All of us know that Hitler’s Nazi Germany was called the Third Reich.
But what were the first two Reichs? I was unclear about this, so I looked it up:
The First Reich
I’m still somewhat unclear about this. Wikipedia has it starting in 962 AD with the coronation of Otto I and the creation of the Holy Roman Empire. However, Encyclopedia Britannica suggests it started earlier with the seemingly impromptu crowning of Charlemagne on Christmas Day in 800 AD. It ends with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 after the Napoleonic Wars.
The Second Reich
The Second Reich begins with Bismarck’s unification of Germany in 1871 under the Kaiser and ends with its defeat in World War I.
The Third Reich
Well, that needs little introduction …