Nazi Germany, also known as the Third Reich (Drittes Reich) and officially the Deutsches Reich (German Reich) until 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich (Greater German Reich) from 1943 to 1945, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party (NSDAP) controlled the country which they transformed into a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany became a totalitarian state where nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the government. The Third Reich name, meaning Third Realm or Third Empire, alluded to the Nazis' perception that Nazi Germany was the successor of the earlier Holy Roman (800–1806) and German (1871–1918) empires.