Talk:German Empire

Name in German
In the Infobox it mentions the name of the German Empire was "Deutsches Reich" in German. However, above in its introduction, it mentioned the German Empire in German was "Deutsches Kaiserreich". Unless I'm wrong, both would be correct, but in that case shouldn't both be side by side in both instances?

Thanks to anyone willing to answer. Sandjaar (talk) 16:24, 11 November 2023 (UTC)


 * WP:COMMONNAME applies here. Displaying the two names side by side is clunky and adds minimal extra information, they are largely in free variation. Maybe there should be some additional consistency in how they are presented, but having them next to each other seems pointless. Remsense  聊  17:00, 11 November 2023 (UTC)
 * These terms are not equal and are properly used in this context, throughout 1871 to 1945 Germany had the same official name, Deutsches Reich, though in English the official name used was "German Empire" until 1918 and "German Reich" onwards to 1945 (since the "Empire" translation denotes a monarchy). Today, German historiography differences the Imperial period by calling it the Deutsches Kaiserreich, since Kaiserreich indisputably means Empire (unlike Reich, whose usage depends on the context). Point is, Deutsches Kaiserreich is a modern German term to name the period, but Deutsches Reich was the official contemporary name used by the state in question. (See also the references and notes attached to the name Deutsches Kaiserreich in the lead.) Shrek 5 the divorce (talk) 16:06, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree we should be using the word "Kaiserreich" instead of "Second Reich". the word Kaiserreich is more commonly used by German Historians, and in my POV its used more by normal people. Also people don't really use the word "Second Reich" when talking about the German Empire. also in my POV, using terms such as "First, second, third, and fourth Reich" only serves to legitimize National socialism. Zyxrq (talk) 02:13, 15 June 2024 (UTC)