DDR - Why Reichsbahn ?
Don't you find it odd that the DDR, a communist state, should have kept the name Deutsche Reichsbahn (German Imperial Railways) ? Wouldn't Volksbahn or Volkseigener Bahn (People's railway or People's owned railway) have been more appropriate ? Has there ever been an explanation of this anomaly ?

german wikipedia explains why
hello Alan the german wikipedia explains why they used the term reichsbahn after 1945 and never changed it. I post here the german explanation and try to give some comments Für die Bahneinrichtungen, die sich in der Sowjetischen Besatzungszone (SBZ), der späteren DDR befanden, wurde die Bezeichnung Deutsche Reichsbahn beibehalten. Gründe dafür waren: 1. Ein Befehl der Sowjetischen Militäradministration in Deutschland (SMAD), der die Deutsche Reichsbahn beauftragte, den geregelten, schienengebundenen Güter- und Personenverkehr im Gebiet der SBZ wieder aufzunehmen (Befehl Nr. 8 der Transportabteilung der SMAD) 2. Mit Zustimmung der Westalliierten wurden zunächst die gesamten Anlagen in den drei Westsektoren Berlins von der Deutschen Reichsbahn betreut (Fernbahnnetz, Bahnhöfe, Betriebswerke und Verwaltungseinrichtungen der Bahn). Das betraf auch den Betrieb der S-Bahn in den drei Westsektoren von Berlin. Die westlichen Alliierten erhielten als Gegenleistung Zusicherungen unter anderem über die freie Nutzung der Transitwege. 3. Nach dem erstem Berliner S-Bahn-Streik im Sommer 1949 wurden der Reichsbahn jedoch auf alliierte Anordnung die Nutzungsrechte des nicht unmittelbar dem Betrieb dienenden Vermögens und Liegenschaften in West-Berlin entzogen und der Verwaltung des ehemaligen Reichsbahnvermögens (VdeR) unterstellt. Ok. here it comes: the railway system in the russian zone used the term because 1. the russian Administrative Command for Germany (SMAD) gave an transport order to the Reichsbahn to establish a railway system in the russian occupied zone ( see order nr 8 of the SMAD). 2. The western allies agreed to allow the Reichsbahn from the russian zone in berlin to run the service in the 3 west sectors. Even the S-Bahn was organised by the eastern Reichsbahn. The west allies were granted transit ways in exchange. 3. After the first S-Bahn workers strike in 1949 the west allies removed the allowance for running the service from the Reichsbahn of the russian zone. After that, they never changed the name. Other sources in the web saying the swedish held shares from the former Reichsbahn and they had to be payed of when a name change would have happened. But this was never approved by the swedish gouverment nor the former DDR . I hope this helps greetings Martin

Thanks indeed, Martin, for going to the trouble of translating the Wiki. However, before putting the question I had read that Wiki article and researched other references, looking for a simple answer. The Wiki states how the Reichsbahn was established in Soviet controlled Germany but it doesn't explain why they didn't change the name. When you think that most companies were reestablished as VEB cooperatives and even some cities were renamed (e.g. Chemnitz became Karl Marx Stadt), I find it hard to believe that noone attempted to give the railways are more appropriate title.

Hi all- Here's a quote from the book "Eisenbahn in der DDR-Die Deutsche Reichsbahn 1945-90" (Sconto/GeraMond 2006): 'Warum die Staatsbahn der DDR den alten Namen behielt und weiter als "Reichsbahn" firmierte, blieb ein Geheimnis. Der wesentliche Grund waren die Betriebsrechte in West-berlin. Diese hatten die vier Besatzungsmaechte 1945 der Deutsche Reichsbahn fuer ganz Berlin uebertragen. Aenderte die Staatsbahn der DDR ihre Bezeichnung, lief sie Gefahr, diese Rechte zu verlieren.' ("Why the state railway of the DDR retained and traded under the name "Reichsbahn" remained a mystery. The fundamental reason was the operating rights in West Berlin. These were conveyed to the Deutsche Reichsbahn by the four occupying powers in 1945. If the state railway of the DDR changed that name, it ran the risk of losing those rights.") Hope I got the translation right. The next paragraph goes on to mention the desire of the DDR to create a 'socialist biotope' in West Berlin, including keeping mass transit under their control. Besides, "Deutsche Staatsbahn" just doesn't sound right... Cheers, Charles

Another reasons
Hi I found another reasons ( probably) Eine spätere Namensänderung wurde wahrscheinlich auch aus Kostengründen unterlassen. Das oft zitierte Gerücht, der schwedische Staat hielte noch Anteile am Reichsbahn-Unternehmen der Vorkriegszeit, die mit einer Namensänderung hätten ausbezahlt werden müssen, ist nicht belegbar. It says they did not change the name because of the cost´s for the name change and the costs for paying off the swedish goverment share holder of the former DRG ( which was or is a rumor) Auch die Mitgliedschaft in internationalen Bahn-Vereinigungen basierte noch auf Reichsbahn-Vergangenheit. Auch hier hätte man durch Namensänderung evtl. riskiert, von der internationalen Verkehrswege-Bühne zu verschwinden, zumal die DDR als Staat noch nicht anerkannt war. Dabei hatte das Land die Devisen bitternötig, die durch den Transit-Güter- und Personenverkehr erzielt werden konnten. The State DDR was not yet international reconized. therefore they kept the name for the international association for Railways, because when they would have changed it, they would probably not anymore a full member of the association and would loose recognition. Therefore the despereratly needed foreign currency was to be in danger. bottom line: It´s all about money :-) greetings martin

Thanks Martin and Charles, Those reasons have a plausible ring to them. I have come across another quote which also states that by retaining the name they maintained the rights to operate railways in West Berlin. In the eastern zone, which became the German Democratic Republic, the rail system retained the name Deutsche Reichsbahn, despite the 'Imperial' connotations of the name; this was due to the designation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in postwar treaties and military protocols as the railway operator in West Berlin, a role it retained until the creation of the unified Deutsche Bahn at the beginning of 1994.

Wasn't the republic set up in 1919 called the Deutsch Reich?

Germany called itself the Deutsches Reich between 1871 and 1945. During this period it was first an empire, then a republic and finally a dictatorship. It is fully explained here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Reich The fact that the Reichsbahn came into existance in 1920, i.e. shortly after WW1 when Germany changed from being an empire into a republic, shows that the English translation 'imperial railway' does not always apply. Presumably the GDR could accept the name for that reason.

Thanks Alan. Maybe there has been a bit of confusion over the word 'Reich'. I beleive that Germans call France 'Frankreich', although that may be due to associations or connections going back to the time of Charlemagne.

Interesting topic! I also asked myself why it remained 'Deutsche Reichsbahn': probably the peculiar situation of the DDR is the key, as shown by the reasons illustrated above. My own explanation before of this was that a state that changes the name of their armed services (Volksarmee), yes, but keeps uniforms and step so that a parade of Voksarmee, apart for helmets (of russian type) and AK 47s, looked exactly as a parade of the late Wehrmacht, may well keep the old name of the late railway administration. By the way I seem to recall that, in their rethoric, DDR politicians claimed they were the true German state under which to reunite all Germans. Then it could be not so strange to keep a name making reference to German state as a whole... :wink:

Germany
It wasn't just a claim, it was completely true. The GDR was 100% Germany. The FRG was also 100% Germany. One Germany was divided, but it was still one nation, not two. Only for practical purposes both FRG and GDR acted as two states, which they were, although rather unusual ones. To go back to trains, the MITROPA was an "A.G." before the GDR came into existence, and remained an "A.G." throughout right until the end of the GDR (after which it was absorbed by the Deutsche Bahn).

"Deutsche Staatsbahn" just doesn't sound right Not to mention the confusion possible with the initials DSB! Nick

Maybe it’s a tad late, but I think that Gary Russ and Alan Rees is onto something here. If one looks beyond the direct translations between English and German there is in fact a much simpler solution. My personal speculation is that the entire matter is easy solved if the word ’Reich’ just, even though it is a more archaic expression, translates into an equivalent to ‘State’ or ‘National’. At least in Sweden for an example, we use the expression ‘Reich’ (sv. Rike/Riks) in that sense, and since there still is some similarities between the Swedish and German languages I presume that the same goes for the Germans, and most of the other languages that has a Germanic origin. Hence, an educated guess is that the name ‘Deutsche Reichsbahn’ simply stands for (the DDR-version of) the German State/National Railways and nothing else. Why change something that doesn’t need to be changed?

I agree with the commentators. The word 'Reich' seems to imply more than the English 'empire'. More like the realm or territory of a group of people. In a way it is too bad Deutsche Bahn couldn't hane remained the DR, but that would have been REALLY confusing!