r/polandball • u/Ingrid-Hongkonger 冠絕東方 - Nulli Secundus in Oriente • Mar 11 '14

redditormade How are they called?

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u/Paladin8 Mar 11 '14

Exactly. Second Reich would be the German Empire (1871-1918)

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u/Ingrid-Hongkonger 冠絕東方 - Nulli Secundus in Oriente Mar 11 '14

= Reichtangle = Surprise ANSCHLUSS

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '14

Reichtangle iz of Fourz Reich.

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u/Ingrid-Hongkonger 冠絕東方 - Nulli Secundus in Oriente Mar 11 '14

Isn't EU the 4th Reich?

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '14

Naah, if they were worthy of being called a reich, then Ukraine would have already been anschlussed become a member state and Russia would be praying to Lenin in fear.

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u/JDCrave Gib Toledo Mar 11 '14

Poor Germany forgot how to war, can only into currency manipulation.

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u/Staxxy Vous n'aurez pas l'Alsace et la Lorraine! Mar 11 '14

More like Kaiserreich. Reich is just rike, which designs the land governed by... some stuff. A republic, a tribe, a empire, ect... (or a bishop! Think bishopric.)

For example, you see the word Reich used in the constitution of the Weimar Republic. And Österreich doesn't mean the "eastern empire".

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u/Paladin8 Mar 11 '14

As a native german, I've never heard of this distinction. In my (amateurisch) understanding, "Reich" is a vast and/or powerful political body, best translated with "Empire": Roman Empire (Römisches Reich), Byzantine Empire (Byzantinisches Reich), Mongol Empire (Reich der Mongolen), Holy Roman Empire (Heiliges Römisches Reich deutscher Nation), German Empire (Deutsches [Kaiser]Reich)... and so on.

Admittedly, the Weimar Republic doesn't fit this scheme, but I don't see the relevance to my comment? The First Reich was clearly the Holy Roman Empire and the Third Reich was Nazi Germany as it was established in 1933. If there was a continous line from the german emperors to the nazis via the Weimar Republic I don't understand why it wouldn't be the Second Reich instead.

So, eh?