Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Postwar Settlement (2)
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In July 1945, with the eyes of the world fixed upon it, the Nuremberg Military Tribunal for War Criminals convened.
The judges' and prosecutors' benches were occupied by representatives nominated by the four major Allied powers: Korea, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union.
The trials proceeded in a format where Allied prosecutors indicted the accused, and the defendants' counsel offered rebuttals.
Most war criminals had no defense counsel, or if they did, the representation was perfunctory, but a few had unusually robust legal teams.
These were primarily individuals who had struck judicial deals with Korea.
In particular, Walter Schellenberg, the head of German intelligence, was backed by a large contingent of lawyers.
“Walter Schellenberg. As the highest-ranking official in German intelligence and a high-ranking SS officer with the rank of Brigadeführer, you stand accused of condoning and abetting Nazi crimes. To enumerate the charges against the defendant…”
“Objection!”
Men like Walter Schellenberg didn't even need to speak up for themselves.
Their legal teams blocked every attack, and during the judges' deliberations, the Korean judge actively advocated on their behalf.
“No, this man is a war criminal. He deserves at least five years in prison!”
“Ah, we can't agree to that.”
Thanks to vehement opposition from the Korean side, some war criminals walked away from the dock without facing any punishment.
The Nazi war criminals awaiting trial watched the scene with envious eyes.
“How can that be? Schellenberg, of all people, acquitted? That bastard was Heydrich's right-hand man!”
But that was the way of the world.
Stand on the right side, and even the guilty could walk free. That was the harsh truth.
Walter Schellenberg exited the courtroom and greeted the Zhongzheng Agency agents waiting for him.
“How did the trial go?”
“Thanks to you, I was spared the worst of it. Just thinking about avoiding prison life makes my stomach settle.”
“Haha. So, what are your plans now?”
“Well, if permitted, I was thinking of heading to Switzerland to spend my remaining years writing.”
“Then how about this? Come work for our Zhongzheng Agency in Switzerland. We'll pay you handsomely.”
Korea went on to employ the war criminals with whom it had made judicial deals.
There was no reason not to use personnel acquired through such necessary transactions.
Of course, Korea refrained from extending offers to war criminals so notorious that they drew the world's scrutiny.
‘Pushing too hard against Allied public opinion wouldn't do.’
Under Korea's tacit approval, the major Nazi war criminals were mercilessly hammered at trial.
“If I'd known it'd come to this, I should've just killed myself like Himmler.”
Göring gave a bitter smile.
In any case, Hermann Göring, the number one Nazi war criminal, could not escape the death sentence.
Yet Göring mounted the strongest defense he could.
Even so, he didn't shift all the blame to Hitler.
“All the sins were borne collectively by the German people. Had they not chosen us, how could we have waged war against the world?”
It was a piercing observation.
No matter how much the Allies demonized the Nazis alone, this was an undeniable fact.
The Nazis had come to power legally and launched the war with the overwhelming support of the German people.
Such brazen statements from the war criminals were faithfully relayed back to Korea.
“Good grief, what kind of people are these?”
“They slaughtered six million Jews and now claim it was the people's fault, not theirs. Who were the idiots suggesting we ally with such conscienceless scum?”
The Korean government took the Nazis' shameless excuses and self-justifications and splashed them across the front pages of newspapers every day.
The goal was simple.
See how these fools are no different from the militarists endlessly demanding expansion.
The public, feeling the shame, quickly distorted their own memories.
“I only ever trusted and supported Director Lee Seong-jun. It was the warmongers who went berserk wanting war.”
“How would innocent folk like us know anything about war? We just got our ears turned by the ravings of madmen.”
Seizing the moment, the Korean government aired special broadcasts.
“This is a special broadcast on the Nuremberg Trials. Hello, Professor. I hear something important came up in today's Nuremberg proceedings?”
“Indeed. A crucial testimony emerged this time. German Armaments Minister Albert Speer admitted to planning to gas Hitler's bunker and assassinate the Führer.”
“What does that signify?”
“If true, it means the Nazis themselves knew their leader had gone mad.”
“Speaking of bunkers, Professor, I've heard Hitler's bunker was full of luxuries?”
“Yes, that's correct. Even as Germany shifted to a wartime economy, Hitler was producing luxury goods for his lover, Eva Braun.”
The format was a discussion of the Nuremberg Trials, but in substance, it mocked the ugly power struggles and extravagance within the Nazi regime.
There was, of course, a reason for airing such tales.
See how stably and admirably the Lee Seong-jun regime governs without such petty noises.
And appreciate the unparalleled integrity of Director Lee Seong-jun, who leads the nation without a whiff of extravagance—serve him accordingly.
While the Korean government savored, dissected, and thoroughly enjoyed the Nuremberg Trials, Germany faced brutal punishment in line with the finalized postwar settlement agreements.
Military demarcation lines were first drawn along the boundaries of each occupation zone.
Western Allied forces and Soviet troops squared off along these lines.
The exception was the Korean sector, where neither the Western Allies nor the Soviets deployed troops.
It was an unspoken gesture.
The Soviets thought thus:
“Like it or not, we need to bring Korea over to our side. Turning these guys against us too would leave us hopelessly outmatched against the West.”
The Soviets didn't rate the West's ground forces highly but eyed their overwhelming naval and air power warily.
Thus, they desperately wanted to pull Korea, which could fill their gaps, into alliance.
Britain and the United States held similar views.
“Korea isn't a true democracy, but they're not unreasonable either. To counter the commie reds who've swallowed half of Europe, we need Pyongyang's backing no matter what—so we should stay in their good graces.”
Thanks to this stance from both camps, Korea governed its occupation zone with minimal trouble.
In any event, the Western Allies firmly believed these military demarcation lines were temporary boundaries that would vanish once Germany's national status was restored.
The Soviets, naturally, had no intention of agreeing to that.
Such standoffs played out in Austria and Italy as well.
Particularly acute was the conflict in Italy.
“We have no intention of going back under the fascists.”
The Italian People's Republic, which had disarmed German forces with its own hands and seized control of the north, rejected the rule of the Kingdom of Italy, which had returned to Rome.
The Allied governments wanted to restore Italy as a unified sovereign state per postwar agreements, but removing an existing regime without war was practically impossible.
“No, we're the official Italian government—or so you said. How can you do this?”
The Italian government lodged strong protests with the Allies, but they had no sharp solutions either.
For its part, Korea said,
“Well, we might bear a little responsibility, but we can't do much about it. Sorry.”
Britain, with its heavy Mediterranean interests, grumbled,
“On second thought, our own house is a mess. Influence? Bollocks. We can't even afford milk for the kids right now.”
The United States, with resources to spare, offered,
“We'll send weapons and a military advisory group. We'll help, but don't fight them.”
It urged restraint and status quo in Italy.
Because
“If you touch our comrades in northern Italy, we won't sit idly by.”
The commie ringleader, the Soviet Union, was growling.
With postwar settlements incomplete and the West and Soviets already facing off, the military demarcation lines and boundaries across Europe began solidifying into de facto borders.
Sensing crisis, Italians, Germans, and Austrians rushed to clutch at the great powers' coattails.
“Come on, slicing up our countries like this isn't right, is it?”
Their pleas fell on deaf ears.
The great powers would sooner split intact nations in two than cede territory to rivals.
Amid the tense deadlock, an idea emerged from Germany:
“How about handing eastern Germany to the West in exchange for recognizing northern Italy as Soviet sphere?”
The Italians naturally unleashed a torrent of curses.
“What bullshit is that? Better give half of western Germany to the Soviets and unify Italy!”
Amid this, at the U.S. government's suggestion, talks convened to discuss the Italian, Austrian, and German issues.
In this secret meeting, the Soviets took a lukewarm stance on unification.
‘Unify Germany, and it'll come gunning for revenge. Why would we?’
The Soviets had no intention of yielding on Germany.
Same for Austria.
On northern Italy, they didn't raise much fuss due to prior discussions but insisted on recognizing the de facto regime.
They cited China's Wang Jingwei regime as an example.
‘Why drag the Republic of China into this suddenly?’
Korea, hit by the sudden splashback, broke into a sweat to deflect attention from the ROC issue.
The talks quickly broke down due to the primary stakeholder, the Soviets, dragging their feet.
This made one fact crystal clear.
Neither the West nor the Soviets had any intention of compromising on postwar settlements.
The wrangling over the defeated nations' territories amplified tensions between the two camps.
Now, both sides began viewing each other as serious threats at the regime level.
The conflict hadn't escalated to what one might call the Cold War yet, but recognizing each other as potential enemies had sown the seeds all the same.
Humanity had exited the dark, brutal tunnel of World War II, only to step into the cold, frightening shadow of ideological strife.
Whether that path led to hot war and humanity's doom, or a chill and tense cold war, hung on the whims of fate.