tyrannical empire (derogatory)

reich /ɹaɪx/ n.

6 weeks ago, I read a book titled “The Uranium Club” by Miriam Hiebert. It never ceases to amaze me how layered history can be. Hiebert’s book, a staunch reminder of the wide, young world’s pace, explores nuclear history as it pertains to Nazi Germany. The book travels coast-to-coast, bouncing between the Manhattan Project in New York and the unfortunate situation in Europe. The writing was big and poignant, and reminded me of U.S. politics in 2025. I don’t think that’s a good thing, and the stories are stuck in my head.

Today, I’m wandering aimlessly in a decrepit library of nuclear history literature. Some books look real old and tattered, and I wonder if they themselves are a wee bit radioactive. When you fan through the pages, publications range from 1930 to 1975. So, it seems many were published before cautious reverence was applied radioactive materials. One day, I’ll bring my own Geiger Meter and check. The green novel displayed at the bookend is titled “The German Physical Society in the Third Reich.”

I laugh, because I remember everything Miriam Hiebert wrote about the German Physical Society. The book itself looks like one of the oldest and most tattered editions on the shelf. I have to imagine it catalogues the achievements of the physical society at the time (few, far, and weaponized). I’ll read it later, but that’s where today’s word comes from.

Reich, according to Wiktionary, refers specifically to the German Third Reich or ‘empire.’ It’s also listed as a derogatory term— used to refer to any empire, especially one that is imperialist, tyrannical, or racist.

I’ve certainly seen it both ways. The book’s been added the book to my Goodreads.