page_title: Nazi Germany
hierarchical_section_title: Nazi Germany
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Karte der administrativen Gliederung des Großdeutschen Reiches in Länder, preußische Provinzen und Reichsgaue 1944. English: Map of the administrative division of the Greater German Reich ("Großdeutsches Reich"/"Großdeutschland"/"Greater German Empire"/"Greater Germany") by federal states, Prussian provinces and Reichsgaue 1944 (in German). Polski: Mapa Wielkiej Rzeszy Niemieckiej (1944)
context_page_description: Nazi Germany is the period when Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party controlled Germany. It is also sometimes called the Third Reich, which means the 'Third Empire' or 'Third Realm'. The first German empire was the Holy Roman Empire. The second was the Second German Empire of 1871 - 1918. The Nazis said they were making the third, even if itself never was the monarchy at all. However, the term 'Third Reich' was more popular in other countries. In Germany it was merely The Reich or the Greater German Reich.
  Adolf Hitler led Nazi Germany until it was defeated in World War II in the Battle of Berlin, when he killed himself in 1945. The Nazi Party was destroyed in the same year as its leaders ran away, were arrested, or killed themselves. Some were executed for war crimes by the Western and Soviet powers. Others survived, with some of them getting important jobs. However, their racial policies never again held power in Germany.
  The Nazi government was formed under the idea that some races were better than others. The Nazis thought the "Aryan race" were the best race of all and deserved power and respect.
context_section_description: Nazi Germany is the period when Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party controlled Germany. It is also sometimes called the Third Reich (German: Drittes Reich), which means the 'Third Empire' or 'Third Realm'. The first German empire was the Holy Roman Empire. The second was the Second German Empire of 1871 - 1918. The Nazis said they were making the third, even if itself never was the monarchy at all. However, the term 'Third Reich' was more popular in other countries. In Germany it was merely The Reich (pronounced 'rike') or the Greater German Reich (German: Großdeutsches Reich).
  Adolf Hitler led Nazi Germany until it was defeated in World War II in the Battle of Berlin, when he killed himself in 1945. The Nazi Party was destroyed in the same year as its leaders ran away, were arrested, or killed themselves. Some were executed for war crimes by the Western and Soviet powers. Others survived, with some of them getting important jobs. However, their racial policies never again held power in Germany.
  The Nazi government was formed under the idea that some races were better than others. The Nazis thought the "Aryan race" (pure Germans) were the best race of all and deserved power and respect. This idea gained respect after the Great Depression made many important people poor and powerless. Hitler blamed the problems on Jewish capitalists and communist gangs. He was able to make Germans feel like they were innocent victims who had to take charge over Europe.
  When the Nazi regime was destroyed at the end of World War II, Germany was split into four "occupation zones". The Soviet Union took East Germany. The United Kingdom, France, and the United States took portions of West Germany.
caption: Administrative divisions of Germany, July 1944
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