Chapter 68
Chapter 68
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: The German Civil War - Iron and Blood, Golden Freedom (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
November 22, 1939
Kassel, 9th Military District, Central Germany & Frankfurt, Capital of the New Government
“What do you think?”
In my office, I was looking over the draft of a speech Claudia had written for me.
“As excellent as ever, Aide Jung.”
“You don’t look very pleased for someone saying that.”
I gave a bitter smile. The Marburg speech had instantly turned the indecisive and power-hungry Franz von Papen into an icon of the anti-Hitler political movement.
Her claim that she had helped her father write that very speech as a mere university student was no empty boast. Given that she had also drafted the speech for our campaign launch, her skills were beyond question.
“It’s not the speech. It’s just… I’m suddenly feeling a sense of doubt.”
“Doubt?”
I wondered how to explain it to Claudia, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression.
The reason I had gone so far as to start a civil war to oust Hitler and the Nazi regime was that I believed it was the only way to stop the nationalist madness of this era’s Germany.
But what if, after we oust the Nazis, only the figurehead changes while Germany continues on its path of reckless abandon? If that happened, what meaning would there be in this journey, for which I had risked everything?
“If we heroically frame the prince’s death, stir up the people’s hatred, and make them cry out for revenge against Italy, how is that any different from the Nazis’ methods?”
Of course, since we were the ones attacked, it was different from the Second World War of the original history, which began with the Nazi invasion of Poland.
The Italian fascists had bombed the residential areas of Tyrol, where innocent civilians lived. They were unequivocally the aggressors.
But I was afraid that such ‘justified’ anger and hatred would lead Germany back into the madness of the original history.
Claudia seemed to ponder my words for a moment, then shrugged.
“I may not look it, but I like to think I understand you quite well. This time, however, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Hmm, is that so.”
Perhaps it was because of the different eras we had lived in.
“We were the ones who were attacked. The prince was killed in action, and a city was burned. Many people were killed or injured.”
“…”
Claudia let out a faint sigh before speaking again.
“Feeling angry about such atrocities is a natural human reaction. It’s not going to cause some great disaster.”
“That’s true.”
After all, even in the United States, that supposed paradise of liberal democracy, the war of this era was one where they ran rampant, shouting, ‘Kill Japs, kill Japs, kill more Japs.’
As I was thinking this, Claudia narrowed her eyes at me and said.
“You. Instead of grieving for His Highness the Prince, or for the burning of Tyrol and the many who died and were injured, you’re only worried about a future that hasn’t even happened yet.”
For a moment, I felt like I had frozen solid.
“I don’t know what you’re worried about, but surely you’re not thinking you have to single-handedly guide Germany down the right path, are you?”
“No, I…”
To hear this from Claudia, of all people.
Was I really like that? Maybe I was. Had I been obsessed with the compulsive need to return Germany to normalcy, agonizing over it all by myself?
“Anger and the desire for revenge are also legitimate human freedoms and powerful motivators. I lost my father to the Nazis, and I started this journey craving revenge. Is that wrong in your eyes too?”
My head was spinning. Had I been arbitrarily applying my own standards, judging people’s free will as either correct or something to be wary of?
“It’s certainly amazing that you’ve led the new government this far with ideas no one else could have conceived. But you didn’t get here alone. You didn’t come all this way just to become a dictator who can mold Germany to his own will, did you?”
Seeing me at a loss for words, Claudia crossed her arms, sighed, and added.
“You are a man of this era. A man living in the same time as us. Stop worrying about the distant future and look at the situation we’re in now. The people who used to mindlessly believe and follow whatever the Nazis said are now thinking for themselves and rising up against them. We all did that.”
Was it I who was shackled by the ghost of a history that had already changed? So much so that I couldn’t even properly feel sorrow for the deaths of those we failed to protect.
“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
Claudia nodded at my words.
“You should be. The people have begun to judge based on what they see and hear, and they are not fools. If someone tries to control Germany to their own liking again, they won’t stand for it. Not even if that someone is you.”
“That’s a bit frightening.”
A laugh escaped me. I had been worrying needlessly. The era of the Nazis was fading, and we would form a new democratic government. The Holocaust, which would have branded Germany as an eternal war criminal, had not happened.
From now on, Germany’s path would be judged and supported by its people. All we had to do was convey the truth to the best of our ability and do our utmost.
“Then. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ask you again, Aide Jung. Let’s just tell the truth. Concisely.”
Since when did I ever obediently listen to that damned emperor’s words? The truth alone would be more than enough to naturally fuel the people’s anger.
I handed the draft back to Claudia, and she accepted it readily.
“Yes, yes. I’ll revise it for you.”
And yet, if by some chance Germany were to run wild again, I would do everything in my power to stop it. Even if I couldn’t do it alone, if my cause was just, there would be many who would stand with me.
To worry that Germany would inevitably run wild if I didn’t do something—what an arrogant thought. I wasn’t the only one who could lead Germany down this path.
What I had done, in the end, was merely bring together the seeds that had already been sown in Germany. From now on, I too would have to strive together as a member of that collective.
Now was the time to mourn those who fell in Tyrol and to think about how to protect them.
But even more than that—
“Ha, I’m sorry for showing you such a pathetic side of me, Aide Jung.”
“Honestly, that was a little dangerous. The spell was almost broken.”
Ah, I couldn’t help but laugh. She really doesn’t pull any punches.
“I truly have the best aide.”
-
November 22, 1939
Berlin, Northern Germany, New Reich Chancellery (Neue Reichskanzlei)
[On March 15, 1938, Adolf Hitler declared in Vienna that no one would dare deny that Austria is German! I myself was there to hear the Führer’s words and witness the ecstatic cheers of the Austrian people!]
A radio broadcast echoed through the Führer’s office in the massive Chancellery, a building designed solely to intimidate, with all practical functions ignored.
[There was a time when we all cheered for the Führer’s promises and pledged our loyalty to him as a united Germany! But what was our reward! The Führer’s henchmen attacked the very German people they were sworn to protect, all to start a war! Not only that, they sold off Austria’s rightful territory, the German land of Tyrol, to invaders!]
The Führer, Hitler, glared at the radio as if it were Schacht himself, the object of his seething hatred.
[Tyrol has burned amidst the betrayal of the man who called himself the Führer of the German nation and its people. Even now, the jackboots of the Italian invaders trample upon those who rose to defend their homeland. His Highness Prince Wilhelm, who went forth to save his fellow Germans, fought to the very end before he fell!]
Standing before Hitler’s desk, Franz Halder, Wilhelm Keitel, Hermann Göring, and Alfred Jodl swallowed nervously.
Hitler remained silent, merely gesturing to turn off the radio.
[They were all proud Germans! While they fought for Germany’s freedom and fell to the Italian invaders, what did the Nazis, who claim to be Germany’s legitimate government, do! All their promises have been exposed as lies! Why must Germans shed blood for the crimes they committed! It is time to end this—]
When the radio fell silent, a deathly hush descended upon the Führer’s office.
Amidst the silence, punctuated only by the nervous gulps of the men present, Hitler finally spoke.
“We lost the 14th Army without a decent fight, and less than half of the 10th Army remains, you say.”
Hitler seemed calm, almost unnervingly so for a man who had been consumed by pain, drugs, and rage.
“And those Italian bastards we call allies are shooting royalty and burning cities to the ground.”
Hitler snorted, then opened his mouth.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
Halder, Keitel, Jodl, and Göring all remained silent.
Hitler, who had seemed calm until then, slammed his fist on the desk and shouted.
“I said, if you have something to say, say it!”
When still no one dared to speak, Hitler asked.
“…Where is Himmler?”
“Hi-Himmler is unreachable. We are looking for him, but…”
As Göring spoke, sweating, Hitler cut him off brusquely.
“Since when?”
“…It seems he disappeared after the 8th Army surrendered.”
Hitler, who had been barely maintaining his composure, began to tremble violently.
“Himmler, Himmler. That bastard is gone? The man who spoke as if he would be loyal to me forever?”
“M-My apologies, my Füh—”
Before Göring could finish, Hitler shrieked as if having a seizure.
“Nothing but traitors! They all talk of loyalty to my face, then prepare to betray me behind my back! Filthy schemers!”
Hitler glared at Keitel with bloodshot eyes.
“What in God’s name have you done! I put you in charge as the Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht, but what good have you been to me!”
“I-I’m sorry, my Führer.”
It was Hitler himself who had appointed Keitel, praising him as exactly the kind of man he wanted, a man who would just keep his seat warm.
Next, Halder, who received Hitler’s venomous glare, flinched and even took a step back.
“And what have your brilliant General Staffs been doing! Where are all the men who said Poland would be no problem! Did they all betray me and die? Losing to rebels made up of second-line troops and volunteers without even putting up a proper fight! The German army has become the laughingstock of the world!”
“M-My Führer. This is not solely a problem with the military—”
“You pathetic loser, with nothing left but your pride after being thoroughly outplayed by the enemy! What right do you have to speak! Where has the mighty army of Greater Germany gone! To think I planned to wage a war with such imbeciles who only know how to strut around calling themselves generals!”
Halder fell silent, his face flushed with suppressed anger, and Alfred Jodl spoke up.
“With all due respect, my Führer, the army’s defeat is also due to the Luftwaffe’s failures. There are even rumors within the army that the air force deliberately sabotaged operations—”
“Shut your mouth! What nonsense is this!”
Göring roared, but Alfred Jodl glared back at him and said.
“Are you asking us to believe that the entire air fleet was scrambled and couldn’t even delay the advance of a single panzer division? You blamed the weather, but I’m told the skies over Saxony were perfectly clear during the operation!”
Hitler’s eyes glinted as he turned to Göring and asked.
“Is this true?”
“M-My Führer! The loyalty of the Luftwaffe is beyond question! There must have been some mistake.”
As Göring stammered out an excuse, dripping with sweat, Hitler slumped back in his chair with a look of utter defeat.
“I was… I was a man truly prepared to lead this Germany, the German people, to greatness. I was ready to become a great hero who would be remembered forever in German history.”
No one answered the dejected Führer’s words.
“I believed that the German people, as truly great Aryans, had the right to sweep away those inferior Judeo-Bolsheviks and become the masters of the world!”
Hitler’s cry echoed through the room, which was excessively large for one man’s office.
“I have been betrayed. Betrayed by the Germany I devoted myself to. Betrayed by the German people I sought to make great. Betrayed by the imbeciles who do not understand my noble ideals, my great vision.”
Hitler tore at his hair, then looked at Göring with bloodshot eyes.
“The Italians were right. Traitors must be made an example of. Since Germany has betrayed me, it must be duly punished.”
Hitler spat out his words at Göring, who was swallowing nervously.
“Marshal of the Air Force, whom I trust above all others. Do not disappoint me this time.”
-
November 23, 1939
Luftwaffe Airbase near Berlin, Northern Germany
Captain Adolf Galland was listening to a burly engineer.
“So, you’re saying you can’t fix it?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, but we have no spare engines or parts. There’s nothing we can do right now.”
Adolf Galland looked up at his beloved plane, a Bf109 adorned with a smoking Mickey Mouse, his expression grim.
“Can’t be helped. Thanks for your hard work, anyway.”
“Not at all, Captain.”
The hulking engineer gave a grim smile and walked away.
The air force hadn’t flown many sorties during the civil war, but with the parts supply cut off, planes were breaking down every time they went out.
Wolfram von Richthofen sighed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
“The Luftwaffe is in a sorry state, indeed.”
As Richthofen stood there with a grim look, Werner Mölders came to report.
“Major General. The Chief of the General Staff is on his way.”
“What?”
The Chief of Staff showing up here without any prior notice? That damn man…
“Damn it all to hell! Assemble the men! Quickly!”
While Richthofen barked out orders, Adolf Galland sneered from behind him.
“The man most responsible for getting the air force into this mess has arrived.”
“Galland, watch your mouth.”
Mölders nudged Galland in the ribs, but it wasn’t just Galland; most of the frontline pilots in the Luftwaffe disliked Chief of Staff Hans Jeschonnek.
He was notoriously ignorant about logistics. Before the civil war broke out, during the invasion of Poland, he had dismissed Richthofen’s request to move spare parts from western airbases as a precaution against shortages, deeming it unnecessary at the time.
The Luftwaffe personnel, who had been forced to drop their work and rush over because of the Chief of Staff’s sudden arrival, stood in formation as Richthofen called out.
“All personnel, attention.”
Chief of Staff Hans Jeschonnek had brought an unusual escort of four SS men, which made the air force officers wonder what was going on.
“To the Chief of the General Staff, salute!”
“Heil Hitler!”
“Ah, good work, everyone. I have an urgent order.”
Jeschonnek returned the salute half-heartedly and immediately handed an order to Richthofen.
Richthofen wondered why the usually desk-bound Chief of Staff was delivering an order in person as he opened it, his face contorting into a frown.
“…Mobilize all air fleets and firebomb Frankfurt with incendiary munitions, sir?”
“That’s right. Your specialty, isn’t it? The Führer said those Italian bastards only managed to burn half of Tyrol, but he’s confident you can reduce it to rubble.”
Richthofen glanced at the visibly disturbed Luftwaffe men, then looked back at Jeschonnek.
“Chief of Staff. Frankfurt is a major German city. With most of the rebel forces at the front, there are no tactical targets of any significance there…”
“But it’s where the rebel leadership and their traitorous supporters are.”
Richthofen cursed inwardly. So, it had come to this. Hitler, whom he had once thought to be a strong leader who would make Germany great, had become a complete madman.
“Chief of Staff. This war is lost, anyway. Burning Frankfurt now won’t change a thing.”
At Richthofen’s words, Jeschonnek silently gestured, and the SS men rushed forward to restrain Richthofen.
“Ch-Chief of Staff!”
As the air force officers watched in shock, Jeschonnek declared with a cold expression.
“Wolfram von Richthofen. You are under arrest on suspicion of condoning the Luftwaffe’s sabotage by citing weather conditions.”
“Chief of Staff! I am loyal to the Luftwaffe! Let me see the Marshal! He would never follow such an insane order! Are you going to let our own men be tried as criminals in their courts!”
Richthofen cried out desperately, but Jeschonnek’s reply was curt.
“The order to arrest you if you refuse to comply came from the Marshal himself.”
As Richthofen stood in stunned silence, Jeschonnek nodded his head.
“Take him away.”
As the SS men started to drag Richthofen away, a man stepped in front of them.
“What do you want?”
The burly mechanic who had just been working on Adolf Galland’s plane grinned, his face menacing, and kicked one of the SS men square in the stomach.
“Urgh!”
As the man doubled over in pain, the mechanic snatched the Kar98k rifle slung over his back.
“What the hell, you crazy—!”
Before the other SS man could unsling his own rifle, the mechanic’s weapon roared to life.
The remaining two SS men aimed their rifles at the mechanic and fired, but he used the first SS man he had struck as a shield to block the shots.
While the SS men flinched at having shot their comrade, the mechanic dropped to the ground, reloaded his rifle, and shot another one dead.
“Wha-what!”
In an instant, three men were down. The last remaining SS man tried to pull his bolt with a trembling hand, but the mechanic was faster, reloading and firing again.
It all happened in less than ten seconds. Before anyone could react, Jeschonnek started to scream and run.
“T-t-traitors! The Luftwaffe is committing treason! The Führer will not let you get away with— Ack!”
The fleeing Jeschonnek was struck in the back with the butt of the Kar98k rifle and fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
“Uh, uhhh…”
While the entire air force, including Richthofen, stood in stunned silence, the mechanic stood up, dusted off his overalls, and smiled, his face still menacing.
“Are you alright, Major General?”
“I-I’m fine. Thank you. But, who are you?”
As Richthofen finally came to his senses, the mechanic dragged the still-writhing Jeschonnek over by the scruff of his neck like a child and answered.
“Otto Skorzeny, sir. A contractor working as a Luftwaffe mechanic, Major General.”
“Ah, I remember rejecting your pilot application…”
“Because I was too tall and too old to start training, you said.”
Hearing Skorzeny’s words, Richthofen looked around the scene with a sense of disbelief. Four dead bodies. A sea of Luftwaffe personnel staring only at him.
“W-well, thank you for your help, anyway.”
“Traitors! How dare you— Aaaargh! He-help me! Please, help me!”
As soon as Richthofen expressed his gratitude, Jeschonnek, who had been cursing, quickly began to scream and beg for his life as Skorzeny applied pressure.
Richthofen looked towards Berlin, where Göring, the old hero of the air force whom he had once admired, would be, and let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha, hahaha. Damn it all. Is there anyone among you who wants to stay and continue to serve that damn Führer?”
“No, sir!”
The Luftwaffe personnel answered Richthofen’s question in a single, unified voice.
He felt a weight lift from his chest that even alcohol couldn’t dissipate, and with a grin, he shouted.
“Alright, then bring every plane that can fly! Ditch the bombs and weapons, load up the mechanics and any men without a ride! Luftwaffe, we’re flying to Frankfurt!”
“Yes, sir!”
< The German Civil War - Iron and Blood, Golden Freedom (8) > End