Nazi Germany, or The Third Reich (or just Germany) was the leading nation in the Axis alliance.
The main fighting force of Germany during WWII was the Wehrmacht, which comprised of the Heer (Army), the Luftwaffe (Air Force), and the Kriegsmarine (Navy). An additional paramilitary organization falling under the direct command of Heinrich Himmlercalled the Waffen-SS (the weaponized branch of the Schutzstaffel, Hitler's personal guard) also fought during WWII for Germany.
On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler legally became Chancellor of Germany, appointed by President Paul von Hindenburg. Although he initially headed a coalition government, he quickly made Hindenburg a puppet and eliminated his non-Nazi partners. The Nazi regime restored economic prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, while suppressing labor unions and strikes. The return of prosperity gave the regime enormous popularity, and no serious opposition ever emerged to serve as a challenge to its rule.
During the war, Germany conquered or controlled most of Europe and Northern Africa. The Nazis persecuted and killed millions of Jews, Romani people, and others in the Holocaust (or Final Solution). Despite its Axis alliance with other nations, mainly Italy and Japan, by 8 May, 1945 Germany had been defeated by the Allied Powers, and was occupied by the Soviet Union, the United States, the UK, and France.
| Großdeutsches Reich
Greater German Reich | |||||
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| Motto
Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer"One People, one Reich, one Leader" | |||||
| Anthem
Das Lied der Deutschen (official) First stanza of Das Lied der Deutschen followed by Horst-Wessel-Lied | |||||
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