World World 2 Facts: Did You Know These 29 Interesting Details?

“The Third Reich” Was Not Created By Hitler But By German Author

The term “The Third Reich” is often associated with Hitler, the Nazi Party, and World War II. But it wasn’t Hitler who coined the term or the idea at all. The ideology of the The Third Reich was first put forth by German author Arthur Moeller van den Bruck in his 1923 book, Das Dritte Reich (German for The Third Reich). In the book, Moeller identifies Germany’s downfall as the Weimer Republic, which encouraged a political system with competitive parties and allowed the flow of liberal ideologies. He takes cues from the First and Second Reichs which he believed lacked certain characteristics to achieve Germanys ultimate potential. He most admired Benito Mussolini and found it of extreme importance to have a strong leader in place. Both socialism and nationalism would play key roles and the philosophies of Nietzsche are prominent. The Nazi Party would be strongly influenced by Moeller’s work as is evident in the use of its namesake in history.