German Empire

The German Empire is and was the official term used to refer to Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II (28 November 1918).

The term Second Reich is sometimes applied to the period from 1871 to 1918 although, after the collapse of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, the term has generally fallen out of popularity, and is now most commonly called the German Empire or Imperial Germany. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire emerged as the third most powerful industrial economy on earth and a formidable great power, until it collapsed following its military defeat in World War I and the concurrent November Revolution. The most important bordering states were Imperial Russia in the east, France in the west, and Austria-Hungary in the south.