Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Under the Surface (2)
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For the Nazis, it was regrettable that pro-Nazi groups within the United States crumbled even before the SD could spring into action.
Despite having the massive backing of German-American communities, there was a reason they fell apart so pathetically.
The decisive factor was the power of the FBI's released wiretap recordings.
“What? You're saying you're going to launch a coup in the free democratic United States?”
“Linking up with Germany to start cleansing Jews in America too?”
The statements were so utterly absurd that people initially had trouble believing them.
But as exiles who had fled Nazi Germany began speaking out, the recordings gained credibility.
“Those Nazi bastards are exactly the type to do something like that!”
To make matters worse, the release of the recorded voices on SP records tilted American public opinion sharply toward disbanding the pro-Nazi groups.
“Treasonous scum! Hang them from the gallows!”
America might be mocked as a melting pot nation, but when it came to patriotism, it didn't yield to any other country.
“Le-Let's run!”
The key members of the pro-Nazi groups quickly boarded ships and fled across the Atlantic to Germany.
With the Nazis—who had voices as loud as any isolationist—suddenly falling silent, Roosevelt found it much easier to maneuver.
“Director, initiate the next plan.”
The FBI's next target was the isolationists.
As the noose of the U.S. government tightened, even the Republican isolationists had no choice but to lower their voices.
“Who could've guessed the Nazis were plotting treason?”
A few congressmen who had been aligning with the Nazis policy-wise to block U.S. entry into the war quickly switched positions to strike a deal with the FBI.
“The isolationist trend in Congress is no longer the majority.”
Hoover proudly reported his achievements to the president.
“Good work.”
Roosevelt intended to pass the Lend-Lease Act in as little as two months.
'We're not the ones spilling blood anyway.'
Lending supplies to bring down the Nazis was a profitable deal.
Roosevelt subtly conveyed this policy direction to the British ambassador to the U.S., Lord Lothian.
Upon receiving word of the U.S. government's intentions, British Prime Minister Halifax fell into deep contemplation.
For him, it was troubling that voices wary of being dragged into war weren't insignificant back home.
“Is it worth listening to the pleas of the man who tried to steal a few battleships and plunged hundreds of thousands into living hell?”
Of course, there were plenty of voices insisting they couldn't sit idly by while Hitler triumphed.
“I don't want to shout 'Heil Hitler' for the German Führer!”
Halifax had to decide his course amid this tangled public opinion.
After consulting with Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, he resolved to muster a bit of courage.
'If America steps in, we could lend a slight hand too.'
The POWs had all been returned anyway, in exchange for a fixed sum of compensation.
There was no issue with opposing the Nazis.
Halifax gave hints to the U.S. ambassador, John Gilbert Winant.
“The British government has no intention of clashing head-on with Germany. However, we have no plans to stand by and watch Germans monopolize the European continent.”
Even Halifax, who had chosen compromise with Germany, fundamentally didn't trust the Nazis.
Just looking at how Germany failed to withdraw from occupied territories after the peace treaty made it clear Berlin was an unreliable partner.
If Germany wouldn't honor its promises, why should Britain faithfully uphold the peace treaty?
The U.S. ambassador saw this as the obvious conclusion upon confirming Halifax's intentions.
'So Britain is considering intervention after all.'
If even America felt a security threat across the Atlantic, how much more so for Britain, relying on a 40km-wide ditch for defense?
Regardless of Halifax's inclinations, Britain was fated to bet against Germany once more.
As the U.S. and British governments quickened their pace, Germany's Foreign Intelligence Service SD grew busy too.
“What the hell? How did you manage things that all the groups vanished overnight?”
“It seems like U.S. government sabotage.”
“How the fuck did those idiots handle their people that they leaked everything they shouldn't have!”
With pro-Nazi groups in America evaporating all at once, the SD had to enter the fray without even attempting part of their planned operations.
In a pinch, the SD funneled funds to isolationists like Senator Gerald Prentice Nye through remnants of the German-American Bund.
“Thank you for the support during these trying times.”
“Not at all, Senator. When it comes to aiding someone protecting this country from warmongering interventionists, what does the amount matter?”
SD Director Heinz Jost scraped every last bit of funds plundered from Jews.
With that money, he sponsored any intellectuals backing isolationism—writers, scholars, journalists, politicians—without discrimination, encouraging their activities.
Their goal was somehow to block Roosevelt's intervention at all costs.
'If only those useless rice-munching bastards had helped us.'
SD agents vented curses, grumbling that things would have been easier if the embassy had just backed them.
The embassy had its own side to the story.
For one thing, the German ambassadorship in the U.S. was currently vacant.
Deputy Ambassador Hans Thomsen was handling duties in the interim, but his lower rank hampered diplomatic efforts.
That said, the embassy hadn't been idle.
They had made their own connections in U.S. politics to thwart interventionism.
They joined campaigns promoting isolationism and attended Republican conventions.
The problem was the two organizations never coordinated.
Of course, the embassy had reasons.
“Does it make sense for a prestigious bureaucratic institution like our Foreign Ministry to play second fiddle to those ragtag nobodies from who-knows-where?”
Both pursued the same goal but couldn't unite their strength.
It was the classic bureaucratic infighting and organizational egoism rampant in Nazi Germany.
As a result, Germany faced an even more unfavorable opinion war than anticipated.
“Your Excellency, the Foreign Ministry isn't cooperating at all. With operations running separately, our costs have doubled.”
Heydrich flew into a rage upon receiving the report.
This country, Germany, truly was inefficient and fucked up.
Part of him wanted to tear it all down and start over.
'Was this how Yi Seong-jun felt?'
For the first time, Heydrich felt a kinship with Yi Seong-jun, who had staged a coup during wartime.
But that didn't mean Heydrich was thinking of revolution like Yi Seong-jun.
He didn't have the army for it in the first place.
In Korean terms, it was like holding only the Korean Counterintelligence Command—what could he do with that?
“No sharp solutions.”
“Pardon?”
“Block it as far as you can for now.”
Heydrich resigned himself to fighting while presupposing defeat in the shadow war.
If it was a fight they were going to lose anyway, they had to drag it out.
As Germans braced for defeat in the shadow battle and shifted to a war of attrition, Soviet intelligence was celebrating victory.
“Hahaha. Things are falling into place so nicely.”
Soviet Military Intelligence Chief Philipp Golikov couldn't hide his joy at the unexpected shifts in American politics.
The Soviets hadn't lifted a finger, yet the Nazis in America had been wiped out.
How could he not laugh?
With conditions ripe, Roosevelt would maneuver more freely.
Time to give him a push.
Golikov sent a directive to the Soviet embassy in the U.S.
“Issue orders to the American Communist Party. Tell them to fully cooperate with Roosevelt's policies.”
Roosevelt's confirmed leanings so far were anti-German, pro-Soviet.
They should reciprocate cooperatively.
Of course, they weren't blindly trusting Roosevelt.
Close to him was Alger Hiss, a State Department aide receiving Soviet directives.
Alger Hiss sent regular reports to the Soviets, allowing Golikov to gauge the inner thoughts of the U.S. government.
“Your Excellency, a wire from London has arrived.”
“Hand it over.”
Golikov had tendrils in Britain too.
Just like in America, Soviet spies lurked in key British government posts.
Communists were like Schrödinger's cat—everywhere and nowhere.
“Hm. Britain considering limited intervention too. The General Secretary will be pleased.”
Golikov hurriedly began drafting a report.
Soon, the completed report was neatly bound and placed on Stalin's desk.
The General Secretary processed documents mechanically until he reached Golikov's.
“Britain and America contemplating intervention.”
The thought brought back a conversation with Yi Seong-jun.
'The postwar order will be an arena of ideological competition.'
Could Yi Seong-jun have foreseen Britain and America joining forces with the Soviets to crush Germany from the start?
Stalin newly raised his evaluation of Yi Seong-jun.
He wasn't some dime-a-dozen military dictator.
He was a strategist envisioning the postwar world and laying the groundwork.
'Compared to Yi Seong-jun, Hitler is just a third-rate gambler.'
Provoking an unnecessary war and courting disaster—Hitler wasn't worth high praise.
His rise to power had been impressive, but plunging the nation into an unstoppable gamble disqualified him.
Truly regrettable.
If only Hitler had a broader view, the Federation and Germany could have allied into an invincible powerhouse.
What if Yi Seong-jun had been Germany's leader instead?
The thought crossed Stalin's mind.