Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Interwar Period - Sudetenland Crisis (4)
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May 21, 1938
Northern Germany, Berlin
A week had passed since I attended the von Kleist meeting.
The Nazi German government and the Czechoslovak government continued to slander each other, and Goebbels and the Nazi Party were actively exploiting the situation to deepen the discord between the two nations' peoples.
The clouds of war were now clearly gathering over Europe.
The President of Czechoslovakia, Edvard Beneš, declared a partial mobilization and began deploying reservists to the border regions.
Even at this very moment, they must be working to death building a line of fortifications in the Sudetenland to stop the German army.
Just by walking down the street, one could easily find residents worried that war might actually break out.
It was true that the Nazi regime was incredibly popular with the German people, but that didn't mean the Germans of the interwar period wanted war.
The German people were merely ecstatic about a Hitler who had made Germany strong and successively expanded its territory without bloodshed.
Germans were furious about the humiliation their once-great nation had to endure after its defeat in World War I, but at the same time, they remembered the horrors of that war.
Almost no one wanted a total war where they would be drafted to fight and every German would become a cog in the war machine.
The reason the German people cheered so enthusiastically for the Anschluss and the Munich Agreement wasn't simply because territory was expanded, but because Germany had asserted its influence on the world stage while avoiding war.
If that weren't the case, a treaty like the Nazi-Soviet Pact—which was a direct betrayal of the fascists and the slogans of the Nazi regime up to that point—would never have been so enthusiastically welcomed by the public.
It was a time when Britain and France had successively declared their guarantee of Poland's independence, and Hitler was shouting, "Danzig or war?" The sense of crisis, that war was unavoidable, was palpable throughout Germany.
To them, the Nazi-Soviet Pact brought a sense of relief—that Britain and France would find it difficult to intervene, and that, at worst, a two-front war could be avoided.
And yet, when Britain and France did declare war, Hitler and the German high command fell into a panic, and even the military generals were worried about mass insubordination from the army during the invasion of France...
The earliest point at which Nazi Germany became capable of a nationwide total war was after France fell in just six weeks, and the German people became intoxicated by what seemed to be the military genius of Nazi Germany and Hitler.
More realistically, it was after the defeat at Stalingrad, when Goebbels first spoke of Germany's crisis and incited total war by claiming that if they lost, the Germanic people's entire homeland would be destroyed by the Slavic race.
They desired a powerful fatherland, but they didn't want to see themselves or their families go out and die as the means to that end. This contradictory sentiment of the Germans of this era was my only hope.
-
"So-o-o? How was the meeting?"
I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh at Claudia's question.
To be honest, I hadn't expected much, but it was an even bigger mess than my faint hopes had allowed for.
Looking at the list of participants in the resistance movement later known as the Black Orchestra, they were all incredible bigwigs in Germany.
But I had always wondered why the actual masterminds of the plots were, at best, Major General Hans Oster (a lieutenant colonel at the time of the conspiracy) and Colonel Stauffenberg.
I don't know if it's because they're cowardly when they have full bellies and much to lose, or something else, but...
"Well, I didn't have high hopes, but even those were betrayed."
I think I was starting to understand why those two, of all people, became the main figures of the conspiracy.
They were about to miss their chance waiting for the high-and-mighty to make a move, so those two must have acted out of sheer desperation and frustration.
"Hmm, I heard Lieutenant Colonel Oster is a bit different, though."
"He couldn't make it due to a mission, apparently."
"Mm, that's a shame."
Claudia replied casually, taking a sip of her coffee and fiddling with her pencil.
"Still, I had a good long talk with Director Kordt. I have you to thank for that. Thank you."
"Ah, I got to know him naturally through my meetings with Minister Ribbentrop. He's a decent fellow."
Erich Kordt, the most significant contact I made at the meeting, promised to cooperate so that Herr Kleist-Schmenzin wouldn't say anything foolish when he contacted the British on behalf of the resistance.
That old knight probably wouldn't go against the embassy's word to inject his own opinions.
"So, what are you planning to do now?"
"...I'll have to meet Lieutenant Colonel Oster."
When I asked him to arrange a private meeting with Lieutenant Colonel Oster, Lieutenant Colonel Tresckow just puffed away on his cigarette, but in the end, he agreed.
I feel a little bad about it, but with so little time, I have no choice.
I have to make the most of the people in the resistance who are at least reasonable.
"Mm, what I mean is... what can I do to help?"
I stared intently at Claudia.
A journalist from a liberal newspaper that hadn't been shut down yet, but was walking a dangerous tightrope.
An outsider who nevertheless knew at least the basics about the resistance, which was composed mainly of aristocrats and military figures, and who was providing me with considerable help and information through her unexpected connections.
"To be honest, there's a limit to what the press can do right now. In fact, just continuing your work as you are would be a great help."
At this point, even if she managed to dig up something on the Nazis, the moment it was published, not only she but the entire newspaper would be finished.
The idea that the regime would change just by staging a military coup and eliminating Hitler is naive enough, but trying to wage a war of public exposure while the Nazis and the Gestapo are still in power is even more reckless.
She needs to stay safe to serve as a connection to influential journalists of the free world like Theodor Heuss, and at the same time, skillfully extract information from high-ranking Nazis like Ribbentrop.
"At this point... don't we both know that, Captain? You're not one to be unaware of it."
Claudia chuckled strangely.
"Hmm, I must admit, I'm getting a little curious. What makes you so proactive, reporter?"
I had no intention of spouting nonsense like, "This is dangerous," to her at this stage, but I was curious.
"Oh? I thought my leanings were already quite clear."
"Not everyone who dislikes a dictatorship is willing to risk their life..."
Claudia just smiled subtly at my words.
There was no point in prying when she was acting like that. I shut my mouth.
Then again, if Claudia asked me the same question, I'd be at a loss for an answer too.
What would I say? That I'm from the future and I'm trying to stop Germany and everything else from being destroyed and tens of millions from dying?
It seems I've been sighing a lot lately...
"...If you insist, may I ask a favor of you?"
"I'll hear you out, at least. Hehe."
Anyway, she's a hard person to figure out.
But then again, she says I'm hard to figure out too, so what kind of relationship is this?
"Have you heard of the Confessing Church?"
"Mm, no? I'm not very interested in religion."
For almost the first time since I'd known her, she showed clear aversion.
Uh oh, this could be a problem.
"Are you... a supporter of materialism, by any chance?"
"No, it's not that. It's just that it makes me a little angry to see those people who say, 'Adolf Hitler is the savior sent by God.'"
Though she said "a little," what appeared on her face, however fleeting, was clear hostility.
Perhaps seeing me flinch, she apologized as if nothing had happened.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Captain. It's just my personal opinion."
"No, it's fine. I'm not particularly devout myself."
Even as I said it, I found it a bit surprising.
That might be true for a communist who defined religion as the opiate of the masses, or for me, with my memories of the 21st century where religion's influence has greatly diminished—
—but in this era, the influence of religion is still significant.
Wehrmacht officers, in particular, included many devout believers.
It's contradictory for people whose profession is to kill to be devoutly religious, but it's often those who are conscious of their sins who seek salvation.
I don't have to look far; my own mentor, Major General Walter Model, is a devout Lutheran (Protestant), and even in Spain, he attended Sunday service every week unless he was on a mission.
But for her, who isn't a communist, to harbor this much animosity toward religion?
I wonder if there's some story behind it.
"Um... to explain, the Confessing Church is not a group that praises Hitler. On the contrary, it's an underground organization formed by Protestants who do not support the Nazis."
The Nazis, despite their leader Hitler having been baptized in the Catholic Church, were obsessed with reshaping Christianity, with its strong Jewish influences, to their own liking.
The end goal was to turn it into a religion for Aryans alone, deifying Hitler.
A great number of German churches, both Catholic and Protestant, could not escape this influence, but where there is oppression, there is always resistance.
In fact, resistance based on religious faith is that much more resilient to ordinary propaganda or hardship.
The fact that anti-Nazi pastors like Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer were relentlessly persecuted by the Nazis also means their activities were threatening enough to get on the Nazis' nerves.
"Hmm—"
"Since they're a civilian force opposing the Nazis, I think an alliance with the liberal faction would be possible. ...So, if possible, I was hoping to ask you to make contact with them. But if you're not comfortable with religion..."
I spoke cautiously to Claudia, whose expression was unusually serious, but surprisingly, she answered readily.
"No. Let's do it. Though again, I find myself wondering how someone who was in Spain could know about the existence of such a church—"
Claudia looked at me, smiled subtly, and added.
"Everyone has a secret or two they're hiding. Right?"
"...Haha, that's right...."
I'm grateful she's not prying, but at the same time, her indirectly telling me she has no intention of answering my questions is very much like her.
Just as I was thinking that, she opened her mouth.
"...What if."
"Yes?"
"Someday, if the day comes when you tell me the secret you're hiding, I'll tell you mine."
Having said that, Claudia smiled brightly.
"...."
After sitting across from each other and drinking coffee for a short while, I stood up from my seat.
"Well... it's getting late, so I should be going. Thank you as always, Reporter Jung."
"No, the pleasure is all mine. You've been quite satisfying my curiosity lately. Thrills are the spice of life, after all."
I smiled and bid farewell to her as she made that subtly terrifying remark.
"Well then, have a pleasant evening."
"Goodbye, Captain."
-
On the way to my lodgings after leaving Claudia's home,
the evening scenery of Berlin under Nazi rule—a sight I was now completely used to—gave off a strange feeling as it was stained red by the setting sun.
The swastikas hanging here and there along the streets fluttered in the sunset, a perfect blood-red.
What kind of man was Lieutenant Colonel Hans Oster, the mastermind of the conspiracy?
According to historical records, he refused to give in despite Hitler's unbelievable successes—the Munich Agreement, the invasion of Poland, the victory in France—and continued to prepare conspiracies against him.
But even a man like Hans Oster worried and agonized that the conspiracy he was plotting would lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of Germans.
And I, who know far more than he, know that it's impossible to overthrow this Nazi Germany without bloodshed.
To put it coldly, I'm no philanthropist.
I can feel sorrow for my men who died in Spain, and for my original homeland under Japanese colonial rule.
But instead of fleeing abroad because I didn't want to get blood on my hands, I sent them to their deaths to build my military reputation for the sake of my goals.
I was the one who introduced the anti-aircraft guns that blew away the Republicans fighting for their cause, and I was the one who pulled the trigger on enemy soldiers with my own hands.
No matter how much I rack my brain trying to prevent a war where everyone bleeds, in an era like this, there's no such thing as a scenario with a happy ending for all.
My plan for the almost unrealistic goal of overthrowing the Nazis and preventing Germany from starting World War II is both difficult and exceedingly simple.
The Black Orchestra of the original history believed they had to kill Hitler and Himmler at the same time, missed their chance, and failed. But in any case, a dictatorial regime doesn't collapse so easily just by eliminating a single dictator.
As long as support for the Nazis remained, if Hitler died, Göring would take his place. If Göring died, Himmler would. And even if Himmler died, Heydrich would have seized the throne.
Yet, trying to turn public opinion under the Nazi regime is impossible; support for the Nazis is too high, and the Gestapo and Goebbels would never stand idly by.
Even if I miraculously succeeded in overthrowing the Nazis, the military spending, already invested to a degree that was unsustainable without war, would force a conflict.
And even if that weren't the case, could the Germans of this era, having shed no blood of their own, truly become like the modern Germany of the 21st century?
I was extremely skeptical that Germany, steeped in militarism and nationalism for so long, could become a normal country without going through a cataclysmic disaster like the Nazis and World War II.
At best, it would become more right-wing than 21st-century Japan. In an ordinary scenario, the new regime that succeeded in the coup would rearm for a few more years and then start a war.
This was a future foreseen even by Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl who lived in hiding in the Netherlands, cut off from the world.
In the end, there is only one way to temporarily free Germany from the iron fist of the Nazis, use that opening to expose their shameful secrets, and simultaneously stop Germany from hurtling toward war.
Germany must have a civil war.
To stop Germany from starting a war and becoming the world's enemy, I have to make it bleed itself.
What would the people cooperating with me, what would Claudia, say if they knew I was thinking this?