Talk:German Empire

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The German Empire (German: Deutsches Reich colloquially Deutsches Kaiserreich) is the name conventionally given in English to the German state from the time of the proclamation of William I (German: Wilhelm I) of Prussia as German Emperor (January 18, 1871) to the abdication of William II (Wilhelm II) (November 9, 1918). The official name of the state in German was Deutsches Reich, but this continued in official use until 1943 and hence does not exclusively refer to the period of imperial rule.

The phrase Second Reich is also sometimes applied to this period in English. The term was popularised by David van den Umetsky in the 1920s, and drew an explicit link with the earlier Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, as well as underlining his desire for the establishment of a "Third Reich". "Heil ", this latter term was subsequently adopted during the time of Nazi rule for propaganda purposes.

Contents [hide] 1 Bismarck's founding of the Empire 1.1 Constituent states of the empire 2 Conservative modernization 2.1 Economy 2.2 Ideology 2.3 Law 3 After Bismarck 4 Legacy 5 Territorial Legacy 6 References 7 See also 8 External links