| − | The '''Third Reich''' (German: ''Deutsches Reich'', "German Reich") was the dictatorship of [[Germany]] while under the control of the [[Nazi Party]] and its leader ("[[Führer]]"), [[Adolf Hitler]]. The state that lasted from 1933–1945, is commonly known as Nazi Germany. Quickly consolidating power after his appointment as chancellor by President [[Paul von Hindenburg]], Hitler pulled the country out of the worldwide depression with carious government spending programs and transformed it once again into a major [[Europe]]an power; his lust for German territorial expansion at the expense of other countries, primarily Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, beliefs in an Aryan "master race", and a hatred of those considered "sub-human" (primarily the Jews, Russians, and other Slavs) led to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, which left Germany and much of Europe in ruins and millions of people dead. | + | The '''Third Reich''' (German: ''Deutsches Reich'', "German Reich") was the dictatorship of [[Germany]] while under the control of the [[Nazi Party]] and its leader ("[[Führer]]"), [[Adolf Hitler]]. The state that lasted from 1933–1945, is commonly known as Nazi Germany. Quickly consolidating power after his appointment as chancellor by President [[Paul von Hindenburg]], Hitler pulled the country out of the worldwide depression with various government spending programs and transformed it once again into a major [[Europe]]an power; his lust for German territorial expansion at the expense of other countries, primarily Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, beliefs in an Aryan "master race", and a hatred of those considered "sub-human" (primarily the Jews, Russians, and other Slavs) led to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, which left Germany and much of Europe in ruins and millions of people dead. |
| | In taking over Germany, Hitler believed that he was creating a third German empire, following the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (800–1806) – what he called the [[First Reich]] – and the [[Second Reich]] created by [[Otto von Bismarck]], which lasted 1871–1918. | | In taking over Germany, Hitler believed that he was creating a third German empire, following the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (800–1806) – what he called the [[First Reich]] – and the [[Second Reich]] created by [[Otto von Bismarck]], which lasted 1871–1918. |