Constituent States
Prior to World War I, the constituent states of the German Empire were 22 smaller monarchies, three republican city-states and the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. After the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the remaining states continued as republics. The former Ernestine duchies continued briefly as republics before merging to form the state of Thuringia in 1920, except for Saxe-Coburg, which became part of Bavaria.
| State (German name) | Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| Anhalt | Dessau | |
| Baden | Karlsruhe | |
| Bavaria (Bayern) | Munich | |
| Brunswick (Braunschweig) | Braunschweig | |
| Hesse (Hessen / Hessen-Darmstadt) | Darmstadt | |
| Lippe | Detmold | |
| Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Schwerin | |
| Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Neustrelitz | |
| Oldenburg | Oldenburg | |
| Prussia (Preußen) | Berlin | |
| Saxe-Coburg (Sachsen-Coburg) – to Bavaria in 1920 | Coburg | |
| Saxony (Sachsen) | Dresden | |
| Schaumburg-Lippe | Bückeburg | |
| Thuringia (Thüringen) – from 1920 | Weimar | |
| Waldeck-Pyrmont – to Prussia in 1921/1929 | Arolsen | |
| Württemberg | Stuttgart | |
| City-states | ||
| Bremen | ||
| Hamburg | ||
| Lübeck | ||
| States merged to form Thuringia in 1920 | ||
| Reuss | Gera | |
| Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg) | Altenburg | |
| Saxe-Gotha (Sachsen-Gotha) | Gotha | |
| Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen) | Meiningen | |
| Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) | Weimar | |
| Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Rudolstadt | |
| Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Sondershausen | |
These states were gradually de facto abolished under the Nazi regime via the Gleichschaltung process, as the states were largely re-organised into Gaue. However, the city-state of Lübeck was formally incorporated into Prussia in 1937 following the Greater Hamburg Act—apparently motivated by Hitler's personal dislike for the city. Most of the remaining states were formally dissolved by the Allies at the end of World War II and ultimately re-organised into the modern states of Germany.
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Famous quotes containing the word states:
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—Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)