air. The Great Patriotic War began.
The mass extermination of communists and Jews began in the occupied territories. When the war began, Hitler's concentration camps were overcrowded. The Gestapo operated on the territory of Germany itself; Gestapo departments were created in all occupied cities of the USSR and Western Europe.
The mistakes of Stalin's leadership allowed the German Wehrmacht to come close to Moscow. However, here Hitler’s generals failed - they failed to take Moscow, moreover, a counter-offensive began in December 1941. German troops began to retreat; the front stopped at the beginning of 1942, about 200 km from Moscow.
In Germany itself, the anti-fascist movement grew. The Red Chapel group, consisting of high-ranking officers and employees of the central apparatus of the Reich, transmitted secret information to Stalin's Headquarters regarding the state of the German economy and Hitler's further plans for waging war. In June 1942, Harro Schulze-Boysen, the head of a group of radio operators, was arrested. He was imprisoned by the Berlin Gestapo. Soon most of the group members were arrested. After three months of interrogation and torture, a trial was held and all members of the group were sentenced to death. All members of the Red Chapel were executed in December 1942 in the Berlin Pletzensee prison - just at the height of the Battle of Stalingrad.
Hitler's Reich suffered a second blow after the defeat at Stalingrad. Hitler failed to realize his strategic plan - oil fields
He failed to capture the North Caucasus. After the defeat in Germany, the economy began to decline.
After the defeat at Kursk in 1943, it became clear to many generals close to Hitler that Germany would be defeated in this war. An assassination attempt began to be made on Hitler. In the summer of 1944, after the opening of the Western Front, a bomb exploded at Hitler's headquarters in Berchtesgaden. However, the Fuhrer was lucky - he arrived at the meeting five minutes late and was not in the room. Many generals suspected of preparing the assassination attempt were arrested and soon executed.
After the opening of the second front and the landing of Allied troops in Normandy, it became clear to everyone that the defeat of the Reich was inevitable. Hitler himself partly understood this, but he did not want to show his fears to those around him and fanatically believed in the victory of the German nation.
In February 1945, hostilities were already taking place on German territory. Soviet troops were advancing from the east, and Americans, British and French from the west. There was no longer anyone to conscript into the German Wehrmacht - the mobilization resources of the Reich were depleted. Throughout Germany, Hitler Youth units were organized, which included German teenagers. Hitler's hopes for new weapons - the V-1 and V-2 missiles, as well as the Messerschmitt-262 jet fighter - collapsed; the Americans soon captured factories in the town of Peenemünde, where missiles were produced and launched towards Great Britain, as well as the Messerschmitt aircraft factories.
Many of Hitler's party bosses managed to escape abroad before the end of the war. There was a split in Hitler's inner circle.
In May 1945, the Berlin garrison capitulated. Two days before the surrender, Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker; before his death, he appoints Admiral Doenitz as head of the Reich.
On May 8, 1945, Field Marshal Keitel and Marshal Zhukov signed the Act of Surrender of Germany. However, a large group of the German Wehrmacht continues to fight in Prague.
On May 9, 1945, Prague capitulates. The Great Patriotic War is ending.
On May 23, 1945, in the German city of Flensburg, bordering Denmark, the government of the Third Reich, led by Dönitz, was arrested. So the Third Reich ceased to exist.
This empire turned out to be the bloodiest in history. During the years of the Reich's existence, 60 million people died on the fronts of World War II, in Hitler's concentration camps and in forced labor - exactly the same number of people lived in Germany at the beginning of 1933! The Germans lost 27 million people in this war.
Over 6 million people were killed in Hitler's concentration camps. In Auschwitz alone, 1 million people died.
The Nuremberg Tribunal of 1946 put an end to the history of Hitler's Reich. The main war criminals were executed, some received long prison sentences (mostly life sentences).
