September 5, 1939
Kassel, 9th Military District, Central Germany, and Frankfurt, the New Governnt's provisional capital Despite its shortage of troops, the New Governnt had mobilized forces transferred from Bavaria to be deployed to the Brandenburg front, and was using them to greet Crown Prince Wilhelm in a rather grand-looking parade.
"Heil Kaiser!"
"Long live the House of Hohenzollern!"
anwhile, the royalists must have learned a thing or two from the Nazis, for they seed to have hired so people to stir up the crowd.
There were a few people among the citizens praising the imperial family, but most of the citizens of Frankfurt did not go beyond showing interest in the rare spectacle.
Strictly speaking, since the monarchy had been officially abolished in Germany, Wilhelm should be called a claimant to the imperial throne rather than a Crown Prince.
Of course, if I were to say that out loud, the extre royalists who already hated
would probably try to have
removed imdiately.
Crown Prince Wilhelm and his wife, Crown Princess Cecilie, alighted from the train with rather satisfied expressions, waving to the citizens as they approached us.
"Thank you for coming, Your Imperial Highness. It is an honor to receive you."
As the Imperial Regent of the New Governnt, Generaloberst Ludwig Beck greeted Crown Prince Wilhelm with due courtesy.
In truth, the New Governnt had tried to bring Crown Prince Wilhelm, who was staying at Oels Castle in Silesia, over just before launching the coup, but he had refused.
Instead, he had moved to Cecilienhof near Potsdam, where Crown Princess Cecilie was staying, and only ca to us after the New Governnt had stabilized to so extent and General Lutz's panzer forces had advanced to Potsdam.
"Thank you for the welco, Regent. The House of Hohenzollern comnds your efforts."
He says that, but it just ans the Crown Prince was also thoroughly testing the waters before committing.
I'm very curious as to what General Beck, who is being so polite on the surface, is thinking on the inside.
"The honor is ours, Your Highness. We will escort you to the provisional governnt building."
"Mm, please do."
What I knew about Crown Prince Wilhelm was very limited.
He had been exiled from the country after Wilhelm II was deposed, and after so ti, he returned after promising the Weimar Republic not to interfere in politics, but he broke that promise and helped Hitler, only to later beco estranged from him. That was about it.
In the first place, it's hard to have a deep interest in a crown prince who never even ascended to the throne, unlike the mustachioed Kaiser everyone knows.
"What kind of person is Crown Prince Wilhelm?"
So I asked Tresckow, who I was relatively friendly with and who was the easiest, or rather, the least awkward, person to ask.
The high command, who had promoted
because they thought I lacked the stature to be a spokesperson on broadcasts, had also promoted Tresckow and Lieutenant Colonel Oster to Colonel at the sa ti.
The general-grade officers were not promoted, as it could cause discord later with the Wehrmacht mbers still on the Nazi side, but in effect, all the key figures of the coup had been promoted by one rank.
Tresckow, perhaps unable to smoke in front of the Crown Prince, was fiddling with an unlit cigarette before he answered.
"This must be your first ti eting him.
Well, he's not a bad person. He was active in the last war, and he took an active interest in military and political affairs.
He supported the Nazis before Hitler showed his true colors. Well, almost the entire Wehrmacht supported him back then."
Tresckow looked bitter as he spoke.
Most of the military figures now participating in the New Governnt, including him, had supported Hitler, who advocated for a strong Germany, abrogated the Treaty of Versailles, and pushed for rearmant.
I was in no position to judge others.
Dietrich Schacht had volunteered for the Condor Legion and went to Spain, vowing to pledge allegiance to the Führer and make a na for himself in the military.
"During the Weimar period, His Imperial Highness believed Hitler would restore the monarchy and cooperated with the Nazis. But Hitler had His Highness's friend, General Schleicher, and other royalist figures murdered during the Night of the Long Knives. His Imperial Highness beca disillusioned after that and lived quietly."
"I see."
So he couldn't let go of the hope of a restored monarchy, was thoroughly used by Hitler, and then cast aside.
It would be quite tireso if the Crown Prince strongly desired the restoration of an absolute monarchy, but I hoped that having been burned by Hitler once, he had co to terms with reality a bit.
"By the way, Colonel.
Why don't you cut back on the smoking?"
Tresckow, still fiddling with his cigarette, burst out laughing at my words.
"What? Haha.
Just a short while ago you were a re captain, and now you think you can act like an equal just because you're a field officer?"
"Of course not. I'm just concerned for the man who connected
with the New Governnt. It's not good for your health."
The awareness of the harms of smoking in this era was nothing compared to that of the modern day, but he was a chain-smoker of the highest order.
Tresckow looked at
with an amused laugh, then leaned in close and spoke quietly.
"Don't worry about my health, worry about your own."
"Pardon?"
"It's well known that Doctor Goerdeler dislikes you, but recently he's also started to beco wary of the broadcasts you and your people are making."
Hmm, so it's co to that.
Although we haven't been overt about it, the broadcasts we are making, while representing the New Governnt, haven't said a single word about restoring the empire or rebuilding an absolute monarchy.
On the contrary, we're giving full voice to the democratic faction, and our goal is to subtly influence the public and the high command, like a steady drizzle soaking clothes.
"The Foreign Office and the Abwehr think highly of you, and because of your frequent contact with the British, they have a relatively favorable view of the democrats. But there are more people in the New Governnt than just them."
"I understand, Colonel. I'll be careful. Thank you for the advice."
Tresckow smirked, patted my shoulder, and put away his cigarette.
If General Model was my ntor in the military, then Colonel Tresckow was my ntor in the New Governnt. For him to be this direct with , it seems the far-right royalists are definitely up to sothing.
I'll have to be careful.
-
September 8, 1939
Northern France, Paris, the 'City of Light,' capital of France The Pri Minister of the French Third Republic, ??douard Daladier, was eting with the British Foreign Secretary, Viscount Halifax.
"Their civil war is a form we have never seen before. It is vastly different from the one in Spain that just occurred."
At Halifax's assessnt, Daladier nodded his head.
"A civil war where factions with different ideologies gather under the motto of resisting a dictator, focusing on a war of public opinion rather than military conflict… I never thought I would see such a thing in Germany, which has not even properly established democracy."
When the New Governnt first contacted Britain, Britain had little hope for them.
Hitler's dostic support was overwhelmingly high, and the resistance force, centered on military figures, didn't seem much better than Hitler.
Britain and France had hoped that if a civil war broke out, they would shed as much blood as possible to weaken Germany's national power.
When the New Governnt's ambitious Berlin offensive was thwarted, they expected them to be quickly suppressed.
But even after their first offensive was repelled, they succeeded in securing the upper hand within Germany by avoiding military clashes as much as possible and waging a sophisticated war of public opinion that even surprised democratic nations.
As it began to seem possible that the New Governnt would not collapse so easily in the near future, or that it might even win the civil war, Britain and France began to feel the need to seriously discuss how to respond to them.
"What is Britain's position?"
Daladier, despite his thick neck and build that had earned him the nickna 'the Bull of Vaucluse,' could not hide the characteristic fatigue of a politician at the end of his term.
"We intend to observe the situation a little longer for now. At present, we cannot tell if this New Governnt is a force intending to wage war again after an anachronistic restoration of the monarchy, or a potential partner for dialogue with whom we can compromise."
Daladier frowned at Halifax's reply.
Britain had always put France in a difficult position regarding Germany by taking an ambiguous stance, being neither a direct party nor a third party.
Even throughout August, when the Munich Agreent was broken and the Danzig Crisis intensified, France had been anxiously demanding an answer as to whether Britain would truly join the war.
"How about we demand the implentation of the Treaty of Versailles, which Hitler unilaterally abrogated, as a condition for supporting the New Governnt as the legitimate governnt of Germany and providing them with equipnt?"
At Daladier's words, Halifax shook his head.
"They have not yet secured Germany.
Realistically, are they in a position to discuss the implentation of the Treaty of Versailles?"
"Might negotiations be possible on the condition that they implent it after securing Germany?"
Daladier was desperate. The French Third Republic was in a state of extre chaos.
Unlike Germany, which had recovered from the Great Depression relatively quickly thanks to Hjalmar Schacht's abilities and the Nazi Party's expediencies, the French economy, still reeling from the Depression, was further shaken by the French General Confederation of Labour's strike in 1936 and the subsequent Matignon Agreents that conceded to them.
Because of this, Georges Bonnet, the forr Minister of Finance and current Foreign Minister, argued that rearmant would further destabilize the French economy and insisted on avoiding war at all costs, even if it ant unconditionally yielding to them throughout the interwar period.
Bonnet was Daladier's political rival within the Radical Party. Daladier thought it was better to have him in his cabinet than to have him plotting behind his back and threatening the governnt, so he appointed him Foreign Minister.
But Bonnet had instead relentlessly pressured Daladier, forcing his own ideas on him.
Bonnet had even tried to pursue economic cooperation with Germany after Hitler broke the Munich Agreent, arguing that Germany was running wild not because of ideologies like Lebensraum or racism, but because of economic problems.
It was fruitless, thanks to Germany's economic situation being too dire to be solved by re economic cooperation and the Nazis' complete and utter disregard, which was crazier than Bonnet's expectations.
There was a reason why France had been dragged around by Germany and Britain throughout the interwar period.
"Viscount, haven't we been in the sa boat all this ti?"
France, which had hastily begun rearmant after the Munich Agreent, was suffering from even more severe conflicts of opinion than when it was preparing for war with Germany, now that a civil war had broken out there.
The anti-war faction, led by Foreign Minister Bonnet and the left wing, pressured Daladier daily to stop rearmant and reduce the army again.
But the suspension of rearmant was t with fierce opposition from the French military, which had just tasted the sweet rain of rearmant in a drought, and the far-right within France.
The proud French people were denouncing Daladier and the Radical Party for creating a 'ti of humiliation' where their Grande Armée, the strongest in Europe, had to helplessly watch Germany's expansion.
Seizing this opportunity, the far-right party, the French Social Party, was gaining overwhelming support.
At this rate, it was clear that the Radical Party would lose the French general election in April 1940.
For Daladier and the Radical Party, securing a promise from the German New Governnt to implent the Treaty of Versailles was a sure chance to redeem themselves, by showing that their policies had borne fruit.
Proceed with rearmant just enough to appease the military and conservatives, support the German New Governnt with weapons to help them drive out the dictator in the spirit of the French Revolution, and receive reparations from them to revive the economy.
Was this not a story that could satisfy both the pride and the reality of the French people?
"If this continues, the Conservative Party (the current ruling party in Britain) may have to work with that far-right Social Party instead of us."
The French Social Party, led by Jean-Fran??ois de La Rocque, was, in Daladier's view, similar to Hitler in almost every way.
They were inciting the public with slogans like 'The French race is the synthesis of greatness and it forms a whole' and 'France must regain its greatness.'
Moreover, they were the ones who ran political thugs called the 'Croix-de-Feu,' who resembled the Nazi's Sturmabteilung.
Although they now feigned a moderate stance and pretended to compromise with the parliant, they still led their reorganized paramilitary organization under the na 'Mobile Propaganda Group.'
Daladier was worried that they would turn into another Nazi party after taking power.
"Hmm… I will convey this to Pri Minister Chamberlain, at least."
Halifax gave no firm commitnt.
While the predicant of Daladier and the Radical Party was unfortunate, Britain didn't really need to worry about things like a change of governnt in France.
Britain's general election was in November, five months earlier than France's.
And although the Conservative Party's position was shaken, it was not yet at the point of ceding power to the opposition.
Moreover, even though they had both started rearmant, 'British-style rearmant' did not an mobilizing large-scale ground forces like France, but rather preparing adequate rearmant and war funds to 'support' allies.
It wasn't as if soone would break through the seas controlled by the Royal Navy and invade the British mainland. It was also customary to provide war funds to allies struggling with military expenditures while Britain took a reasonable 'profit,' so the burden was far less than France's.
There was no need to create a variable by demanding sothing like the implentation of the Treaty of Versailles here, not knowing how those Germans would react.
Besides, there was no guarantee that they would definitely hold on to power even if Britain went out of its way to hand the Radical Party an achievent.
Wouldn't it be better to cooperate with the side that securely took power in France?
Jean-Fran??ois de La Rocque's France-first ideology was a matter of so concern in British political circles, but he had, after starting as a far-rightist and establishing himself to so extent, shown a moderate side, advocating for national reconciliation and social justice.
Surely, there couldn't be two warmongers like Hitler in the sa era, could there?
Viscount Halifax thought so as he gave a noncommittal reply to Daladier, who was pleading with him to handle the matter well.
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