German Empire
Historical period of the German nation-state in Central Europe from 1871 to 1918
The German Empire (German: Deutsches Reich),[a][15][16][17][18] also referred to as Imperial Germany,[19] the Second Reich[b][20] or simply Germany, was a country in Europe during the period of the German Reich from 1871 until its dissolution in November 1918. When the German Empire collapsed, it became the Weimar Republic as part of the German Republic.[21][22]
German Empire Deutsches Reich (German) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1871–1918 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
![Coat of arms (1889–1918)[1] of German Reich](/wiki/File:Wappen_Deutsches_Reich_-_Reichsadler_1889.svg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motto: Gott mit uns (German)[2] Nobiscum Deus (Latin) ("God with us") | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz[3] ("Hail to Thee in the Victor's Crown") Die Wacht am Rhein (unofficial)[4][5][6] ("The Watch on the Rhine") | |||||||||||||||||||||||
  -en.png) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 The German colonial empire in 1914 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Berlin 52°31′7″N 13°22′34″E / 52.51861°N 13.37611°E | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Official languages | German | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | List
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| Religion (1880) | Majority: 62.63% Protestant (United Protestant, Lutheran, Reformed) Minorities: 35.89% Roman Catholic 1.24% Jewish 0.17% other Christian 0.07% other | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Demonym(s) | German | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Federal parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy[7][8][9][10]
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| Emperor | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1871–1888 | Wilhelm I | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1888 | Friedrich III | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1888–1918 | Wilhelm II | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chancellor | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1871–1890 | Otto von Bismarck | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1890–1894 | Leo von Caprivi | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1894–1900 | C. zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1900–1909 | Bernhard von Bülow | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1909–1917 | T. von Bethmann Hollweg | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1917 | Georg Michaelis | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1917–1918 | Georg von Hertling | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1918 | Max von Baden | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Bicameral | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Upper house | Bundesrat | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Lower house | Reichstag | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | New Imperialism • World War I | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 January 1871 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 April 1871 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 November 1884 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28 July 1914 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 November 1918 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 November 1918 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 November 1918 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 August 1919 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• Total | 1,750,000 km2 (680,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1910[13] | 540,857.54 km2 (208,826.26 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• Estimate | 70,000,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1871[14] | 41,058,792 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1900[14] | 56,367,178 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1910[14] | 64,925,993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Until 1873: (1873–1914) German Papiermark (1914–1918) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Area and population not including colonial possessions | |||||||||||||||||||||||
List of German states
change
| State | Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdoms (Königreiche) | ||
.svg){kind=small}
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Prussia (Preußen) | Berlin |
.svg){kind=small}
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Bavaria (Bayern) | Munich |
.svg){kind=small}
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Saxony (Sachsen) | Dresden |
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Württemberg | Stuttgart |
| Grand duchies (Großherzogtümer) | ||
.svg){kind=small}
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Baden | Karlsruhe |
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Hesse (Hessen) | Darmstadt |
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Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Schwerin |
|
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Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Neustrelitz |
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Oldenburg | Oldenburg |
.svg){kind=small}
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Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) | Weimar |
| Duchies (Herzogtümer) | ||
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Anhalt | Dessau |
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Brunswick (Braunschweig) | Braunschweig |
.svg){kind=small}
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Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg) | Altenburg |
.svg){kind=small}
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Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) | Coburg |
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Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen) | Meiningen |
| Principalities (Fürstentümer) | ||
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Lippe | Detmold |
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Reuss, junior line | Gera |
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Reuss, senior line | Greiz |
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Schaumburg-Lippe | Bückeburg |
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Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Rudolstadt |
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Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Sondershausen |
.svg){kind=small}
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Waldeck-Pyrmont | Arolsen |
| Free Hanseatic cities (Freie Hansestädte) | ||
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Bremen | |
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Hamburg | |
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Lübeck | |
| Imperial territory (Reichsland) | ||
.svg){kind=small}
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Alsace-Lorraine (Elsaß-Lothringen) | Straßburg |
Related pages
changeNotes
changeReferences
change- ↑ Seyler, Gustav A.:Die Wappen der deutschen Landesfürsten. Reprograf. Nachdr. von Siebmacher's Wappenbuch 1. Bd., 1. Abt. 2. – 5. Teil (Nürnberg 1909 – 1929)
- ↑ Preble, George Henry, History of the Flag of the United States of America: With a Chronicle of the Symbols, Standards, Banners, and Flags of Ancient and Modern Nations, 2nd ed, p. 102; A. Williams and co, 1880
- ↑ Fischer, Michael; Senkel, Christian (2010). Klaus Tanner (ed.). Reichsgründung 1871: Ereignis, Beschreibung, Inszenierung. Münster: Bachmann Verlag.
- ↑ Hansen, Hans Jürgen (1978). Heil Dir im Siegerkranz: die Hymnen der Deutschen. Oldenburg, Hamburg: Stalling. ISBN 3-7979-1950-6.
- ↑ von ADELHEID, K. L. A. I. B. E. R. ""Max Schneckenburger (1819–1849)–der Dichter der "Wacht am Rhein "". SCHRIFTEN DER BAAR. p. 165. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ↑ Ochsmann, Almut. "100 Jahre deutsche Nationalhymne: Überlegungen zu Eine vaterländische Ouvertüre op. 140." Mitteilungen der Internationalen Max-Reger-Gesellschaft 3.42 (2022): 18–23.
- ↑ "German Empire". Britannica. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ↑ Nipperdey, Thomas, "Deutsche Geschichte 1866–1918: Zweiter Band: Machtstaat vor der Demokratie" (1995), p. 98–108.
- ↑ Röhl, John C. G. "Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Concise Life" (2014), p. 172–173.
- ↑ Haardt, Oliver F. R. (2016). "The Kaiser in the Federal State, 1871–1918". German History. 34 (4): 529–554. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghw117. ISSN 0266-3554.
- ↑ Wheeler-Bennett, John (1967). The Nemesis of Power The German Army in Politics 1918–1945. London: Macmillan. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-1-4039-1812-3.
- ↑ Statement of Abdication of Wilhelm II
- ↑ "German Empire: administrative subdivision and municipalities, 1900 to 1910" (in German). Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Population statistics of the German Empire, 1871" (in German). Archived from the original on 5 April 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
- ↑ "German constitution of 1871" (in German). German Wikisource. 16 March 2011. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ↑ "Cornell University Library Making of America Collection". collections.library.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
- ↑ World Book, Inc. The World Book dictionary, Volume 1. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany.
- ↑ Joseph Whitaker. Whitaker's almanack, 1991. J Whitaker & Sons, 1990. Pp. 765. Refers to the term Deutsches Reich being translated into English as "German Realm", up to and including the Weimar period.
- ↑ See, for example, Roger Chickering, Imperial Germany and the Great War, 1914–1918. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014; Cornelius Torp and Sven Oliver Müller, eds., Imperial Germany Revisited: Continuing Debates & New Perspectives. Oxford: Berghahn, 2011; James Retallack, ed., Imperial Germany 1871–1918. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008; Isabel V. Hull, Absolute Destruction: Military Culture and the Practices of War in Imperial Germany. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2005.
- ↑ "German Empire". Britannica. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ↑ Toyka-Seid, Gerd Schneider, Christiane. "Reichsgründung/ Deutsches Reich | bpb". bpb.de (in German). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Sturm, Reinhard (23 December 2011). "Vom Kaiserreich zur Republik 1918/19 – Weimarer Republik". bpb.de (in German). Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2020.