The Third Reich - Third Empire was the official designation for the Nazi regime in Germany that lasted from January 1933 to May 1945. Presumably it was the successor to the medieval or early Holy Roman Empire, which ran approximately from 800 to 1806, also called the First Reich and the subsequent German Empire, or Second Reich, which lasted from 1871 to 1918.

Three pictures showing the early glory years and the rise of Nazi Germany.
Photo's courtesy USHMM Photo Archives

       Adolf Hitler's Third Reich was supposed to have lasted a thousand years. However, its violent and destructive history came to an end with the unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces in 1945