Greater Germanic Reich of the German Nation

> "There's a man alone, without family, without children, without God ... He builds legions, but he doesn't build a nation. A nation is created by families, a religion, traditions: it is made up out of the hearts of mothers, the wisdom of fathers, the joy and the exuberance of children ... For a few months I was inclined to believe in National Socialism. I thought of it as a necessary fever. And I was gratified to see that there were, associated with it for a time, some of the wisest and most outstanding Germans. But these, one by one, he has got rid of or even killed ... He has left nothing but a bunch of shirted gangsters! This man could bring home victories to our people each year, without bringing them either glory or danger. But of our Germany, which was a nation of poets and musicians, of artists and soldiers, he has made a nation of hysterics and hermits, engulfed in a mob and led by a thousand liars or fanatics."
>
> German Emperor, King of Prussia, **Wilhelm II**, 1938

## Greater Germanic Reich of the German Nation

The last stronghold of human civilization, finds itself surrounded from all continents.

**1933-Present**

### Head of State

President of the Reich
* Adolf Hitler (1933-1950)
* Erwin Bumke {acting} (1950-1951)
* Hermann Göring (1951-1964)
* **Karl Dönitz** (1964-Present)

### Head of Government

Imperial Chancellor
* Adolf Hitler (1933-1950)
* Hermann Göring (1950-1951)
* Joseph Goebbels (1951-1962)
* Albert Speer (1962-1970)

### Official Languages

German (official)
 Dutch
 French
 Luxembourgish

### Governing Body

**Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei** one-party constitutional parliament

### State Religion(s)

State Secularism [de facto]
Der Bewegung [de jure]

### Government System

Semi-presidential, Parliamentary, Unitary Nazi one-party totalitarian state

### Ethnicities

Germanics (Germans, Dutch, Belgians, Danes, German-Austrians) [Majority]
 French
 Czechs
 Poles
 Others

### Military Command

Oberkommando der Wehrmacht [Armed Forces], Reichskriegsministerium [Ministry]

### Military Forces

Germanische Heer
 Germanische Kriegsmarine
 Germanische Luftwaffe
 Waffen-Schutzstaffel

**Germany**, officially known as the **Greater Germanic Reich of the German Nation** (German: *Großgermanisches Reich deutscher Nation*), is a country that was established in the aftermath of the Second World War. The country is considered as the successor of the Holy Roman Empire (962-1806), German Empire (1871-1918), German Reich (1933-1943), and the Greater German Reich (1943-1950) respectively. Despite being de jure established in 1950, on Hitler's Imperial Declaration, the Greater Germanic Reich believes itself and the previous German Reich, and Greater German Reich, to be one and the same.

The political origins of the Greater Germanic Reich began from the defeat of the German Empire (2nd Reich) during the First World War, leading to the tense political climate from which the National Socialists emerged. The Dolchstoßlegende, known informally as the stab-in-the-back myth, was a belief that the German Army had not lost out of its own military inferiority, but out of the betrayal of civilians in the government sector, especially those associated with revolutionaries, liberals, socialists, republicans, and Jews. With the rise of the Soviet Union to the East, increased political agitation of the German Communists, and the sense of betrayal and nationalistic tendencies that inflamed Germany, the National Socialist German Worker's Party won the hearts and minds of the people.

After the death of President Paul von Hindenburg, the German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler usurped Hindenburg's position as Head of State, and assumed the title of Führer und Reichskanzler. From thereon, the Weimar Constitution was severely limited in authority, with true authority stemming from the will of Hitler himself. The powers of the Weimar Constitution were ignored where it was inconvenient, but in other cases, the formalities of the Weimar Constitution were maintained. Thus, the German government nominally adhered to its code of law, whilst acknowledging it as a temporary constitution fit only for the interwar and reclamation war period. Under Hitler, the Gleichschaltung *(coordination)* process began, and all sectors of the German state and society were gradually Nazified, establishing the National Socialists totalitarian control over the nation.

During the Interwar Period, many significant events occurred, such as the Remilitarization of the Rhineland, the Anschluss, the Munich Conference, and the Rakovsky-Ribbentrop Pact, but the most significant of all, was the launching of Fall Weiss, the Invasion of Poland. With the declaration of war by France and the United Kingdom on Germany, the Second World War began on September 3, 1939. A series of victories in Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia, Greece, and North Africa, allowed Germany to turn its head East.

On June 22, 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, and formally invaded the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Before the invasion, Hitler had significant disagreements with Franz Halder, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Army High Command, and replaced him with Kurt Zeitzler. As such, the German Invasion changed its battleplan from capturing Moscow, to capturing the Caucasus. Most notably, the shift in command represented the shift of doctrine from a traditional conventional war, to a war of resources and logistics.

The German-Soviet War, officially known as the War for Living Space *(Krieg um Lebensraum)* by Germans, was the culmination of the Drive to the East *(Drang nach Osten)* idea held by the German people. The war was the bloodiest conflict in all of history, with tens of millions of casualties, both civilian and military. The Red Army suffered multiple encirclements by the German Army, and endured significantly more casualties due to poorer doctrine, command, and logistics. Army Group North was able to siege the city of Leningrad, leading to its subsequent surrender, dealing a massive blow to Soviet morale. With the onslaught of the Army Group Center towards the capital, Moscow was abandoned by the Red Army, hoping to replicate the success during the Napoleonic Wars. In response, the German Army razed the city, looting all its resources, and destroying all its railway systems, then eventually abandoning the destroyed city themselves. Kuybyshev became the new de facto capital of the Soviet Union following Moscow's destruction. Despite these initial successes, the German High Command was disappointed with the sluggish pace of the war, and wished for a total strategic victory by the end of 1942.