Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Widerstand (3)
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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, bleeding profusely, were dragged through the streets and lynched by the SS, and the bodies of those killed on the spot were left rolling in the streets.
While the persecution—dubbed Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, by residents due to the shattered shop windows that littered the streets—was underway, the Nazis ignored all laws and imposed a fine of one billion marks on the Jewish people, confiscating all their property.
This systematic persecution, disguised as a spontaneous popular movement instigated by Goebbels, was carried out with ruthless thoroughness, a bloody affair that made it clear the extermination of the Jews was not merely a Nazi slogan but a reality.
A few Jews were able to protect their lives and property thanks to the help of rational Germans, but such fortunate cases were extremely rare.
After the riots, the Nazis concocted various reasons to drag tens of thousands of Jews to concentration camps.
An exceptionally harsh winter and a new year had begun for the Jewish people.
1939. The year World War II broke out.
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January 7, 1939
Reichstag Conference Room, Berlin, Northern Germany
The high-ranking officials of Nazi Germany, the Third Reich, were all gathered in the conference room.
Hitler, who had driven all of Europe into shock and terror with the Sudetenland crisis before achieving victory with the Munich Agreement, had just thrown a new bombshell a mere three months later.
“We will completely annex Czechoslovakia and reclaim the Danzig Corridor from Poland.”
At Hitler's declaration, the conference room fell silent. The shock was so great that no one could speak.
“Ah, and we must take back Memelland. I’m sure Lithuania will hand it over if we just lean on them a bit.”
At the notion of taking another country's sovereign territory by ‘leaning on them a bit,’ the first person to regain his senses and speak was Weizsäcker, the State Secretary of the Foreign Office.
“My… my esteemed Führer. With all due respect, you signed the Munich Agreement, which states there will be no further territorial demands.”
Hitler burst out laughing at Weizsäcker’s perfectly sensible remark.
“That’s nothing more than a scrap of paper.”
While Weizsäcker was left speechless by the absurdity, the Foreign Minister himself, Ribbentrop, was quick to flatter Hitler.
“Indeed, my Führer. In the face of Germany’s new diplomatic hegemony, their antiquated treaties are worthless.”
“Haha, you are indeed better than the former minister, von Neurath, Minister Ribbentrop.”
While Hitler and Ribbentrop shared a congenial moment, the others seated around them began to murmur, but no one dared to step forward.
“Then, I’ll take it there are no objections. General Keitel, order the Wehrmacht High Command to draw up a plan.”
“Y-Yes, of course, my Führer.”
Wilhelm Keitel, a de facto figurehead, was merely a yes-man who did as Hitler commanded. Just as the outrageous proposal was about to be decided far too simply, someone raised a hand.
“…What is it this time?”
Hitler asked, a slight frown creasing his brow as he looked at the man who had raised his hand, Hjalmar Schacht.
“My Führer. If we start a war and increase military spending further, the German economy will collapse. Now is the time to reduce military spending and focus on the civilian economy.”
Hitler’s face contorted in irritation, but Hjalmar Schacht’s expression was calm, as if he had simply stated what needed to be said.
“That again? You vastly underestimate the potential of the German economy…”
“You know the potential of the German economy so well that you’ve made the Mefo bills unmanageable and brought our gold reserves to the brink of depletion, Marshal Göring.”
Göring, who had needlessly challenged a political rival he had already defeated, fell silent, his face flushing at Schacht’s rebuke.
Hitler shot a nervous glance at the current Minister of Economics, Walther Funk.
“Is what he says true?”
“My esteemed Führer, it is true, but if we annex Czechoslovakia, we can seize the gold reserves in their central bank and somehow prevent a credit crisis…”
“Damn it all! What kind of way is that to run an economy!”
Funk, terrified by Hitler's fury, bowed his head low.
Hitler shot a sharp glare at Göring, the man in charge of the Four-Year Plan, making him flinch, but his gaze soon returned to Hjalmar Schacht.
“Wasn’t this situation worsening since you were Minister of Economics! Don’t you dare speak as if you bear no responsibility!”
Everyone present knew that Hjalmar Schacht had been dismissed from his post as Minister of Economics for insisting that military expansion must be halted to revitalize the civilian economy.
But the room remained silent.
“…In that case, I see no further reason for me to be here.”
Hjalmar Schacht rose from his seat and quietly exited. No one spoke a word as he left.
On January 19, 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.
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January 23, 1939
Abwehr Headquarters, Berlin, Northern Germany
“Have a seat, Captain. Coffee?”
“I’d be grateful, Admiral.”
I was face to face with the director of the Abwehr, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris. He was currently the most powerful remaining ally of the resistance.
After the Munich Agreement, not only Halder, who had been the first to back out, but also the monarchists and high-ranking generals who had been key figures, had lost a significant amount of their motivation.
But Lieutenant Colonel Oster had not yet given up, and with Admiral Canaris’s support, we were diligently laying the groundwork for a coup.
Ultimately, what matters in a coup is the competence of those executing the actual plan and the quality of the preparations made in advance.
The monarchists and high-ranking generals of the Black Orchestra would come sniffing around again once the threat of war became tangible, so there was no need to be hasty. That’s what happened in the original history, after all.
In my case, however, I was busy not only with the coup but with additional preparations as well.
“The support we’ve begun to receive from Count von Helldorff and the magnates of Silesia has been a great help to our off-the-books operations. You’ve done well.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Admiral Canaris was overseeing an operation to help some of the Jews who had lost their fortunes and shops in the Night of Broken Glass escape 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 acts of sabotage.
Naturally, such activities cost money. While it was common to use the department's allocated budget and cleverly disguise the expenses, there were limits. Thus, external funding was invaluable.
My father, Hjalmar Schacht, had 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, protected by Major General Model’s connections to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Brauchitsch; Richthofen of the Luftwaffe, who had been promoted to Major General; and Admiral Canaris of the Abwehr.
Canaris took a sip of his coffee, lost in thought for a moment before speaking.
“Just as you said… the situation for the Jews in the concentration camps is grave. They threw tens of thousands in there without any consideration for the camps’ capacity, and many are dying during the winter.”
“…I imagine so.”
The Nazi regime, of course, had no intention of properly feeding the tens of thousands of Jews they had thrown into the camps.
Although some meager supplies were sent, with the camp staff being Nazis themselves, many were more inclined to embezzle the provisions to line their own pockets than to feed the Jews.
The extermination camps were not yet operational, but simply cramming tens of thousands into camps without adequate food or clothing to endure the winter cold was as good as a death sentence.
“As you requested, we are gathering as much photographic evidence as possible, but what do you plan to use it for?”
“It will be necessary to sway public opinion after we make our move, Admiral.”
Admiral Canaris looked slightly displeased at my words, but I was in no position to be picky about my methods.
The members of the Black Orchestra, being soldiers through and through, were often rigid and possessed a strong desire to appear honorable.
Lieutenant Colonel Oster himself had proposed capturing Hitler and proving his insanity through a psychiatric evaluation to justify the coup. It was a good thing I talked him out of that righteously naive idea.
To use only gentlemanly and fair methods against a group of unparalleled madmen—considering the risks of failure, it was an absurd notion.
“Sometimes, you seem more like a politician than a soldier.”
“Is that so.”
Perhaps. Having the mind of a 21st-century man in this insane era, I couldn't live by a soldier's code of blind obedience.
If they couldn't shed their military mentality and aristocratic ideals, then I would have to do what they couldn't to ensure our success.
As I was thinking this, Admiral Canaris added with a grave expression.
“I’ve heard that among those you’re bringing in are remnants of the Social Democratic Party. I’m just saying this as a precaution, but you’re not thinking of bringing in Soviet puppets, are you?”
So the old man wasn’t just supporting me; he was keeping an eye on me. Just what I’d expect from the head of counterintelligence.
“Of course not, Admiral. I fought them myself in the Spanish Civil War. That would be impossible.”
“I’m relieved to hear you say so, but social democracy, communism… in the end, they’re all the same reds. Keep your distance from them.”
Admiral Canaris, along with Oster, was one of the few generals in the Black Orchestra who wasn't heavily swayed by anti-Semitism or anti-democratic views, but he was a staunch anti-communist.
This put me in a slightly awkward position, but it wasn't as if I hadn't considered this issue.
In fact, it was harder to find someone in the Black Orchestra who wasn't an anti-communist. I was well aware of the risks involved in collaborating with the Social Democrats.
“Regarding that matter, I have a proposal for you, Admiral.”
“A proposal?”
I went through a great deal of trouble for this. It had to be accepted.
“You are aware, Admiral, that the leaders of the Social Democratic Party from the Weimar Republic are imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp.”
“…I am.”
I swallowed hard. I could only hope that the head of counterintelligence had some degree of flexibility…
“On the condition that we release them from Dachau when we make our move, the Social Democrats have agreed to renounce impure ideologies like Marxism and completely sever ties with the communists’ Red Orchestra.”
To reach this agreement, Claudia and I had spent countless hours in painstaking discussions with the Social Democrats.
“Renounce Marxism? Does that mean they aren’t reds?”
Admiral Canaris looked somewhat puzzled. For anti-communists who saw anyone with ‘social’ in their name as a red, it was an understandable reaction.
But this was an essential step. It wouldn't do for the few factions opposing the Nazis to be at odds with each other; it would only make an already difficult coup even harder.
Moreover, my plan wasn't just to get rid of Hitler. To win the ensuing civil war and reshape Germany, I absolutely needed the Social Democrats' strength.
Berlin and the eastern regions, the heart of Germany, had been the SPD's strongholds. Many people there still resented the Nazis for unilaterally passing the Enabling Act and dissolving the Prussian state government they had elected.
“Yes, Admiral. They have agreed to abandon unrealistic and subversive ideas like class struggle and a planned economy to join us in opposing Hitler. The reds continuously sabotaged the SPD during the Weimar Republic, so they bear no small amount of animosity towards them.”
I subtly tried to frame the communists as ‘reds’ while implying the Social Democrats were not, and Admiral Canaris didn't object.
“Their influence is still immense in Prussia, which makes up most of Germany. If we can bring them to our side, they will undoubtedly be a great asset during our operation.”
In the original timeline, the German Social Democrats abandoned Marxism and shifted their platform to reforming capitalism with the Godesberg Program, twenty years from now.
It took a tremendous effort on my part to advance that discourse by two decades.
Even Claudia was shocked when I told her that in the future, advanced capitalist countries wouldn't naturally collapse but would instead continue to grow.
When I added that Marxism only took root through bloody revolutions in backward countries like Russia and China, and even then, it devolved into a deformed system that caused societal regression, she was beyond shocked and couldn't pull herself together for days.
I leveraged the fact that the Social Democrats were in no position to act alone, with their leadership imprisoned in Dachau and many of their forces in exile, as well as their fear of being absorbed by the Soviet-controlled communists…
Still, persuading the Social Democrats would have been impossible without her full support, trusted as she was by Willy Brandt.
“…Frankly, I’m not sure. Must we resort to mobilizing reds… no, as you say, they’re not reds. But what if they go back on their word later?”
“If they betray our trust, you can suppress them with the army, Admiral.”
It wasn't a pleasant conclusion, but for an anti-communist military man, there was no more reassuring statement. There were less than eight months until the start of World War II. I had to take a chance on the Social Democrats.
“Well… if you put it that way, I’ll leave that matter to you.”
“Thank you, Admiral!”
With this, the foundation of a resistance movement uniting the monarchist military faction, liberals, and Social Democrats was laid.
Even if the other monarchists in the Black Orchestra raised issues later, Admiral Canaris’s approval would limit the influence of those who had backed out and were now returning.
“By the way, that man you mentioned… we’ve located Konrad Adenauer, the former mayor of Cologne. Why were you curious about him?”
Konrad Adenauer. Former mayor of Cologne and… a man with a slightly questionable character but unquestionable ability. An anti-Nazi politician. In the original history, he would be revered as the founding father of West Germany as its Chancellor.
“He is someone we need to recruit, Admiral. According to the plan Lieutenant Colonel Oster and I are developing, 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 had always harbored strong resentment and separatist sentiments towards Prussia, the dominant state in Germany. As a result, support for the Nazis there was still mediocre.
Their anti-Prussian sentiment made them a poor match for the Black Orchestra, but my calculation was that Konrad Adenauer, whose skill had impressed even Hitler, could win them over.
Even if we got lucky and managed to take out Hitler, the Nazis wouldn't just scream and die.
Stauffenberg and the Black Orchestra failed not just because Hitler survived, but because 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. My situation, at least, was better than theirs. The war hadn't even started yet.
Therefore, we would attempt to assassinate Hitler, but instead of relying on luck, we would gather our supporters and start a civil war with western Germany as our base.
I looked forward to seeing the look on the Nazis’ faces when the industrial heart of Germany was torn from their grasp at the very start of the civil war.