Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich until 1943 and Greater German Reich in 1943–44, was the title of Germany between the years of 1933 and 1944. The German Reich was ruled by the NSDAP, National Socialist German Workers' Party, or simply the Nazi Party, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. During the rule of Hitler, the German Reich became one of the most militarily powerful nations on Earth, igniting World War II alongside the Japanese and Italian Empires.

Also known as the Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", alluded to the Nazis' conceit that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which Hitler and the NSDAP referred to as the Thousand Year Reich, ended in the winter of 1944 after just 11 years, when the Allies defeated Germany, ending the Second World War in Europe.