I think it depends on what you mean by "wiped away." If you mean 30+ years after would there be an "Imperial resistance" or "Imperial remnant" like some kind of politico-military faction...then no, I don't think you'd see that necessarily. It could go either way, but I could see the Imperials being wiped out as a political force. Once the grand lie that Palpatine put forth is revealed, I think people wouldn't be too keen to sign up for the Empire.
What you might see, however, is something new, depending on how the Empire broke up. Former Imperial admirals and generals starting private armies or political parties, or getting involved in organized crime...that I could see happening. And the equipment they had, I could see that, too, being kept around for a while. I think you'd feel the impact of the Empire, if not necessarily there being some faction out there called "The Empire" or "The Imperial Remnant" or whatever.
As for Nazi Germany, it's not as if all their equipment was destroyed immediately upon the end of the war. Some former Wehrmacht guys wound up in the East German Stasi, others like the scientists were grabbed up by the Soviets and the Americans, etc. And look at Communism. 30 years on, we may not have the Red Army marching through Red Square, but we've got guys like Putin -- a former communist -- and a whole ton of oligarchs and organized crime guys who are ex KGB and Russian military. Again, just because the government changes doesn't mean the people disappear.
