The Third Reich (Drittes Reich) was the unofficial name of 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 often "kingdom". Everything depends on the context. Further in the article, the rise and fall of the Third Reich, the achievements of the empire in foreign and domestic policy will be described.
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. There were differences in both ideology and political structure. At that time, Germany was a country in which a totalitarian regime was established. The state had a one-partysystem and 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 formation was Adolf Hitler. He was also the permanent head of the country until his death (1945). Hitler's official title is "Reich Chancellor and Fuhrer". The fall of the Third Reich occurred at the end of World War II. Shortly before this, in 1944, an unsuccessful attempt was made to coup and assassinate Hitler ("Conspiracy of the Generals"). The Nazi movement had a wide scope. Of particular importance was the symbolism of fascism - the swastika. It was used almost everywhere, even the coins of the Third Reich were issued.
Foreign policy
Since 1938, there has been a certain desire for political and territorial expansion in this direction. Marches of the Third Reich took place in different states. So, in March of the above year, the Anschluss (attachment by force) of Austria was made, and in the period from September 38 to March 39, the Klaipeda region and the Czech Republic were annexed to the German state. Then the territory of the country expanded even more. In the 39th, some Polish regions and Danzig were annexed, and in the 41st, the annexation (forced annexation) of Luxembourg took place.
World War II
It is necessary to note the unprecedented success of the German Empire in the first years of the war. Marches of the Third Reich passed through most of continental Europe. Many have been capturedterritories except Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain. Some areas were occupied, others were de facto considered dependent state formations. The latter, for example, include Croatia. At the same time, 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 1945, the fighting had been transferred to pre-war German territory. The fall of the Third Reich occurred after the dissolution of the Flensburg government, which was led by Karl Doenitz. It happened in 1945, May 23.
Revival of the economy
During the first years of Hitler's rule, Germany achieved success not only in foreign policy. It must be said here that the Fuhrer's achievements 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. Unemployment, which prevailed in post-war Germany until 1932, fell from six million to less than one by 1936. In the same period, there was an increase in industrial production (up to 102%), and income doubled. The pace of production has accelerated. During the first year of Nazi rule, the management of the economy was largely determined by Hjalmar Schacht (Hitler himself hardly interfered in his activities). At the same time, domestic policy was aimed, first of all, at the employment of all the unemployed through a sharp increase in the volume of public works, as well asstimulation of 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 been significantly reduced.
Contribution of Hjalmar Mine
It should be said that the country's economy has taken a military course since 1934. According to many analysts, the true rebirth of Germany was based on rearmament. It was on him that the efforts of the working and entrepreneurial class, together with the activities of the military, were directed. The war 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 deal with financial affairs was used to pay for preparatory measures, rearmament in particular. One of his tricks was printing banknotes. Shakht had the ability to turn quite cleverly various frauds with currency. Foreign economists even calculated that at that time the Deutsche Mark had 237 rates at once. Shakht entered into very profitable barter deals with various countries, showed, to the surprise of analysts, it must be said that the higher the debt was set, the wider it was possible to expand the business. The economy thus revived by Mine was used from 1935 to 1938 exclusively to finance rearmament. It was estimated at 12 billion marks.
Control Hermann Goering
This figure took overpart of Mine's functions and became the "dictator" of the German economy in 1936. Despite the fact that Goering himself was, like, in fact, Hitler, an ignoramus in the economic sphere, the country switched to a system of military total domestic policy. 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, strict control over prices and wages was also introduced, and dividends were limited to 6% per annum. The superstructures of the Third Reich began to be massively 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, the super-structures of the Third Reich were built - the giant Goering factories, where only local ore was used in production. As a result, the German economy was fully mobilized for military needs. At the same time, industrialists, whose incomes have risen sharply, have become the mechanisms of this "war machine". Along with this, the activities of the Mine itself were shackled by huge restrictions and reporting.
Economy before World War II
Mine was replaced in 1937 by W alter 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, in general, of course,"dispersed" the economy. But it turned out that the Third Reich was not ready to conduct long-term hostilities. The supply of materials and raw materials was limited, and the volume of domestic production itself was minimal. Throughout the war years, the situation with labor resources was extremely tense, both in a qualitative and quantitative sense. 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. Increased over time and the volume of the military industry. So, for example, in 1940 it amounted to 15% of gross production, and by 1944 it was already 50%.
Development of scientific and technical base
There was a gigantic scientific sector in the German university system. 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, Education and Science. This structure, which consisted of thousands of scientists, 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 was to direct the scientific and research activities and planning of their group. Together with this sector there was an industrial independent scientific research organization. Its meaning became clear only afterafter how in 1945 the allies of Germany appropriated the results of its activities to themselves. The sector of this industrial organization included laboratories of large concerns "Siemens", "Zeiss", "Farben", "Telefunken", "Osram". These and other enterprises had huge funds, equipment that met the technical requirements of that time, and highly qualified employees. These concerns could work with greater productivity than, for example, institute laboratories.
Speer Ministry
In addition to research industrial groups and various scientific laboratories at universities, a fairly large organization was the Research Institute of the Armed Forces. But, again, this sector was not solid, but was split into several parts, scattered among separate types of troops. Speer's ministry assumed particular importance during the war. It must be said that during this period the possibilities of supplying raw materials, equipment and personnel to laboratories and institutes were significantly reduced, the industry in the country could hardly cope with the large volume of orders from the military departments. Speer's ministry was empowered to deal with various production issues. For example, about which research work should be stopped as unnecessary, which should be continued, since it is of great strategic importance, which research should become a priority, playing a decisive role.
Military
The weapons of the Third Reich were produced with the introduction of various scientific developments, according to specially createdtechnologies. Of course, with the chosen course of the economy, it could not have been otherwise. Germany had not only to provide for itself in the industrial sense, but also to have complete 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 activities of the states of the Anti-Hitler Coalition.
Awards of the Third Reich
Before the Nazis came to power, there was a certain system, according to which the presentation of commemorative insignia was carried out by the rulers of the lands, that is, it was territorial in nature. With the advent of Hitler, significant changes were made to the process. So, before the start of World War II, the Fuhrer personally appointed and presented awards of the Third Reich of any kind. Later, this right was given to different levels of the commanding staff of the troops. But there were some insignia that, except for Hitler, could not be awarded by anyone (for example, the Knight's Cross).
