States of the German Empire in the context of "Alsace-Lorraine"

The German Empire (German: Deutsches Reich), also referred to as Imperial Germany, the Second Reich, or simply Germany, was the period of the German Reich from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the November Revolution in 1918, when Germany changed its form of government to a republic. The German Empire consisted of 25 states, each with its own nobility: four constituent kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies (six before 1876), seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. While Prussia was only one of the four kingdoms in the realm, it contained about two-thirds of the Empire's population and territory, and Prussian dominance was also constitutionally established, since the King of Prussia was also the German Emperor (Deutscher Kaiser).

The empire was founded on 18 January 1871, when the south German states, except for Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, joined the North German Confederation. The new constitution came into force on 16 April, changing the name of the federal state to the German Empire and introducing the title of German Emperor for Wilhelm I, King of Prussia from the House of Hohenzollern. Berlin remained its capital, and Otto von Bismarck, Minister President of Prussia, became chancellor, the head of government. After 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized. In 1871, Germany had a population of 41 million people; by 1913, this had increased to 68 million. A heavily rural collection of states in 1815, the now united Germany became predominantly urban. German factories were often larger and more modern than many of their British and French counterparts, but the preindustrial sector was more backward. The success of the German Empire in the natural sciences was such that one-third of all Nobel Prizes went to German inventors and researchers. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire became an industrial, technological, and scientific power in Europe, and by 1913, Germany was the largest economy in continental Europe and the third largest in the world. Germany also became a great power, building the longest railway network of Europe, the world's strongest army, and a fast-growing industrial base. Starting very small in 1871, in a decade, the navy became second only to Britain's Royal Navy.

The Unification of Germany (German: Deutsche Einigung, pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaɪnɪɡʊŋ] ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without the Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). After the deletion of the German Confederation due to the Austro-Prussian War, it commenced on 18 August 1866 with the adoption of the North German Confederation Treaty establishing the North German Confederation, initially a military alliance de facto dominated by the Kingdom of Prussia which was subsequently deepened through adoption of the North German Constitution.

The process symbolically concluded when most of the south German states joined the North German Confederation with the ceremonial proclamation of the German Empire (German Reich) having 25 member states and led by the Kingdom of Prussia of Hohenzollerns on 18 January 1871; the event was typically celebrated as the date of the German Empire's foundation, although the legally meaningful events relevant to the completion of unification occurred on 1 January 1871 (accession of South German states and constitutional adoption of the name "German Empire"), 4 May 1871 (entry into force of the permanent Constitution of the German Empire) and 10 May 1871 (Treaty of Frankfurt and recognition of the Empire by the French Third Republic).

Alsace–Lorraine (German: Elsaß–Lothringen), officially the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine (German: Reichsland Elsaß–Lothringen), was a territory of the German Empire which is now part of France. It was established in 1871 by the German Empire after it had occupied the region during the Franco-Prussian War. The region was officially ceded to the German Empire in the Treaty of Frankfurt. French resentment about the loss of the territory was one of the contributing factors to World War I. Alsace–Lorraine was annexed in practice by France at the war's end following Germany's defeat in 1918, but only formally ceded back in 1920 as part of the Treaty of Versailles.

Geographically, Alsace–Lorraine encompassed most of Alsace and the Moselle department of Lorraine; the Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River, east of the Vosges Mountains, while the section initially in Lorraine was in the upper Moselle valley to the north of the Vosges. Politically, it was the only subdivision of the German Empire considered an "Imperial Territory"; as such, it was under the direct administration of the Imperial German state, rather than a quasi-sovereign constituent of the federal Empire. It was granted a legislature and limited internal autonomy in 1911.

The abdication of Wilhelm II as German Emperor and King of Prussia was declared unilaterally by Chancellor Max von Baden at the height of the German revolution on 9 November 1918, two days before the end of World War I. It was formally affirmed by a written statement from Wilhelm on 28 November while he was in exile in Amerongen, the Netherlands. The abdication ended the House of Hohenzollern's 300-year rule over Prussia and 500-year rule over its predecessor state, Brandenburg. With the loss of the monarchical legitimacy that was embodied by the emperor, the rulers of the Empire's 22 monarchical states also relinquished their royal titles and domains.

Wilhelm's abdication was triggered by Germany's impending defeat in World War I. In an attempt to obtain better terms from the Allies, a number of changes were made in the government and the constitution to partially democratise the Empire. The political changes were not enough to satisfy US President Woodrow Wilson, who was leading the attempt to broker an armistice. When it became clear that he wanted Wilhelm to abdicate, both the military and the government began to make various plans to save the monarchy through a regency or some other means after Wilhelm stepped down. The outbreak of the German revolution in the first days of November 1918 increased the pressure on Wilhelm to abdicate, but he continued to refuse. In order to calm the volatile situation in Berlin, Chancellor Baden, without Wilhelm's knowledge or approval, announced on 9 November that the Emperor had abdicated. Later that afternoon, Germany was proclaimed a republic, and Wilhelm went into exile in the Netherlands the next day. His official abdication came on 28 November. The 500-year-old Hohenzollern dynasty ended quietly, with almost no violence or fanfare.

Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, and was promoted to the status of principality in 1789. During this period the ruling house split into a number of branches, with the main line residing at Detmold. During the Reformation, Lippe had converted to Lutheranism in 1538 and then to Calvinism in 1604.

From the demise of the empire in 1806, the principality was independent, but it joined the North German Confederation in 1866 and became one of the States of the German Empire in 1871. Over the course of the nineteenth century it gradually developed into a constitutional monarchy with moderate participation in government for the landed nobility. Its economy was overwhelmingly agrarian and among the weakest in the German Empire. After the last prince abdicated in 1918, it continued as a Free State of Germany until it was merged into North Rhine-Westphalia in 1947.

The Unification of Germany (German: Deutsche Einigung, pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaɪnɪɡʊŋ] ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without the Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). It commenced on 18 August 1866 with the adoption of the North German Confederation Treaty establishing the North German Confederation, initially a military alliance de facto dominated by the Kingdom of Prussia which was subsequently deepened through adoption of the North German Constitution.

The process symbolically concluded when most of the south German states joined the North German Confederation with the ceremonial proclamation of the German Empire (German Reich) having 25 member states and led by the Kingdom of Prussia of Hohenzollerns on 18 January 1871; the event was typically celebrated as the date of the German Empire's foundation, although the legally meaningful events relevant to the completion of unification occurred on 1 January 1871 (accession of South German states and constitutional adoption of the name "German Empire"), 4 May 1871 (entry into force of the permanent Constitution of the German Empire) and 10 May 1871 (Treaty of Frankfurt and recognition of the Empire by the French Third Republic).

The states of the Weimar Republic were the first-level administrative divisions and constituent states of the Weimar Republic. The states were established in 1918–1920 following the German Empire's defeat in World War I and the territorial losses that came with it. They were based on the 22 states and three city-states of the German Empire. During the revolution of 1918–1919, the states abolished their local monarchies and adopted republican constitutions.

Several attempts were made to reorganize the states under the Weimar Republic, particularly because of Prussia's disproportionately large size and influence, but the attempts were unsuccessful. The one significant change was the formation of Thuringia from a number of smaller states.