Show word reich Is german for government systems the word reich is a german word meaning kingdom empire state or commonwealth fists believe it to be related in origin to the english word realm which is traceable to the latin to rule or keep straight the verb reichen in german means to reach observes a writer in the cleveland plain dealer during the days of the german empire it was customary to speak of the empire as the reich to distinguish it from the kingdoms provinces confederacies and other political units of which it was composed after the kaisers keisers kai sers abdication in 1918 the name survived as the common appellation of germany and it is correct to speak of the chancellor of the german reich the word occurs in many compounds reichstag I 1 a n d stadt bank thaler bishop and fuehrer signifying respectively german national or state diet supreme court land city bank dollar mark bishop and leader the first second and third reich are the names applied to the three successive systems of government in germany since 1871 the empire was the first reich the postwar post war republic under presidents ebert and hindenberg the second reich and the national socialist regime the third reich |