October 27, 1939
Kassel, 9th Military District, Central Germany, and the New Governnt Building in Frankfurt Operation Widerstand, that is, nearly two months since the outbreak of the civil war. The New Governnt was now fully and smoothly functioning as the new governnt of Germany.
After ousting the royalist Military Governnt, we had laid the foundation for the future democratic governnt by appointing major figures from various factions of the Weimar Republic era to each departnt of the ergency war cabinet.
We first appointed Konrad Adenauer from the Catholic conservative liberal camp, representing the Rhineland, as the Minister of Finance to represent the interests of companies and conservatives.
Then, we appointed Kurt Schumacher, a representative of the Social Democratic Party who advocated for workers' rights, as the Minister of Labor to check and complent Adenauer and the conservatives.
Finally, we appointed Editor-in-chief Theodor Heuss, representing the centrist forces and free journalists, as the Minister of Propaganda, entrusting him with the dia war.
The fact that a war cabinet mixing the military, with its strong royalist forces, with liberals, and even those with socialist leanings could harmonize was likely thanks to our unique characteristic of having risen against the common enemy of the Nazis, and the system of a constitutional monarchy.
The military situation had also stabilized.
The Italian Army almost broke through the Austrian Border Guard, but Major General Eglseer fully defected to the New Governnt's side, and we succeeded in holding the front line by dispatching a large number of the Freedom Corps.
anwhile, Hitler held a knife to the military's throat and ordered an offensive, but thanks to the waffler Manstein hitting the jackpot by suddenly surrendering the entire 8th Army, the Wehrmacht simply halted in its tracks.
At this point, we declared the revival of the German National Defense Force (Reichswehr) and appointed Colonel General Wilhelm Ritter von Lepp as Commander-in-chief of the Army, and for the position of Army Chief of General Staff, we seated the sowhat detestable, but nevertheless capable, Erich von Manstein.
“You have worked hard on your trip to Arica, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“Ah, after being away for so long, it felt more like my hotown. Hahaha!”
I was greeting Prince Louis Ferdinand Victor Eduard Albert Michael Hubertus, a Crown Prince with a ridiculously long na befitting the imperial family.
He was originally the second son, but beca the Crown Prince after his older brother, Wilhelm, was stripped of his right of succession by Wilhelm II for entering into a morganatic marriage.
“Well, I never thought my experience from the days I lived freely, not as a Crown Prince, would be this helpful.”
Crown Prince Louis Ferdinand lived in Arica until his older brother Wilhelm's morganatic marriage, and during that ti, he built considerable acquaintance with Henry Ford and the current President, Franklin Roosevelt.
After successfully negotiating with Britain, we used that connection to dispatch the Crown Prince and Foreign Minister Weizs??cker to Arica to conduct lobbying, and in the end, we were able to achieve significant results.
Because of the Neutrality Act, Arica is, in principle, unable to provide any form of support or sell weapons to a nation in a civil war.
So, instead of direct war supplies, we arranged a deal where oil and trucks, usable for civilian purposes, were sold from Arica to the Netherlands, and we would then import them from the Netherlands.
The Netherlands had been displeased by the pressure from Britain and France due to the royalist military governnt's coup, but when we resolved the issue ourselves and offered a formal apology, they seed quite satisfied.
Thanks to that, they cooperated with the treaty in exchange for so tariff benefits, and under the leadership of Roosevelt, who already had a strong animosity towards Hitler, Arica also recognized the New Governnt as the official governnt of Germany.
“Still, you have accomplished sothing truly great, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“Haha, you are giving
too much credit.”
We faced each other and laughed. I still thoroughly disliked Wilhelm III, but I quite liked the Crown Prince, Louis Ferdinand.
Having been influenced by Arica, the free-spirited and proactive Crown Prince was four years older than , but he wasn't very authoritarian and his thinking was flexible.
In any case, to have sowhat resolved Germany's chronic problems of supply capability and oil shortage, and to have established a line of cooperation with Arica in advance, is a significant achievent.
Even more so when considering the status Arica will hold in the future.
“The support of Your Highness, the Crown Prince, was also a great help for the agenda item on female workers being implented by the Ministry of Labor.”
“That's because I also thought it was too old-fashioned, Vice Minister.”
Germany already had a masculine and militaristic culture, but thanks to Hitler and the Nazi Party, who were excessively infatuated with machismo, the atmosphere of considering it a virtue for won to stay at ho and watch the children was severe.
However, with a significant number of young German n already conscripted into the Poland invasion force, and with voluntary enlistnt into the Freedom Corps continuing, there was a risk that our industrial productivity could drop, just like Germany at the end of the war.
So, the first thing the new Minister of Labor, Kurt Schumacher, and I tried was to get won to work as laborers.
Unsurprisingly, conservative figures, the military, and even Wilhelm III showed resistance, but I succeeded in getting it passed with my report on the labor shortage I investigated in the Ruhr and the support of the Aricanized Crown Prince.
In the first place, while other countries were all using female workers in factories during the height of World War II, wasn't it a crazy act for Germany alone to drag in Jewish people, concentration camp inmates, and residents of occupied territories for forced labor?
There are still quite a few skilled workers left in each factory, so even if they handle the difficult tasks, with gradual training, things might not change imdiately, but they will be much better in the future.
It's obvious that won making equipnt for their husbands and sons to use would be far better than forced laborers who have no motivation, no energy from not being fed properly, and are prone to strikes and resistance.
No one knows if World War II will break out in this world or not.
I've at least prevented the disaster of the Nazis starting World War II and ruining Germany as a nation of war criminals, but we are already at war with Italy, and the Sino-Japanese War is in full swing in Asia.
Poland's movents are also suspicious, and France must be grinding its teeth at us.
It wouldn't be strange if the conflict escalated into World War II at any ti, so it's negligent to not prepare while vaguely expecting peace in this chaotic era.
As we were talking for a mont, there was a knock and Claudia ca in.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince, and Vice Minister. I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but ti is tight before your next appointnt.”
“Ah, ti flies. Then I shall be on my way, Vice Minister.
Hmm, will it be difficult for you to attend the dinner invitation this ti?”
“I apologize, Your Highness, the Crown Prince. I am just so busy.”
That damned Wilhelm III was constantly inviting
on one pretext or another, claiming to promote friendship between
and the imperial family whenever he was bored. I wish he'd show so concern for my stomach's health.
“Hahaha, well then, I will relay the ssage. Keep up the good work, Vice Minister, Aide.”
The Crown Prince laughed as if he understood, received our farewells, and left.
“Ah, my apologies.
I lose track of ti when I talk with the Crown Prince, unlike with the Emperor.”
“Heh, here you go.
You need to read this on the way.”
Claudia chuckled at my words and handed
a speech script.
The New Governnt is putting a lot of effort into the dia war, and while Minister of Propaganda Theodor Heuss is usually in charge, I'm typically the one who gives speeches to counter Goebbels, given my style.
Since becoming the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, I've been so incredibly busy that writing the speeches has beco almost entirely her job.
Fortunately, perhaps because she understands my thoughts so well, the speeches she writes almost always suit my taste. It's to the point where I only need to make minor edits while on the move.
As I walked, I skimd the speech script with my eyes, then turned my gaze to her.
“Are you okay, Claudia?”
“Yes? What do you an?”
I only ever feel sorry for her.
We're engaged, but I'm 28 and she's 26, which is by no ans young by this era's standards, yet we're so swamped with work we have no ti to enjoy things like dating.
Besides…
“No, I was just wondering if being my aide is enough for you.”
I had to give up imdiately after facing trendous opposition, but I originally wanted to appoint her as the Vice Minister of Propaganda. Minister Theodor Heuss and she also have sothing of a ntor-ntee relationship.
If I gained fa as a spokesperson through the New Governnt's broadcasts, she also gained public recognition as a skilled journalist who could conduct natural interviews, expressing empathy without being over-the-top to those who suffered in the concentration camps, and she is more than capable.
However, even my position as Vice Minister of the Chancellery was being called 'too soon'—though they couldn't say it overtly because of my achievents—and there were even many who opposed
making her my aide.
I finally got it approved by persuading them it would also serve as public relations for the won's participation in the workforce policy being implented by the Ministry of Labor, and by gaining the support of the Crown Prince and Schumacher.
In this Germany, it's still unimaginable for a woman, especially one not yet in her 30s, to hold a high-ranking position.
I can't erase the regret of wondering what it would have been like if she had been born in modern tis, or even just 10 years later.
It's a sha in many ways.
It's not just that I'm blinded by love; she's far too talented an individual to be just an aide.
Claudia, who was staring at my expression, gently pulled my cheek.
“Ack.”
“Focus on your work, Vice Minister.
You have to give that speech in exactly 30 minutes.”
“Ugh, my apologies, Aide.”
As I shifted my eyes back to the speech script, I heard a voice whispering in my ear.
“It's not like I decided to help you because I wanted to advance my career.
For now, I'll be satisfied with my loved one recognizing my worth.”
Ah, damn it.
The entire speech in my head just flew away in one fell swoop.
After telling
to work, she'd stylishly distracted .
I tried to grab my outrageous aide for a kiss in the governnt building hallway and got scolded again.
-
October 30, 1939
Central Poland, Warsaw, the Capital of Poland The German New Governnt had dispatched Foreign Minister Ernst von Weizs??cker to propose that Poland re-sign the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact that had been concluded in the interwar period.
Regarding this, President of Poland Ignacy Mo??cicki, Pri Minister of Poland Felicjan S??awoj Sk??adkowski, and Minister of Defense, Field Marshal Edward Rydz-??mig??y, were gathered in consultation.
“Has that self-proclaid New Governnt seized the montum of victory in the German Civil War?”
At Field Marshal Rydz-??mig??y's remark, Pri Minister Sk??adkowski tilted his head.
“Would that devil Hitler collapse so easily?”
To all of them, the politician nad Hitler, who had appeared like a cot and swept all of Germany into a storm, had left an indescribably powerful impression.
The New Governnt's dia war against him had also beco famous worldwide, but not knowing the specific war situation of the civil war, they couldn't make a rash judgnt.
“So, what do you all think of the German New Governnt's proposal?”
To President Mo??cicki's question, Field Marshal Rydz-??mig??y answered simply.
“Is there any reason to accept it?”
“Are you thinking of refusing, Your Excellency, the Field Marshal?”
The situation of a nation's pri minister addressing soone as 'Your Excellency, the Field Marshal' was a bit strange, but Rydz-??mig??y, who held the position of Inspector General of the Ard Forces, was the de facto ruler of Poland.
Under his rule, known as the 'Dictatorship Without a Dictator', both the President and the Pri Minister of Poland were nothing more than figureheads.
“Those Germans will continue to covet Gdańsk (the Polish na for Danzig) and the Polish Corridor anyway.
They're only desperate now because they are being attacked by Italy. Is there any reason to make a pact when they are cutting their own flesh in a civil war?”
“But besides them, we have a powerful enemy in the Soviet Union.
If they win the civil war, a non-aggression pact with them will be helpful for Poland's future security.”
Rydz-??mig??y scoffed at Pri Minister Sk??adkowski's words.
“We thought the sa when we made the non-aggression pact with Hitler. But don't we all know now how worthless that treaty was?”
Sk??adkowski shut his mouth.
Unlike the Weimar Republic, which had been consistently hostile to Poland, Hitler, who had just beco Chancellor, seed to be employing an appeasent policy by stopping the economic sanctions that were ruining Poland's economy and signing a non-aggression pact.
But even that Hitler eventually threatened Poland's sovereignty by demanding they hand over Danzig and grant railway extraterritoriality in the Polish Corridor, and didn't he finally shout 'Danzig or war'?”
“A treaty is nothing more than a stopgap asure that can be broken at any ti.
As long as we hold Gdańsk, permanent peace with them is impossible.”
“Then what do you intend to do?”
At President Mo??cicki's words, Field Marshal Rydz-??mig??y put on a slightly contemplative expression.
“In the end, military power is everything. If we crush those German bastards now while they are floundering in their civil war and gain territory, they won't dare to look down on us again.”
At least in Field Marshal Rydz-??mig??y's judgnt, the Polish strong army could easily handle the German military, which had been depleted by the civil war.
Although Italy showed unseemly behavior in the initial battle, it was ultimately one of the three great powers, so it would surely be able to sufficiently divide Germany's military power beyond Austria.
“If it weren't for those Soviet bastards…”
Poland secretly wanted to strike Germany during its civil war to reclaim all of East Prussia and ??l??sk (Silesia), which were originally Polish territory, but the Soviet army was gathering on a large scale in the west, making it difficult to move lightly.
It wasn't that the Soviet Army was being deployed in large numbers on the Polish border, but the intelligence that so of the army from Russia's eastern region, on the border with Japan, was moving west was enough to send a chill down Poland's spine.
About half of the reason they couldn't intervene in Germany while the civil war was in full swing was that they were waiting for Germany's strength to be further broken by the war, and the other half was that they were watching the Soviet Union's movents.
“Finland proposed forming an anti-Soviet alliance with the three Baltic states, saying that the Soviet Army was being deployed on its border.”
Unlike in the original history, since the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact wasn't signed, Stalin put Poland, whose independence had been guaranteed by Britain and France, on the back burner and turned his eyes to the easy and tempting target of Finland.
When the Soviet Army began to be deployed on its border, Finland was startled and wanted to form an alliance with Poland, a traditional enemy of the Soviets and a country they believed could stand up to the Soviet Union, but—
“How much help could that weak nation Finland be, to antagonize the Soviet Union with a delicious-looking cake right in front of us?”
The greedy Rydz-??mig??y thought that rather than joining hands with the weak nation of Finland to confront the Soviet Union, it was better to aim for Germany, which was in the middle of a civil war and had tempting territory, while Finland was getting beaten by the Soviets.
Since they were being attacked by Italy anyway, if Poland just occupied East Prussia and Silesia and requested an armistice, they would have no choice but to accept.
Even if things went wrong, Britain and France had guaranteed Poland's independence, and France was also grinding its teeth at Germany right now, so if things went well, they might be able to join hands with France and Italy to gain not only East Prussia and Silesia but even more territory.
With that kind of achievent, even the Sejm (the Polish nobles) who were a nuisance at every turn would shut up, and he might beco a greater hero than Pi??sudski, as the one who demonstrated Poland's greatness.
“It would be great if those Soviet bastards hit Finland as soon as possible.
Then we can teach those arrogant German bastards a lesson…”
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