Third Reich (Drittes Reich) - so unofficially called the German state from 1933 to 1945. The German word Reich literally means "lands that are subject to one authority." But, as a rule, it is translated as “power”, “empire”, less commonly “kingdom”. It all depends on the context. The article will further describe the rise and fall of the Third Reich, the achievements of the empire in foreign and domestic policy.
general information
In historiography and literature, the Third Reich is called fascist or Nazi Germany. The first name, as a rule, was used in Soviet publications. But this use of the term is somewhat incorrect, since the fascist regimes of Mussolini in Italy and Hitler had significant differences. Differences were revealed both in ideology and in political structure. At that time, Germany was a country in which a totalitarian regime was established. In the state there was a one-party system and the dominant ideology - national socialism. Government control extended to absolutely all areas of activity. The Third Reich was supported by the power of the German National Socialist Workers Party. The head of this education was Adolf Hitler. He was also the permanent head of the country until his death (1945). The official title of Hitler is the "Reich Chancellor and the Fuhrer." The fall of the Third Reich occurred at the end of World War II. Shortly before that, in 1944, an unsuccessful attempt was made to coup and assassinate Hitler ("Conspiracy of Generals"). The Nazi movement was widespread. Of particular importance was the symbolism of fascism - the swastika. It was used almost everywhere, even coins of the Third Reich were issued.
Foreign policy
Since 1938, a certain desire for political and territorial expansion was noted in this direction. Marches of the Third Reich passed through different states. So, in March of the year indicated above, anschluss (joining by force) of Austria was made, and in the period from September 38th to March 39th, Klaipeda Region and the Czech Republic were annexed to the German state. Then the country's territory expanded even more. In the 39th, some Polish provinces and Danzig were annexed, and in the 41st, annexation (forced accession) of Luxembourg took place.
WWII
It should be noted the unprecedented success of the German Empire in the early years of the war. The Third Reich marches passed through most of continental Europe. Many territories were captured, with the exception of Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain. Some regions were occupied, others were de facto considered dependent state entities. The latter, for example, include Croatia. There were exceptions - these are Finland and Bulgaria. They were allies of Germany and nevertheless carried out an independent policy. But by 1943 there was a significant turning point in hostilities. The advantage was now on the side of the Anti-Hitler coalition. By January 45th, hostilities were transferred to pre-war German territory. The fall of the Third Reich occurred after the dissolution of the Flensburg government, led by Karl Doenitz. This happened in 1945, May 23.
Economic revival
During the first years of Hitler's rule, Germany achieved success not only in foreign policy. It must be said here that the achievements of the Fuhrer also contributed to the economic revival of the state. The results of his activities were evaluated by a number of foreign analysts and in political circles as a miracle. Reigning in post-war Germany until 1932, unemployment declined from six million to an incomplete one by 1936. In the same period, there was an increase in industrial production (up to 102%), and income doubled. The pace of production accelerated. During the first year of Nazi rule, economic management was largely determined by Yalmar Schacht (Hitler himself almost did not interfere in his activities). At the same time, domestic policy was aimed, first of all, at the employment of all unemployed due to a sharp increase in the volume of public work, as well as stimulating the sphere of private entrepreneurship. For the unemployed, a state loan was provided in the form of special bills. Tax rates for companies expanding capital investments and ensuring a stable increase in employment have significantly decreased.
Contribution of Yalmar Mine
It should be said that the country's economy since 1934 has taken a military course. According to many analysts, the true revival of Germany was based on rearmament. It was he who directed the efforts of the working and entrepreneurial class in conjunction with the activities of the military. The military economy was organized in such a way as to function both in peacetime and during the period of hostilities, but was generally oriented towards war. Mine's ability to engage in financial affairs was aimed at paying for preparatory measures, and rearmament in particular. One of his tricks was printing banknotes. Mine possessed the ability to crank quite swiftly various frauds with currency. Foreign economists even estimated that at that time the German brand had 237 courses at once. Mine concluded very profitable exchange transactions with various countries, showed, to the surprise of analysts, it must be said that the higher the debt was established, the wider it was possible to expand the business. The economy revived in this way by Mine from 1935 to 1938 was used exclusively to finance rearmament. It was estimated at 12 billion marks.
Hermann Goering's control
This figure assumed some of the functions of Mine and became the "dictator" of the German economy in 1936. Despite the fact that Goering himself was, like Hitler, an ignoramus in the economic sphere, the country switched to a system of military total domestic politics. A four-year plan was developed, the purpose of which was to turn Germany into a state capable of independently providing itself with everything necessary in case of war and blockade. As a result, imports were reduced to the lowest possible level, tight control of prices and salaries was also started, dividends began to be limited to 6% per annum. Super-structures of the Third Reich began to be mass-built. These were huge factories for the production of fabrics, synthetic rubber, fuel, and other goods from their own raw materials. The steel industry also began to develop. In particular, superstructures of the Third Reich were erected - giant Goering plants, where exclusively local ore was used in production. As a result, the German economy was fully mobilized for military purposes. At the same time, industrialists, whose incomes increased sharply, became the mechanisms of this “military machine”. At the same time, the activities of the Mine itself were constrained by enormous restrictions and reporting.
Economics before the start of World War II
The mine was replaced in 1937 by Walter Funk. He first served as Minister of Economics, and then, two years later, in 1939, became president of the Reichsbank. According to experts, by the beginning of World War II, Germany, on the whole, of course, had “dispersed” the economy. But it turned out that the Third Reich was not ready to conduct prolonged hostilities. The supply of materials, raw materials was limited, and the volume of domestic production itself was minimal. Throughout the war years, the situation with labor resources has been extremely tense, both in qualitative and quantitative terms. However, despite all the difficulties, due to the total control of the state apparatus and German organization, the economy nevertheless got on the right track. And although there was a war, production in the country grew steadily. The volume of military industry also increased over time. So, for example, in 1940 it amounted to 15% of gross production, and by 1944 it was already 50%.
Development of a scientific and technical base
In the system of universities in Germany there was a giant scientific sector. Higher technical institutions and universities belonged to it. The research institute " Kaiser Wilhelm Society" belonged to the same sector . Organizationally, all institutions were subordinate to the Ministry of Education, Parenting and Science. This structure, where thousands of scientists consisted, had its own scientific council, whose members were representatives of various disciplines (medicine, foundry and mining, chemistry, physics and others). Each such scientist was subordinate to a separate group of specialists of the same profile. Each member of the council had to direct the scientific and research activity and planning of his group. Along with this sector, there was an industrial independent scientific research organization. Its significance became clear only after the allies of Germany appropriated the results of its activities to themselves in 1945. The laboratories of the major concerns Siemens, Zeiss, Farben, Telefunken, Osram belonged to the sector of this industrial organization. These and other enterprises had huge funds, equipment that met the technical requirements of that time, highly qualified employees. These concerns could work with higher productivity than, for example, institute laboratories.
Speer Ministry
In addition to research industrial groups and various scientific laboratories at universities, a rather large organization was the Scientific Research Institute of the Armed Forces. But, again, this sector was not integral, but was split into several parts, scattered among individual types of troops. Speer’s ministry gained special importance during the war. I must say that during this period the possibilities of supplying laboratories and institutes with raw materials, equipment and personnel were significantly reduced, the industry in the country could hardly cope with a large volume of orders from military departments. The Speer Ministry received the authority to resolve various production issues. For example, about which research work should be stopped as unnecessary, which should be continued, since it has important strategic importance, what research should become a priority, playing a decisive role.
Warfare
The weapons of the Third Reich were made with the introduction of various scientific developments, using specially created technologies. Of course, with the chosen course of the economy, there could not be another. Germany was not only to provide for itself in an industrial sense, but also to have equipped troops. In addition to the usual, the "cold weapons" of the Third Reich began to be developed. However, all projects were frozen even before the defeat of fascism. The results of many research works served as a starting point for the scientific activity of the states of the Anti-Hitler coalition.
Awards of the Third Reich
Before the Nazis came to power, there was a certain system in accordance with which the presentation of commemorative insignia was carried out by the rulers of the land, that is, it had a territorial character. With the advent of Hitler, significant changes were made to the process. So, before the start of World War II, the Führer personally appointed and presented the Third Reich awards of any kind. Later, various levels of command personnel received this right. But there were some insignia that, apart from Hitler, could not be handed over by anyone (for example, the Knight's Cross).