November 5, 1938
Eastern Germany, 8th Military District, Breslau - Kreisau, Silesia Region For a change, I had left Berlin for the weekend and co to Kreisau, a small town in Silesia.
In the original history, this land would be lost along with East Prussia after World War II, but for now, it was still German territory.
I was at the Moltke family estate in Kreisau.
"Thank you for the wonderful al, Count von Moltke."
The House of Moltke was the family of Imperial Chief of the General Staff Helmuth von Moltke, one of the founding fathers of the German Empire alongside Bismarck.
"Ah, on the contrary, it has been a delightful ti for , Captain Schacht. I hope we can maintain a good relationship."
The current head of the family, Count Helmuth Jas von Moltke, didn't seem much older than .
Europeans tend to reuse the nas of their more distinguished ancestors. So confusing.
"We just received so fine coffee beans. I prepared them for our honored guest."
"Ah, thank you, Freya."
"Thank you."
The Countess poured the coffee and withdrew.
Perhaps because it was coffee served by a distinguished family with a long history, the aroma was different.
As I was savoring the coffee, Count von Moltke began to speak.
"…Lieutenant Colonel Oster and I share a common opinion on the issue of Jewish persecution, and we have collaborated a few tis in that regard."
Although he resided and did business in Silesia, far from Berlin, he had apparently worked with the Abwehr on several occasions to help persecuted Jews escape to Poland.
However, that too beca difficult after the Anschluss, when Poland cruelly revoked the Polish nationality of all Jews in Germany and Austria and denied them entry.
"You have done a difficult thing in tis like these. Many may question the persecution of the innocent, but few risk taking action. Shafully, even fewer among those with the power to help them do so."
My words were not rely ant to flatter him.
Despite the Nazis' frenzied propaganda, a not-insignificant number of people in Germany of this era sympathized with or helped the Jews who were being persecuted and killed.
The kind of person who would beat a neighbor to death simply for being Jewish, a neighbor they had greeted with a smile just the day before, paradoxically symbolizes the madness of the Nazi era precisely because it is so abnormal.
But those with the actual power to save them usually don't step forward, afraid of losing what they have.
The reason Oskar Schindler, who would have otherwise been just a corrupt businessman, is hailed as a great man today for spending his fortune to protect Jews is because it was such an uncommon and difficult thing to do.
"Perhaps it is nothing more than a small act of self-satisfaction for a man who cannot change the tis."
Count von Moltke replied with a bitter smile, then continued.
"…Oster is burning himself out with the conviction that as a man of conscience, he must fight against evil, but he too does not fully understand the system of democracy. He's not against it, but he doesn't feel its necessity. But I hear you are different."
Count von Moltke watched
as if trying to see right through .
"The age of emperors and aristocrats has passed, but Germany's democracy has failed. I and a few other enlightened individuals often discuss how we might make democracy bloom again in Germany, but frankly, our expectations are not hopeful."
The Count—a man of noble birth who would one day lead a civic movent called the Kreisau Circle, uniting democratic and social-democratic factions, and ultimately be executed by the Nazis—was seeking an answer from .
"The resistance asks
for financial support, but I fear I might inadvertently be funding another oppressive regi. As the son of forr minister Schacht, who trusted and supported the Nazi regi, you would understand my feelings."
"Of course, Count."
His concern was entirely understandable.
He was a patron of the civic movent, not soone looking to secure a position in an emperor's governnt.
The story of my father, who trusted and supported the Nazis with all he had only to help create a dictatorship and then be cast aside, must have left a strong impression on him.
"I am concerned whether the ard struggle they intend to wage will truly help Germany. How large a place can a civic movent occupy between anachronistic monarchists and militarists? Will we ever see the day a civic governnt is re-established in Germany?"
He was still lukewarm about the resistance's request for aid.
That was why I was sent here.
He had shown interest in
after hearing my story from Lieutenant Colonel Oster, but also because I was currently the best person in the resistance at persuading civic groups and democrats.
"To tell you the truth, I did not co here simply to ask for financial support on behalf of the resistance, Count."
"…Then?"
To the Count, who narrowed his eyes and questioned , I continued.
"The Weimar Republic, despite being forced upon us by the Entente Powers, had many remarkably advanced systems. Nevertheless, it collapsed because it had many loopholes that helped the enemy of democracy itself to grow."
No wonder Goebbels used the fact that democracy gave the Nazis the power to destroy it as the most brilliant satire to mock democracy.
"But in spite of that, the Nazis have also sown plenty of seeds for democracy to take root in this land. The German people no longer believe they must blindly obey the orders of emperors and aristocrats. They have also seen how a leader of their own choosing can change the country."
The collective will of the German people of this era may seem to have been fanatically devoted to the Nazis and Hitler, but the reality is different.
Despite the Nazis' imnse propaganda and oppression, all sorts of resistance never ceased throughout the interwar and war periods.
The appearance of a Germany united in support of Hitler and Nazism was only because the Nazis' oppression of those who did not was relentless.
It even got to the point where so said the reason Germany was unilaterally losing the intelligence war against the Allies and the Soviet Union was because they had to divert resources to monitor dostic opposition forces.
Most of those countless opposition forces were only purged after the failure of the Valkyrie plot by Colonel Stauffenberg and the Black Orchestra in 1944.
In other words, without the absolute justification of an assassination attempt on the head of state, their forces were so significant that it was difficult to hastily eliminate them, even knowing full well they opposed the Nazis.
"I intend to turn the paradox of democracy they mocked right back at them.
And I do not want another despotic regi to take the place of the ousted Nazis. For that, we need more than just funds; we need greater help.
"…Is such a thing truly possible?"
Is it possible?
"If we do nothing now, it will remain impossible. I cannot give you any guarantees. I can only say that I will use everything at my disposal and do my best, but I do not believe it is without a chance."
"Haha… Captain, you are quite reckless."
The Count laughed, but soon continued.
"You have a blueprint, I assu? I don't bet on gambles of re words. I am a businessman, after all."
"Of course, Count. …You will like it."
I've been busy preparing it, so I would have been disappointed if you hadn't asked.
-
Having annexed Austria and the Sudetenland, the Nazis began to openly and forcibly repatriate foreign-born Jews within the country.
However, Poland, where anti-Semitism had been more severe than in Germany before the Nazis, refused their expulsion, going so far as to invalidate the passports of Polish-national Jews in Germany and Austria imdiately after the Anschluss.
Nevertheless, the even more insane Nazis had no intention of respecting Poland's asures, and they mobilized their secret police to forcibly drive the Polish-born Jews to the Polish border.
Countless Jews were reduced to a miserable state, stranded and holess in the border region between a Germany that had abruptly pushed them into Poland and a Poland that blocked their entry.
On November 7, the anger over this desperate situation finally erupted, and a Jewish boy in France shot a secretary at the German embassy in Paris.
-
November 9, 1938
Southern Germany, 7th Military District, Munich, Bavaria In Munich, the birthplace and ho of the Nazis, a ceremony was in full swing to commorate the Beer Hall Putsch (or 'revolution,' in the Nazi Party's words) that Hitler had launched 15 years prior.
Amidst the enthusiastic welco of the Munich residents and the satisfaction of the high-ranking Nazi officials, the sharp, ringing voice of 'Doctor' Joseph Goebbels echoed through the hall.
"Here, in the very place where our great beginning was made, on a day that should be most joyous, I cannot help but lant that Germany is plunged in grief! The proud son of Germany, Secretary Ernst vom Rath, was a sincere and fine young man who was simply working for his fatherland!"
Goebbels continued.
"And yet, that damned Jew shot him, an innocent man! Right now, at this very mont, this German patriot lies on the brink of life and death. And still, the Jews claim they are innocent!"
Cries of agreent—"Damn Jews!"—echoed from all over the hall-
"Shalessly, the Jewish press has spouted lies, claiming that we persecute them! They must know that there is a limit to our patience! That one day, we will shut those filthy mouths that only tell lies, that we…!"
Just as Goebbels's speech was reaching its peak, his secretary ran up to him.
"D-Doctor!"
Goebbels paused his speech and listened to his secretary with a displeased look, then returned to the podium.
"…Proud people of Germany.
The son of our fatherland, the proud Secretary Ernst vom Rath…"
As everyone watched Goebbels's face, they could clearly see his expression change from sorrow, to rage, and then to hatred.
"…has passed away."
As a stir went through the hall and everyone murmured condolences for the deceased, Goebbels seized control of the room with a sharp, ear-catching voice.
"An innocent son of Germany has been so brutally murdered by the Jews! What cri did he commit! To the Jews who have trampled upon our rcy, our patience, with a cold bullet, why must we endure any longer!"
In an instant, Goebbels's rage and hatred spread to the people who had been mourning the deceased.
"The Jews have proven why they are the enemies of Germany! Now we, the great Germany, must show that their evil grasp can no longer enslave us!"
"Kill the Jews!"
"For Rath!"
Seeing the crowd fanatically agreeing with him, Goebbels fueled them with even more hatred and rage.
Hatred, hatred, only hatred was their strength.
"We, the proud Aryans, will no longer be played by the hands of those wicked demons! We have no more patience! The mont to silence the Jews who have only spouted lies is now! Germany, awake!"
"Revenge!"
"Death to the Jews!"
As the Germans in the hall went into a frenzy, Goebbels declared with eyes full of hatred.
"Today, we will erase the stain of the Jew from this land. With bloody revenge!"
The beginning of the great massacre of the Jews that would lead to the Holocaust, the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht), had arrived.
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