The Third Reich, also Nazi Germany, is the common name for Germany when it was a totalitarian state ruled by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). On 30 January 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany, quickly eliminating all opposition to rule as sole leader. The state idolized Hitler as its Führer ("leader"), centralizing all power in his hands. Historians have emphasized the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups. Kessel writes, "Overwhelmingly...Germans speak with mystification of Hitler's 'hypnotic' appeal..." Under the "leader principle", the Führer's word was above all other laws. Top officials reported to Hitler and followed his policies, but they had considerable autonomy. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power and curry favor with the Führer. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazi government restored prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending and a mixed economy of free-market and central-planning practices. Extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of the Autobahns. The return to prosperity gave the regime enormous popularity; the suppression of all opposition made Hitler's rule mostly unchallenged.

Das Deutsche Reich wurde von 1933 bis 1945 von der Nationalsozialistischen Deutschen Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) beherrscht und geformt. Diese errichtete unter ihrem „Führer“, Staats- und Parteichef Adolf Hitler, eine totalitäre Diktatur.

On appelle Troisième Reich l'État allemand dirigé par Adolf Hitler lorsqu'il fut parvenu au pouvoir et l'eut monopolisé.

Nazityskland eller Tredje riket, är den gemensamma benämningen för landet Tyskland då det leddes av Adolf Hitler och hans Nationalsocialistiska tyska arbetarepartiet (NSDAP) från 1933 till 1945. Tredje riket betecknar den nazistiska staten som en historisk efterföljare till det medeltida Tysk-romerska riket (962-1806) och den moderna Kejsardömet Tyskland (1871-1918). Nazityskland hade två officiella namn, Deutsches Reich (Tyska riket) från 1933 till 1943, då det blev Großdeutsches Reich (Stortyska riket).

III Rzesza (niem. Das Dritte Reich) - nieoficjalna nazwa państwa niemieckiego pod rządami NSDAP w latach 1933–1945 - oficjalnie państwo nosiło nazwę Rzesza Niemiecka (Deutsches Reich), używano także nazwy Wielka Rzesza Niemiecka (Großdeutsches Reich).