Interwar Period – Widerstand (3)

From the night of November 9th to the dawn of November 10th, the SS raided Jewish shops across Germany and set fire to synagogues.

During the night of unrest, bloodied Jews at the scene were dragged and lynched by the SS, and the bodies of those who died instantly were rolled into the streets.

Shattered glass shards from shop windows covered the roadsides, and the Nazis, ignoring all laws, fined Jews 1 billion marks and confiscated all their property during the persecution called Kristallnacht.

The systematic persecution, disguised as voluntary participation due to Goebbels' instigation, was thoroughly carried out. The extermination of Jews was realized as ruthless bloodshed that awakened the awareness that Jewish extermination was not just a Nazi slogan, but a reality.

A few Jews managed to have their lives and property protected by rational Germans, but these were only a few fortunate exceptions.

After the unrest, the Nazis took tens of thousands of Jews to concentration camps under various pretexts.

A harsh winter and a new year had begun for the Jews.

1939—the year World War II broke out.

January 7, 1939, Reichstag conference room, Berlin, northern Germany

A conference room where all the dignitaries of Nazi Party and the Third Reich had gathered.

Hitler, who had driven all of Europe into shock and horror during the Sudetenland crisis before winning with the Munich Agreement, threw a new bombshell just 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 statement was so shocking that no one spoke.

"Ah, Memel should also return to us. Well, I'll give it to Lithuania if they swear allegiance to us."

Weizsäcker, the Deputy Foreign Minister, was the first person to barely regain his composure in response to Hitler's announcement that he intended to seize territory from another sovereign nation.

"Mein Führer, with all due respect, we signed a clause in the Munich Agreement stating that there would be no further territorial claims."

At Weizsäcker's extremely reasonable remark, Hitler burst into laughter.

"It's just a piece of paper."

Unlike Weizsäcker, who was too stunned to respond, Ribbentrop, the Foreign Minister, was quick to flatter Hitler.

"Yes, mein Führer. In the face of Germany's new diplomatic hegemony, their old treaties are of no value."

"Haha, you are far superior to the former Minister von Neurath, Minister Ribbentrop."

While Hitler and Ribbentrop maintained a friendly atmosphere, those seated around them murmured, but no one dared to speak up.

"Then I understand there are no objections. General Keitel, command the Wehrmacht General Staff to develop a plan."

"Jawohl, mein Führer."

In reality, Wehrmacht chief Wilhelm Keitel was merely a yes-man who did whatever Hitler told him to do. However, someone raised their hand just as they were about to finalize this absurd agenda too hastily.

"What is it this time?"

Hitler frowned, but acknowledged Hjalmar Schacht, who had raised his hand.

"Mein Führer, if we start a war now and increase our armaments, Germany's economy will collapse. We need to reduce our military budget and focus on the civilian economy."

Hitler initially scowled, but Hjalmar Schacht maintained a calm expression, clearly having something important to say.

"Again? You underestimate the potential of the German economy..."

"I am more acutely aware of the German economy's potential than anyone else. I hope you would also understand that we can no longer afford the Mefo bills, and our gold reserves are on the verge of depletion, Reichsmarschall Göring."

Göring, who had just stepped forward against his old adversary, blushed at Schacht's remarks and fell silent.

Hitler turned his head nervously and looked at the current Minister of the Economy, Walther Funk.

"Is this true?"

"Mein Führer, it is true, but the annexation of Czechoslovakia could somehow prevent a credit crisis by seizing gold reserves from their central banks..."

"Damn it! What kind of idiotic way is that to run an economy?!"

At Hitler's outburst, Minister Funk cowered and bowed his head.

Hitler glanced at Göring, head of the Four Year Plan, making him flinch, then turned back to Hjalmar Schacht.

"Things have been getting worse since you were Minister of the Economy! Don't talk as if you bear no responsibility!"

Everyone present knew that Hjalmar Schacht had been dismissed from his position as Minister of the Economy for arguing that Germany should halt rearmament and revitalize the private economy.

But the meeting room remained silent.

"Then I have no need to be here anymore."

Hjalmar Schacht rose and left quietly, while no one spoke.

On January 19th, Hjalmar Schacht was removed from his position as Reichsbank Governor, and plans for the annexation of Czechoslovakia and invasion of Poland began in earnest.

January 23, 1939, Abwehr headquarters, Berlin, northern Germany

"Please sit down, Captain. Would you care for coffee?"

"I would be grateful, Herr Admiral."

I was meeting with Rear Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr. He was currently the resistance's most powerful ally.

After the signing of the Munich Agreement, not only Halder, who was the first to withdraw, but also the monarchists and high-ranking generals who were key figures had lost much of their motivation.

However, Leutnant Colonel Oster had not given up yet, and with Rear Admiral Canaris's support, he was working diligently on pre-coup preparations with me.

After all, what matters in a coup d'état is how faithful the actual planners are and how well the materials are prepared in advance.

The monarchists and high-ranking generals of the Black Orchestra would come around again when the threat of war became visible, so there was no need to be impatient—this had been the case in actual history.

In my case, beyond just the coup d'état, I was also busy with additional work.

"Thanks to the support from Count Helmut and the wealthy industrialists of Silesia, it has been tremendously helpful for the Abwehr's off-budget operations. Your contribution is significant."

"Thank you."

Canaris was in the process of helping some Jews who had lost all their property and shops during Kristallnacht by connecting them with Abwehr agents and facilitating their escape abroad.

He was the one who, at Oster's request during the Sudetenland crisis, had ordered Abwehr agents to carry out sabotage operations.

Of course, these activities required funding. While it was common to use departmental budgets and disguise expenditures appropriately, there were limits to this approach, making external subsidies extremely valuable.

My father, Hjalmar Schacht, was eventually stripped of his position as Reichsbank head after refusing to abandon his principles until the very end.

However, I suffered little damage as I was protected by Army Commander-in-Chief Brauchitsch, who was connected to Major General Model, Major General Richthofen of the Luftwaffe, who had been recently promoted, and Rear Admiral Canaris of the Abwehr.

Canaris took a sip of coffee and paused thoughtfully before speaking.

"As you mentioned... the situation of Jews in the camps is dire. Many are dying during winter because tens of thousands were thrown into camps without regard for capacity."

"I believe so."

The Nazi regime, naturally, had no intention of properly feeding the tens of thousands of Jews imprisoned in concentration camps.

Although supplies were sent to the camps, albeit in insufficient quantities, many camp staff members were Nazis who preferred to divert supplies rather than feed the Jews.

While extermination camps were not yet operational, failing to provide adequate food and winter clothing was tantamount to condemning them to death.

"As you requested, we have prepared as many photographs as possible, but what do you intend to use them for?"

"They will be necessary for changing public opinion after a major event, Herr Admiral."

Rear Admiral Canaris looked unsatisfied with my response, but I was not in a position to be selective about methods.

Since the Black Orchestra members were idealistic soldiers, they had a strong desire to appear sophisticated and honorable.

Leutnant Colonel Oster had even suggested capturing Hitler and subjecting him to psychiatric evaluation to prove his insanity and secure legitimacy for the coup—naive righteousness that I had to disabuse him of.

Using only gentlemanly and fair military methods to deal with the biggest maniac of the century was absurd considering the risk of failure.

"Sometimes when I observe you, I think you are more politician than soldier."

"Perhaps so."

Maybe it was true. From the beginning, it was impossible to survive in this insane era with a 21st-century mindset while maintaining the rigid military spirit of hierarchy and protocol.

If they couldn't escape the mentality of soldiers and aristocrats, I would have to succeed where they could not.

With that thought, Rear Admiral Canaris added with a serious expression:

"I understand that among those you're bringing in are remnants of the Social Democratic Party. Just to be clear—I hope you don't intend to bring in Soviet agents as well."

So they were not only supporting me but also monitoring me? I suppose that's expected from the head of counterintelligence.

"Of course not, Herr Admiral. I fought against them during the Spanish Civil War. How could I?"

"I'm glad to hear that, but social democrats and communists are cut from the same cloth. Keep them at a distance."

Among the high-ranking officers who joined the Black Orchestra with Oster, Canaris was not inclined toward anti-Semitism or anti-democracy, but he was strongly anti-communist.

In fact, it was difficult to find anyone in the Black Orchestra who didn't have anti-communist tendencies, so I was well aware that cooperation with social democrats was dangerous.

"Regarding that matter, I have a proposal for you, Herr Admiral."

"A proposal?"

I had worked hard on this, so it should be accepted.

"You know that the Social Democratic leaders from the Weimar Republic are imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp, Herr Admiral."

"I know."

I swallowed nervously. As head of counterintelligence, I could only hope he had some flexibility...

"On the condition that we release them from Dachau when we act, the Social Democrats agree to abandon Marxist ideology and completely isolate themselves from the communist Red Orchestra."

To reach this agreement, Claudia and I had spent considerable time in lengthy talks with the Social Democrats.

"Abandoning Marxism? So they're no longer communists?"

Rear Admiral Canaris wore a somewhat puzzled expression. Anti-communists typically viewed anyone associated with "socialism" with suspicion, so this was understandable.

But this was absolutely necessary. A coup that was already difficult would become more so if the few forces opposing the Nazis also secretly fought against each other.

Moreover, Social Democratic strength was absolutely necessary to realize my plan of achieving German hegemony through civil war rather than simply eliminating Hitler.

Berlin, Germany's center, and the eastern regions were Social Democratic strongholds, and many people in these areas remained dissatisfied with the Nazis' arbitrary passage of the Enabling Act and dissolution of the Prussian state government they had elected.

"Yes, Herr Admiral. They say they will abandon unrealistic and impure ideas like class struggle and planned economy and join forces with us against Hitler. The communists continuously sabotaged the Social Democrats during the Weimar Republic, so there's considerable hostility there as well."

Rear Admiral Canaris didn't object when I subtly characterized communists as the real threat and tried to convince him that Social Democrats were different.

"Their influence remains enormous in Prussia, which comprises most of Germany. If we can bring them to our side, it will definitely be of great help during the operation."

It was only twenty years later in actual history that German Social Democrats abandoned Marxism and shifted toward capitalist reform, culminating in the Godesberg Program.

To advance this discourse by twenty years, I had to work extremely hard.

Even Claudia was shocked when I explained that advanced capitalist countries would not collapse naturally in the future but would continue growing stronger.

When I told her that Marxism had only been established through bloody revolutions in backward countries like Russia and China, where it began culling society in a deformed manner, she was so shocked that she remained depressed for several days.

Now that all their leaders were imprisoned in Dachau and significant numbers had fled abroad, the Social Democrats were not at a level where they could accomplish anything alone. I took advantage of their crisis mentality—that they might be absorbed by Soviet-controlled communists.

Still, the task of convincing the Social Democrats would not have been possible without the full support of Willy Brandt, who was trusted by them.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Do we really need to mobilize former communists... No, I'm not saying they're still communists. But what if they betray us and change their stance later?"

"If they betray our trust, we can suppress them with military force, Herr Admiral."

It wasn't the most elegant conclusion, but nothing was more reassuring to an anti-communist military figure. There were fewer than eight months left before World War II would break out. I simply had to trust the Social Democrats.

"Well... if you put it that way, I'll leave it to your judgment."

"Thank you, Herr Admiral!"

This established the foundation for a resistance force uniting monarchist military forces, liberals, and Social Democrats.

Even if other Black Orchestra monarchists later took issue with this, their voices would be limited as long as Rear Admiral Canaris approved and supported the arrangement.

"By the way, regarding the person you mentioned... I've located the whereabouts of former Cologne Mayor Konrad Adenauer. Why were you interested in him?"

Konrad Adenauer—former mayor of Cologne, an anti-Nazi politician with undeniable ability despite some personality issues. In actual history, he would be revered as Chancellor of West Germany.

"He is someone we need to bring to our side, Herr Admiral. According to the plan Leutnant Colonel Oster and I are developing, he is most suitable for stabilizing Cologne and the Ruhr after we occupy the Rhineland."

This was the concept of full-scale civil war.

The Rhineland and Ruhr industrial zones harbored strong sentiments of rebellion and separatism against the Prussian region, which had originally dominated the German state. Thanks to this, support for the Nazis remained limited there.

Due to their anti-Prussian sentiment, they were incompatible with the Black Orchestra, but my calculation was that Konrad Adenauer, who was popular and skilled enough that even Hitler admired him, would be effective.

Even if we were fortunate enough to eliminate Hitler, there was no way the Nazis would suddenly collapse and disappear.

The reason Stauffenberg and the Black Orchestra failed was that they had no solid support base or stronghold before Hitler's survival.

They had to fight against both Hitler and the SD at the height of their power, but now I was in a better position than they had been—there was no war yet.

So while we should attempt to assassinate Hitler, instead of relying on luck, we must gather support and initiate civil war in western Germany.

I couldn't wait to see the Nazis' expression when the heart of German industry was seized at the start of the civil war.