Reich ▶(?) (/ʁaɪç/), is the German word for "Realm" or "empire", Cognate with Scandinavian rike and Dutch rijk. It is the word traditionally used for a variety of sovereign entities, including Germany in many periods of its history. It is also found in the compound Königreich, "kingdom", and in the country names Frankreich (France, literally the "Realm of the Franks") and Österreich (Austria, the "Eastern Realm"). The German version of the Lord's Prayer uses the words Dein Reich komme for "ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου" (usually translated as "thy kingdom come" in English). Used adjectivally, reich is the German word for "rich", so there is also an overlap in meaning with "Commonwealth". All this demonstrates that, similar to its Latin counterpart, imperium, and not as the translation with empire seems to suggest, Reich has not neccessarily a monarchist connotation. Therefore, one should not be irritated by the fact that under the Weimar Republic Germany was still titled Deutsches Reich.
The unified Germany which arose under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1871 was called in German the Deutsches Reich, and this remained the official name of Germany until 1945, although these years saw three very different political systems more commonly referred to as the German Empire (1871-1918), the Weimar Republic (1919-1933), and the Third Reich (the National Socialist period) (1933-1945).
The Nazis sought to legitimise their power historiographically by portraying their rule as a continuation of a Germanic past. They coined the term Das Dritte Reich ("The Third Empire" - usually rendered in English in the half-translation "The Third Reich"), counting the Holy Roman Empire as the first and the 1871 Empire as the second. They also used the Political slogan Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer ("One people, one Reich, one leader"). Although the term "Third Reich" is in common use, the terms "First Reich" and "Second Reich" for the earlier periods are seldom found outside Nazi propaganda. To adopt them as some commentators did in the post-war years is generally frowned upon as accepting subversive Nazi historiography.
A number of words used by the Nazis which earlier were neutral have later taken on a negative connotation in German (e.g. Führer or Heil); the word "Reich" is usually not one of them, although in certain contexts it does carry a connotation of German Imperialism and/or strong Nationalism. Since 1945, the word Reich has not been used in contemporary references, though it is still found in the name of the Reichstag building, which since 1999 houses the German federal Parliament (Bundestag).