From the night of November 9th to the dawn of the 10th, the SS raided Jewish shops throughout Germany and set fire to synagogues.
During the riots that lasted all night, Jews were dragged around by the SS, bleeding profusely as they were lynched, and the corpses of those killed on the spot were left rolling in the streets.
While the persecution, called the Night of Broken Glass by the locals because the streets were covered in shards of glass from shattered storefronts, was carried out, the Nazis ignored all laws and imposed a fine of one billion marks on the Jews, confiscating all their property.
This organized persecution, disguised as a voluntary movent instigated by Goebbels's propaganda, was carried out ticulously, manifesting as a rciless bloodbath that made it clear the extermination of Jews was not just a Nazi slogan, but a reality.
A few Jews were able to protect their lives and property with the help of rational Germans, but such lucky cases were extrely rare.
After the riots, the Nazis used every excuse they could to drag tens of thousands of Jews to concentration camps.
An incredibly harsh winter and a new year had begun for the Jewish people.
1939.
The year World War II broke out.
-
January 7, 1939
Northern Germany, Berlin, Reichstag Conference Room A eting room where all the high-ranking officials of Nazi Germany, the Third Reich, were gathered.
Hitler, who had driven all of Europe into shock and fear with the Sudetenland Crisis before winning a victory with the Munich Agreent, threw a new bombshell just three months later.
“We will completely annex Czechoslovakia and reclaim the Danzig Corridor from Poland.”
At Hitler's declaration, the conference room fell silent. It was so shocking that no one could open their mouth.
“Ah, we must also reclaim lland. We can probably get that just by moderately browbeating Lithuania.”
The first person to regain his senses and speak up at the statent about taking another country’s sovereign territory by 'moderately browbeating' them was Weizs??cker, the State Secretary of the Foreign Office.
“My, my esteed Führer.
Forgive my impudence, but Your Excellency signed the Munich Agreent, which included a clause stating there would be no further territorial demands.”
To Weizs??cker's extrely common-sense remark, Hitler burst out laughing.
“That's nothing more than a scrap of paper.”
Unlike Weizs??cker, who was left speechless by the sheer absurdity, the Foreign Minister himself, Ribbentrop, was quick to flatter Hitler.
“Indeed, honorable Führer. Before our Germany's new diplomatic hegemony, their outdated treaties have no value.”
“Haha, you are indeed better than the forr Minister von Neurath, Minister Ribbentrop.”
While Hitler and Ribbentrop exuded a friendly atmosphere, those seated around them began to murmur, but no one dared to step forward.
“Then, I'll assu there are no objections. General Keitel, order the Wehrmacht High Command to draw up the plan.”
“O-Of course, honorable Führer.”
Wilhelm Keitel, who was essentially a figurehead, was just a yes-man who did as Hitler commanded.
Just as the absurd proposal was about to be decided far too simply, soone raised their hand.
“…What is it this ti?”
Hitler asked, a slight frown creasing his brow, as he looked at the person who had raised his hand, Hjalmar Schacht.
“Honorable Führer. If we start a war here and increase military spending further, the German economy will collapse.
Now is the ti to reduce military spending and focus on the civilian economy.”
Hitler’s face instantly contorted, but Hjalmar Schacht maintained a calm expression, as if he had said what needed to be said.
“That again? You underestimate the German economy's potential…”
“You know the German economy's potential so well that you've made the fo bills unmanageable, and the gold reserves are on the brink of depletion, Field Marshal G??ring.”
G??ring, who had needlessly challenged a political rival he had already defeated, blushed and shut his mouth at Schacht’s retort.
Hitler nervously snapped his head to glare at the current Minister of Economics, Walther Funk, and asked.
“Is what he said true?”
“Esteed Führer, it is true, but if we annex Czechoslovakia, we can seize the gold reserves in their central bank and sohow prevent a credit crunch…”
“Damn it all! What kind of moron runs an economy like that!”
At Hitler’s fury, Economics Minister Funk was terrified and lowered his head.
Hitler shot a glare at G??ring, the man in charge of the Four Year Plan, making him flinch, but soon turned his head back to Hjalmar Schacht.
“Hasn't this been getting worse since you were the Minister of Economics! Don't act like you have no responsibility!”
Everyone here knew that Hjalmar Schacht had been fired from his position as Minister of Economics for insisting that military expansion must be stopped to revitalize the civilian economy.
But the conference room remained silent.
“…In that case, I see no further need for
to be here.”
Hjalmar Schacht rose from his seat and quietly left. No one spoke a word as he did.
On January 19th, Hjalmar Schacht was dismissed from his position as President of the Reichsbank, and the plans for the annexation of Czechoslovakia and the invasion of Poland began to be drafted in earnest.
-
January 23, 1939
Northern Germany, Berlin, Abwehr (Military Intelligence) Headquarters
“Have a seat, Captain.
Coffee?”
“I'd be grateful, Lieutenant General.”
I was face-to-face with the Director of the Abwehr, Navy Lieutenant General Wilhelm Canaris.
He was currently the most powerful remaining supporter of the resistance.
After the Munich Agreent was signed, not only Halder, who had been the first to back out, but also the key figures like the monarchists and high-ranking generals had lost a significant amount of motivation.
However, Lieutenant Colonel Oster had not yet given up, and with Lieutenant General Canaris's support, he and I were working hard on the preliminary stages of the coup.
In the end, what's important in a coup is the people in charge of the actual planning and how solid the materials prepared in advance are.
The monarchists and high-ranking generals of the Black Orchestra will co sniffing around again once the threat of war becos tangible, so there's no need to be hasty. That’s what happened in the original history, after all.
In my case, I wasn't just busy with the coup, but with additional preparations as well.
“Thanks to the support we've begun to receive from Count Helmuth and the magnates of Silesia, it has been a great help to our operations outside the Abwehr budget.
Your contribution has been significant.”
“Thank you.”
Lieutenant General Canaris was carrying out an operation to smuggle so of the Jews who had lost all their property and shops in the Night of Broken Glass out of the country by disguising them as Abwehr agents.
He was also the one who, at Oster’s request during the Sudetenland Crisis, had ordered Abwehr agents to carry out sabotage operations.
Naturally, activities like this cost money. While it's common to use the departnt's allocated budget and cover it up, there are limits, so additional support from external sources is incredibly valuable.
My father, Hjalmar Schacht, ultimately refused to bend his principles to the very end and was stripped of his position as President of the Reichsbank.
However, I remained unscathed, thanks to the protection of Commander-in-Chief of the Army Brauchitsch from Major General Model's line, the Luftwaffe's Richthofen, who had been promoted to Major General, and the Abwehr's Lieutenant General Canaris.
Canaris took a sip of coffee, lost in thought for a mont, then spoke.
“Just as you said… the situation for the Jews in the camps is dire.
They cramd in tens of thousands without any consideration for the camps' capacity, so many are dying during the winter.”
“…I would imagine so.”
The Nazi regi, naturally, had no intention of properly feeding the tens of thousands of Jews they had thrown into the camps.
Although they did send so ager supplies to the camps, the staff were all Nazis, and many of them would rather embezzle the supplies to line their own pockets than feed Jews.
The extermination camps weren't operational yet, but simply cramming tens of thousands into camps and not providing enough food or clothing to endure the winter cold was as good as a death sentence.
“As you requested, I am gathering as much photographic evidence as possible, but what do you intend to use this for?”
“It will be necessary to change public opinion after we launch our great undertaking, Director.”
Lieutenant General Canaris looked a little displeased at my words, but I wasn't in a position to be picky about my thods.
The mbers of the Black Orchestra are soldiers through and through, so they have a strong desire to appear upright and, in a way, honorable.
Lieutenant Colonel Oster himself had proposed capturing Hitler alive and having him undergo a psychiatric evaluation to prove his insanity and secure the legitimacy of the coup. It's a good thing I talked him out of that righteous naivety.
To use only gentlemanly and fair thods befitting a soldier against the lunatics of the age was an absurd idea, considering the risks of failure.
“Sotis, when I look at you, I think you're more of a politician than a soldier.”
“Is that so.”
Perhaps.
I ca to this insane era with the mind of a 21st-century modern man; there was no way I could live with the military spirit of unquestioning obedience.
If they couldn't shed their military spirit and aristocratic ways, then I would have to succeed by doing what they couldn't.
As I was thinking this, Lieutenant General Canaris added with a serious face.
“I heard that among those you are bringing in, there are remnants of the Social Democratic Party.
I'm just saying this in case, but surely you're not thinking of bringing in the Soviet Union's puppets, are you?”
So this old man isn't just supporting , he's been watching
too? Just what you'd expect from the Director of the Abwehr.
“Of course not, Lieutenant General.
I fought them myself in the Spanish Civil War. How could I?”
“I'm relieved to hear you say that, but whether it's social democracy or communism, they're all the sa reds in the end.
Keep your distance from them.”
Lieutenant General Canaris, along with Oster, was one of the few generals in the Black Orchestra who wasn't deeply steeped in anti-Semitism or anti-democratic views, but he was a staunch anti-communist.
This put
in a bit of a difficult position, but it's not like I hadn't considered this part.
In the first place, it's harder to find soone in the Black Orchestra who doesn't have anti-communist tendencies.
I was well aware of the risks involved in cooperating with the Social Democrats.
“On that matter, I have a proposal for you, Lieutenant General.”
“A proposal?”
I went through a hell of a lot of trouble for this, so it had better be accepted.
“You are aware, Lieutenant General, that the leaders of the Social Democratic Party from the Weimar Republic are imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp.”
“…I am aware.”
I swallowed dryly.
He's the Director of the Abwehr, so I could only hope he had so degree of flexibility…
“On the condition that we release them from the Dachau concentration camp when we launch our great undertaking, the Social Democrats have agreed to abandon impure ideologies like Marxism and completely sever ties with the communists' Red Orchestra.”
To reach this agreent, Claudia and I had put our heads together and spent ti in arduous debates with the Social Democrats.
“Abandon Marxism? Then they aren't reds?”
Lieutenant General Canaris looked sowhat puzzled. For anti-communists, anyone with "social" in their na was seen as a red, so his reaction was understandable.
But this was an absolutely necessary step. If the few factions opposing the Nazis were also fighting among themselves, the already difficult coup would beco even harder.
Moreover, my plan wasn't just to get rid of Hitler and be done with it. To realize my plan of taking control of Germany through a civil war, the power of the Social Democrats was absolutely essential.
The heart of Germany, Berlin and the eastern regions, were the Social Democratic Party's strongholds, and many people in these areas still held a grudge against the Nazis for arbitrarily passing the Enabling Act and dissolving the Prussian state governnt they had elected.
“Yes, Lieutenant General.
They will abandon unrealistic and impure ideologies like class struggle and planned economies to join us in opposing Hitler. The reds continuously sabotaged the Social Democratic Party during the Weimar Republic, so they harbor no small amount of animosity towards them.”
As I subtly tried to paint the communists as the reds and distinguish the Social Democrats, Lieutenant General Canaris didn't argue.
“Their influence is still imnse in the state of Prussia, which makes up most of Germany.
If we can bring them to our side, they will surely be a great help when we make our move.”
In the original history, the German Social Democrats abandoned Marxism and changed their platform to reforming capitalism with the Godesberg Program, 20 years from now.
I had to work my ass off to bring about that discourse 20 years ahead of schedule.
Even Claudia was utterly shocked when I told her that in the future, advanced capitalist nations don't naturally collapse but actually continue to grow.
Not only that, when I told her that Marxism only took root through bloody revolutions in backward countries like Russia and China, and even then, it began to cause societal regression in a deford state, she was beyond shocked and couldn't get her head straight for days.
With their leaders all imprisoned in Dachau and a significant portion of their forces having fled abroad, the Social Democrats were in no position to do anything on their own.
I did take advantage of their sense of crisis that they might be absorbed by the Soviet-controlled communists, but…
Still, persuading the Social Democrats would have been impossible without her full support, trusted as she was by Willy Brandt.
“…Frankly, I'm not so sure.
Must we mobilize the reds… no, according to you, they're not reds. What if those… what if they change their tune later on?”
“If they betray our trust, you can suppress them with the army, Lieutenant General.”
It wasn't a great conclusion, but for the anti-communist figures in the military, there was no more trustworthy statent. There were less than eight months left until World War II broke out.
I had no choice but to trust the Social Democrats.
“Well… if you put it that way, I'll entrust that matter to you.”
“Thank you, Director!”
With this, the foundation for a resistance movent that united the monarchist military faction, the liberals, and the Social Democrats was laid.
Even if the other monarchists in the Black Orchestra made an issue of it later, since Lieutenant General Canaris had approved it, their say would be limited when they eventually ca crawling back.
“By the way, that person you ntioned… I've located Konrad Adenauer, the forr mayor of Cologne. Why were you curious about him?”
Konrad Adenauer.
Forr mayor of Cologne and… a man with a slightly problematic personality, but whose abilities as an anti-Nazi politician were undeniable. A man who, in the original history, would be revered as the founding father of West Germany as its Chancellor.
“He is a person we need to recruit, Director. According to the plan Lieutenant Colonel Oster and I are devising, he is the most suitable person to stabilize Cologne and the Ruhr region after we occupy the Rhineland.”
This was the blueprint for a full-scale civil war.
The Rhineland and the Ruhr industrial region have always had strong anti-Prussian sentint and separatist tendencies.
Thanks to that, support for the Nazis there is still only so-so.
Because of their anti-Prussian sentint, they weren't a good match for the Black Orchestra either, but my calculation was that it would work with Konrad Adenauer, who had gained popularity with a skill that even Hitler admired.
Even if we get lucky and manage to take out Hitler, the Nazis won't just scream and die.
The reason Stauffenberg and the Black Orchestra failed was not just that Hitler survived, but that they lacked a solid base of support and a stronghold.
They had to make their move when Hitler and the SD were on high alert, but my situation is at least better than theirs. The war hasn't even started yet.
Therefore, we will attempt to assassinate Hitler, but instead of relying on luck, we must gather supporters and start a civil war with western Germany as our base.
I look forward to seeing the look on the Nazis' faces when the heart of German industry is snatched away the mont the civil war begins.
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