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For a detailed discussion of the English translation of The Deutsche Reichsbahn ('''DR''', "German Reich Railway") – was the name of the German national Railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I . It was founded in 1920 as the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen when the Weimar Republic (formally " Deutsches Reich ," hence the usage of " Reich " in the name of the railway) took national control of the German railways, which had previously been run by the German states. In 1924 it was reorganized under the aegis of the '''Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft''' and the operating name of the railway was simplified to '''Deutsche Reichsbahn'''. After the '' Anschluss '' in 1938 the DR also took over the '' Bundesbahn Österreich '' (BBÖ, Federal Railway of Austria). In 1949 the newly created German Democratic Republic took over the control of the DR on its territory and continued to use the traditional name '' Deutsche Reichsbahn '', while the railway in the new Federal Republic Of Germany became the '' Deutsche Bundesbahn '' (DB, German Federal Railway). The Austria n '' Österreichische Bundesbahnen '' (ÖBB, Austrian Federal Railways) was founded in 1945 , and was given its present name in 1947 . 1920: DEUTSCHE REICHSEISENBAHNEN The Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen ("German Reich Railways") were established on 1 April 1920 as a union of the existing state railway companies of Prussia , Bavaria , Saxony , Württemburg , Baden , Mecklenburg-Schwerin , Hesse , and Oldenburg . The union of the state railway companies became necessary due to the new constitution of the Weimar Republic of 1 August 1919 , which placed responsibility for railways with the national government; like the prewar German Empire, it was known as the German Reich . 1924: DEUTSCHE REICHSBAHN-GESELLSCHAFT (DRG) Among the provisions of the 1924 Dawes Plan was a plan to utilize the state railway completely for the payment of War Reparations . Following the plan's publication, on 12 February 1924 the Reich government announced the creation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn ("German Reich Railway") as a state enterprise under the Reich Ministry of Transportation ''(Reichsverkehrsministerium)''. As this was not enough to satisfy the reparations creditors, on 30th August 1924 a law was enacted providing for the establishment of a state owned '''Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG)''' (German Reich Railway Company) as a Holding Company to operate the national railways. The aim was to earn profits which, in accordance with the Dawes Plan, were to be used to contribute to Germany's war reparations. These terms were later amended in the Young Plan . In total, about 3.87 billion ''Goldmarks'' was paid in reparations to the Allied powers. The beginning of the DRG was characterised by the acquisition of new rolling stock built to standard types. The stock already in use was inherited from the various state railways and comprised a great number of designs, many of them quite old. In the latter part of the 1930s, high speed trains like the Flying Hamburger and streamlined steam engines with matching cars were developed. The Class 05 Streamlined Express Engine reached a speed of 200.4 km/h. Before the Second World War the most important rail lines ran from east to west. The most modern high speed lines were the Prussian Ostbahn which ran through the Polish Corridor , the line from Berlin to Hamburg , the line from Hanover to the Ruhr , the line from Frankfurt Am Main to southwest Germany on which high speed diesel trains ran, and the line from Berlin to Breslau (Wrocław) on which electric express trains were in use. 1937: DRG BECOMES DRB With the law re-organising the Reichsbank and DRG, the rail network was again placed under direct government control on 10 February 1937 . To emphasize this, the '' Hoheitsadler '' symbol (winged eagle and Swastika ,''Hakenkreuz''), one of Nazi Germany's symbols of national Sovereignty was painted onto railcars, and the initials DR were held to stand for "Deutsches Reich," although this was legally ambiguous. Mail transport cars sported ''Deutsche Reichspost''. 1938: ABSORPTION OF AUSTRIAN STATE RAILWAY On 18 March 1938 , following the Annexation Of Austria , the Bundesbahn Österreich ('''BBÖ''', Federal Railway of Austria) was integrated into the Deutsche Reichsbahn. On 27 April 1945 ,the Austrian railways became independent again as the Austrian State Railway ('''Österreichische Staatseisenbahn''' or '''ÖStB'''). On 5 August 1947 this was renamed Austrian Federal Railways ('''Österreichische Bundesbahnen''' or ÖBB ). DISSOLUTION AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR With the end of the war in 1945 railway operating powers were transferred to the respective zones of occupation. The Deutsche Reichsbahn legally existed in four parts until 1949. In the three western zones the rail system was re-unified on 7 September 1949 and renamed Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB, German Federal Railways, the railways of the Federal Republic Of Germany ). In the eastern zone, which became the German Democratic Republic , the rail system retained the name Deutsche Reichsbahn , despite the connotations of the word "Reich"; 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 and privatized Deutsche Bahn AG at the beginning of 1994 . REFERENCES
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