I Don’t Need Nazis I Chapter 113

< World War II - Darkest Hour (6) >

June 27, 1940

Berlin, Northern Germany – Dietrich Schacht's Mansion The morning of the fourth day since Britain ca under attack.

A telegram had arrived announcing that Winston Churchill had beco the new British Pri Minister, and Poland was continuously requesting aid, reporting on the Soviet Union's preparations for a large-scale offensive.

But we still hadn't decided to declare war on either France or the Soviet Union.

We first sought Belgium's military cooperation for passage to secure an attack route against France that bypassed the Maginot Line, but Belgium, having suffered massacres and rapes by the German Army in the last war, was aghast and imdiately refused.

No matter what conditions we offered, they said they could not let their country beco a battlefield for Germany and France again; negotiation with a party that had no intention of negotiating from the start was impossible.

And then—an incident occurred.

The source was unknown, but news spread throughout Germany that our governnt was considering a declaration of war against France and the Soviet Union.

I didn't know if so idiot had leaked what was discussed in a eting, or if it was a ploy by other countries to check us, but the result was that anti-war protests broke out in Germany.

Despite launching a surprise attack on Britain and forming an alliance with Italy, France, to the very end, has not declared war or taken any hostile action against us.

The Soviet Union, having failed to push through Poland and Finland, also has yet to declare war on us.

So, for us to intervene here, Germany must declare war on them.

However, the people don't understand why we must go out of our way to fight for Poland, which had invaded Germany first.

On top of that, Britain offered little help while we were being frantically invaded, and they were a clear enemy nation in the last war.

With Britain already being pushed back significantly from the start of the war, public opinion was overwhelmingly against entering an unfavorable war for a forr enemy.

In the first place, the Fourth Reich itself is a governnt established on the justification of stopping the Nazi regi from starting wars against the will of the people.

But now the situation has escalated to the German people opposing the war, and with things as they are, opinions to abandon Britain and Poland, who aren't even our allies, are beginning to surface in the Cabinet.

“It’s stifling.”

As I muttered to myself, a soft body tried to pull away, so I held Claudia close and buried my head in her shoulder.

“Didn’t you just say it was stifling?”

“No, there’s no way I was talking about you.”

“How confusing.

I was almost hurt.”

“…Sorry.”

In the end, despite this urgent situation, our Cabinet couldn't reach a conclusion as the weekend approached. anwhile, my voice, being the only one to have considered the possibility of France attacking Britain, grew much stronger.

It rose to a serious, almost excessive degree, and now everyone is looking to my judgnt.

“It's a funny thing.

I'm just about to turn 30, and the Cabinet is asking for my opinion as a top priority on such an important matter.”

“Since you're the only one who even predicted this incident, it's only natural, isn't it?”

But that's ultimately thanks to having the mories of a modern person.

I had predicted it, but I wasn't certain.

“…That's just because I knew the future, a future that has now beco aningless.”

Lacking conviction and thinking it would be useless to inform Britain, I only went as far as preparing our own counterasures, but the result was Britain's crisis and a World War II that now even includes the Japanese Empire.

Should I have at least tried, whether Britain believed

or not?

Or should I have gone back even further, and instead of just trying to isolate France, tried so appeasent asures?

“The expectations pouring down on , far beyond my ability, are so heavy.”

I managed to establish the Fourth Reich through a difficult process, but even after that, I experienced failure many tis. Just because I have a little knowledge of the future doesn't an I have the ability to lead everything without making mistakes.

Not a single thing I've accomplished so far would have been possible with my strength alone. The Black Orchestra, the Social Democrats, the bureaucrats of the Fourth Reich, and even if Claudia hadn't been there…

“Dietrich…”

“Still, the decision I make will have a great influence on the Cabinet's judgnt.”

My father himself is a man of finance who avoids war, and the Cabinet is hesitating to declare war for Britain or Poland against the will of the people.

It seed like peace would be within reach if we just secured Italy's surrender, but the people, feeling fatigued from civil war and war, don't want to accept another one.

If we just don't declare war here, we might be able to quickly push over Italy, greet peace, and hold an election, but no one wants to be disliked by the voters for clamoring for war.

I know it in my head.

If we abandon Britain here, France will try to strike us or blockade us to death at their optimal timing, and if Poland and Finland collapse, the Soviet Union's next target will be Germany.

But if Germany declares war here to help Britain and Poland, then it's World War II, plain and simple.

The German-Soviet War I wanted to avoid at all costs, a two-front war on the Western and Eastern Fronts, awaits.

I will end up driving Germany into the very war where tens of millions died so gruesoly in the original history.

Is it truly the right thing for the Fourth Reich, which rose up to stop the war and ruin Hitler would cause, to declare a war against the will of the people based on strategic judgnt alone?

The thought that deciding on war now might lead Germany to ruin, just like in the original history, won't leave .

If we start a war here, can Germany win? And if we do, just how many people will die? Millions? Tens of millions?

“I think I understand now how heavy the burden of deciding on war is, just like Chamberlain and Halifax.”

The choice made by a politician who experienced the hell of World War I, clinging to a thread of hope to avoid a war that would kill countless citizens, was left in history as a fatal mistake.

In the original history, Winston Churchill declared a fight to the death against Germany when all of Europe had fallen into Germany's clutches and almost the entire British Army was trapped at Dunkirk.

Even after allowing a landing at Portsmouth, right under London's nose, he is calling for a fight to the death in London and asking for our help.

Only at this mont did I keenly understand what a great leader he was, to be able to declare continued resistance even in a desperate mont—a man often underestimated as a militarily incompetent and cruel imperialist.

Claudia caressed my forehead with a gentle hand and opened her mouth.

“I can't tell you that your thoughts are correct.

However, I hope that the choice you find after agonizing over it with all your might and with others is the right one.”

“Ah, I know that well.

You're the comrade I trust more than anyone, and also the person who is more wary of

than anyone.”

It's paradoxical, but the fact that the person I trust and love the most doesn't give

absolute faith is, for , a greater salvation than anything else.

“Shall we get going then, you who has the most worries in all of Germany? If you don't start getting ready, you'll be late.”

I felt a slight sense of regret at the soft warmth leaving my embrace as I got up.

Ah, ti to work.

No matter how much I worry, or put off today's work for tomorrow, a superman on a white horse isn't going to show up and solve it for .

-

“It's been a while. This feels like my spokesman days, huh?”

As I sat before the microphone for the radio broadcast and said with a smirk, Claudia smiled back and handed

a telegram.

“They say this just ca in. It's your friend, the British Pri Minister.

…Though he's a friend who only taught you bad things, like living a life of luxury.”

“Ahem, your body is honest too, you know.

Churchill, to ?”

“…You're saying things people could misunderstand. Yes.

They said one was sent to the governnt, and another was sent to you separately.”

To think he'd send

a telegram the very day he beca Pri Minister.

I'm very curious about the contents.

Perhaps because it was from a Pri Minister to a Vice-Chancellor, the telegram was written in extrely polite phrases.

[To the esteed Vice-Chancellor of the Fourth German Reich, Dietrich Schacht.

As one who has always striven for the friendship between our two nations alongside the Anglo-German Cooperation Organization, I wish you and the Fourth German Reich freedom and prosperity.

However, I ask for your understanding of my position, in which I must convey the shaful request that the British Empire is in need of assistance in these dark tis.

I am well aware that due to the attitude and missteps of the previous administration, there is suspicion towards the British Empire and anti-war sentint in your country.

However, I do not doubt that the Fourth Reich, which rose up against the fascist dictatorship, and you, sir, who led the charge of that wave of freedom, will not turn a blind eye to the nations fighting to defend freedom against the threats of fascism and communism.

Though these are dark tis, I am certain that if the British Empire and Germany stand together, we can overco this crisis.

If our two nations, with their firm belief in freedom and justice, join forces and continue for a thousand years, future mankind will say that this was their finest hour.

We shall defend the British Empire, whatever the cost may be, until the mont help arrives from Germany and the free world, until the day we achieve victory.

We shall never surrender.

With respect and faith.

- Winston Churchill, Pri Minister of the British Empire]

I felt a slight smile spread across my lips as I read. Truly Winston Churchill, I suppose.

'You know I've worked hard to help you through the Anglo-German Cooperation Organization, right? Surely a man who championed freedom so loudly won't turn his back on us. We'll hold on for dear life, so please, help us!' To write all that so eloquently.

“I'm just asking, but did reading that make you think of changing anything in the content?”

I grinned at Claudia's question.

“No, that old man and I have different styles, don't we?”

“One minute until broadcast!”

Hearing the shout from the broadcasting station employee, I grinned and added.

“Besides, I wouldn't want to give my aide, who's already swamped with a harsh workload, howork that has to be solved in one minute.”

Claudia chuckled, gave

a thumbs-up, and stepped away.

“Thirty seconds to broadcast.”

This isn't a speech like the one I gave in Frankfurt, facing the citizens amidst cheers and expectations.

It's not so much a speech as it is an appeal, made alone in a radio broadcasting station, to inform a people who do not want war that war is necessary.

After the war, we have to hold an election, and since no one in the Cabinet wants to bear this burden, it's a job that I, who am at least popular with the people, must do.

Perhaps this is political suicide.

“Ten seconds to broadcast.”

I started a civil war in Germany to avoid the ruin of World War II.

“5, 4, 3…”

To think I'm in a situation where I have to persuade the German people—who, after surrendering to the madness incited by the Nazis, can finally shout for peace with their own will—to jump into World War II after all.

“2, 1.”

How ironic.

“Good day, citizens. This is Vice-Chancellor Dietrich Schacht.

I regret to be addressing you in these dark days, as the flas of war spread across Europe.”

In the completely silent broadcasting station, wary of any static, only my voice echoes.

Is this how Churchill felt, when everyone was calling for an armistice, he alone cried for resistance, shouting "We shall never surrender!"?

“I know that the news that the governnt is considering entering the war, the one started by France's surprise attack on Britain, and the war in Poland, where the Soviet Union is invading, has caused anxiety among the people.”

Feeling my mouth go dry, I opened it to speak.

“The current situation, in which you, the people, are expressing your free will through anti-war protests, is sothing I, as a mber of the Fourth Reich's warti cabinet aiming to form a democratic governnt, consider a heavy but simultaneously proud affair.”

This situation itself is proof that today's Germany is different from the old Germany, which would hate when the governnt told it to hate and go to war when told to go to war.

“As a mber of the governnt responsible for following the people's will and leading Germany, I wish to speak to you all about the current situation.”

The German people have now learned to think for themselves, and they will not simply follow if told to shut up and go to war.

“The Soviet Union, currently invading Poland and Finland, is proving that they have no intention of hiding the threat they pose. Those communists are not rely invading neighboring countries; they are a threat to the freedom of Germany and all of Europe.”

That guy Clens will probably foam at the mouth when he hears I'm set on war.

“Currently, 2.

5 million Soviet Army troops are gathering on the Polish Front, and they are flaunting this fact, tid perfectly with France's surprise invasion of Britain.”

This is clearly a check aid at Germany.

If the fact that Germany was considering entering the war was not leaked by our governnt's mistake, it must be the work of France or the Soviet Union, trying to delay our entry.

“I and the governnt of the Fourth Reich judge this to be evidence of cooperation between France and the Soviet Union.”

If they had truly finished preparing a 2.5 million-strong offensive, they would have gathered their army as covertly as possible and crushed Poland.

But they are making a racket and yet not starting the offensive. It's as if they aren't ready, but are moving hastily to draw Germany's attention in coordination with France.

“France has also not yet declared war on Germany, but they have already ford an alliance with Italy, which invaded Germany, and are fighting against Britain.”

Will Richthofen's reaction be that he's happy he can bomb them without a second thought?

“As you all know, France has traditionally been our enemy and was preparing for war with Germany until just recently.

Even if we turn our backs on Britain here, France will try to deliver the most fatal blow to Germany at the mont they most desire, just as they did to their ally, Britain.”

If we declare war here, Witzleben and General Model will have to fight on the most disadvantaged front.

But even so, I didn't think they would collapse.

“As a mber of the governnt, if I may be so bold as to say this to you, the people: the war between Germany and Italy, the war between France, Japan and Britain, and the war between Poland, Finland and the Soviet Union are not separate, localized wars.

This is a great war that has broken out again after the last Great War, and it will be called the Second World War.”

I have no certainty that we can win this war.

It is clear that even if we do win, we will pay a heavy price.

“As soone who knows the horrors of war, I do not wish to speak of romantic honor and instill the certainty that we will be victorious.

However, I want to tell you that this is a war that can never be avoided, and must not be avoided.”

But I am certain of one thing: if you simply sit still as a typhoon approaches, praying that it will luckily pass you by, it will only bring a more terrible ruin.

“This is not about Germany shedding blood for the people of other countries. This war is clearly a war against the threat of fascists and communists, and it has already begun with the German Civil War and Italy's declaration of war.

This is not their war; it is our war.”

The war I wanted to avoid at all costs had already broken out a long ti ago.

In that case, all that's left to do is to do our best to reduce the damage and move first to ensure victory.

“Looking back, not once since unification has Germany fought with conviction, truly knowing what it was fighting for.

The last war started in Sarajevo and took a form we did not want, the Nazi regi drove the nation to war for the hatred they themselves created, and the wars with Italy and Poland began because we were invaded.”

Isn't it ironic that Germany, a military power that shook all of Europe, only cried for war because it was ordered to, because the regi said so, because it had already happened?

“Proud citizens of Germany.

Although this is not a war we started, it is a war we must end. We are now in a situation where we must fight against those who threaten the fate of our holand and all the freedom we have built.”

If we start a war because it is necessary according to 'our own' grand strategy, then that is no different from Hitler's Germany.

“We must not fight for the ambition of conquering territory.

We must fight to protect our freedom and our hos. We must fight to bring even one more of our soldiers, who are out on the front lines right now, back ho safely.”

Therefore, I desperately hope the people will know and understand why they must fight.

“For that, I request all Germans to join in.

I hope that Germany will change its destiny with its own will. I hope you will resolutely refuse the fate of being dragged away by the tide of history after denying the coming war, while the nations that can fight with us collapse!”

Even if World War II was ultimately unavoidable—

“We are no longer the defeated nation of the last war.

We are not a remnant of the past that fought for the conquest of territory, for national glory and hegemony. I earnestly implore you, the proud people of Germany.

Please, go to war to protect none other than your hos, your families, and your freedom.”

Our war will be different from those that began with ambition and left only sighs and ruins.

“Rather than waiting for those dictators to finally bring the war to us, let us decide our own fate with our own hands! So that when future generations look back at this mont, they will say that we, that Germany, were the hope that protected the world in this pitch-black era!”