[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-don-t-need-nazis-in-my-germany":3,"chapter-i-don-t-need-nazis-in-my-germany-i-don-t-need-nazis-in-my-germany-chapter-177":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I Don’t Need Nazis In My Germany",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1294758,1717,"Chapter 176","i-don-t-need-nazis-in-my-germany-chapter-177",177,"\u003Cp>February 25, 1941\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The German capital, Berlin\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Driving through the streets of Berlin, I could see at a glance that the election fervor was heating up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All sorts of posters and promotional flyers for the election, and even a candidate giving a speech to supporters gathered in a public square.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that it’s the most symbolic image of democracy, this part isn't too different from 21st-century Korea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Social Democratic Party candidate, Willy Brandt, is a dual citizen with Norwegian nationality, a man who has never served in our proud German Army! The SPD is a den of social misfits and traitors!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the CDU candidate shouted into the microphone, the supporters gathered in the square responded with fervent acclaim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s right! How can we trust a commie who has never fought for Germany!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Willy Brandt attended university, then went into exile in Norway to escape Nazi persecution, so of course, he couldn’t have served in the German Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He has only just returned home and regained his citizenship. It would be fine if he were elected as a Member of Parliament, but if not, he too would be subject to conscription.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And regardless of whether he’s elected, for a key figure in a political party to have a cloud of draft dodging suspicion over him in a country with a conscription system at war would not play out very well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Claudia is voluntarily serving as military support personnel for her career, so it goes without saying for Brandt, a physically able-bodied man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Willy Brandt is the one who rallied the exiled Social Democrats, and he is a man of merit who prevented the collapse of the SPD by staying in contact with those who remained in Germany, including Claudia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless he volunteers himself, no one could tell the man who has worked so hard for the SPD to give up his ambition for a seat in parliament and go to the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The SPD must have a lot on their minds.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My aide, Mr.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Berger, who was driving, spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He, who at first saw me as 'someone way above his station' and was nervous around me, now occasionally strikes up a conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A positive development, I suppose? I nodded and replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, I suppose so.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The SPD was originally the number one party of the Weimar Republic. In fact, public support for the SPD is quite high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in Hitler's Germany, socialism was branded as the main culprit that overthrew Germany in the last war, and the SPD, which had public support, was also denounced as commies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Konrad Adenauer is a figure who does not shy away from blatant smear campaigns, and the CDU is subtly re-stimulating the negative perception planted by the Nazi Party to chip away at the SPD's power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, we are at war right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the war against the Soviet Union, the anti-communism disposition within the military is stronger than ever, and there are quite a few in the army who detest the SPD, calling them commies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s slightly better thanks to the SPD leader Kurt Schumacher, who has been denouncing the Soviet Union as 'Red Nazis' and professing anti-communism, and the SPD’s decision to abandon Marxism much sooner thanks to my and Claudia's persuasion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Honestly, I thought you would choose either the CDU or the SPD, Vice-Chancellor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that what you thought?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a small laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps others thought so too, because when Kurt Schumacher and Willy Brandt heard the news that I had refused the CDU's invitation to join, they couldn't hide their expectation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I refused their proposal as well, and they seemed even more shocked than Adenauer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was unfortunate for them, who expected that if not the CDU, it would be them, if only for Claudia’s sake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I feel sorry for Claudia, but judging coldly, this is not the right situation for the SPD to take power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core of the social democrat platform is, after all, the reform of capitalism and the improvement of workers' rights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I think they're not bad values, and providing pensions for veterans and the fallen soldiers with reparations from France is a kind of social democratic policy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But during a war, especially a total war like World War II, pursuing social democracy as the nation's main ideology is problematic in many ways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We should avoid treating citizens like parts just because it's wartime, but the Soviet Union is not an opponent to be taken lightly enough for us to chip away at our war-fighting ability by enacting policies to reward our support base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frankly speaking, if we're talking about the quality of life for the people, it's better to end the war quickly than to improve workers' rights with a scarce wartime budget.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The SPD already enjoys public support, and if I were to join them and gain even a fraction of the military's support, they could achieve a majority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the SPD were to take power, it should be after the war or at least in a situation where they can be checked, meaning it should be done through a coalition government.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ve arrived, Vice-Chancellor!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I got out of the car and entered the headquarters of the Free Democratic Party.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Welcome, Vice-Chancellor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theodor Heuss, a former Member of the Reichstag and the Minister of Propaganda in the War Cabinet, greeted me with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for the welcome, Party Leader.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That title is so stiff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just call me Mr. Heuss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, alright. Mr.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heuss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We shook hands with smiling faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the editor-in-chief of the Frankfurter Zeitung's Berlin branch and is a mentor-like figure to Claudia as a journalist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering I met him and was introduced by Claudia almost as soon as I came up to Berlin, it's quite an old connection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the end of the national war cabinet approaches and the left-right conflict in Germany slowly surfaces, Theodor Heuss, with his respected reputation that spans both sides, was the person I most wanted to support in this situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the original history's West Germany, he also contributed to uniting the political circles of West Germany as President, earning the respect of both the CDU and the SPD.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I was smiling face-to-face with Heuss, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Erich Kordt, who was already seated, also smiled and waved his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re a little late?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, I apologize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was the one who suggested this, and yet I’m late?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, the Vice-Chancellor is always busy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I took my seat, Mr.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heuss looked at Kordt and me with a smiling face and opened his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Having you two here is truly a great source of strength.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I refused both the CDU and the SPD's proposals, the press speculated that I might be planning to create a new party to aim for the Prime Minister position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the Prime Minister is generally the leader of the ruling party, few expected me to join the FDP after rejecting the two major parties with high chances of coming to power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But regardless of what others think, I have no interest in the Prime Minister's seat. The role of Minister of Defense, to safely conclude the war I'm already involved in, is enough for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ho ho, to be honest, I never thought you would take my hand, Vice-Chancellor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve cooperated a lot with the Ministry of Propaganda, and I received great help from you back when you were at the Frankfurter Zeitung before the new government was formed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the civil war, the role of the Frankfurter Zeitung newspaper was, in a sense, more important than that of any general.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The New Government Army performed great feats by seizing control of western Germany, but the Berlin Race was ultimately blocked, and what decisively brought us victory in the civil war was the performance of the Frankfurter Zeitung and the radio propaganda war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides, with the war still ongoing, Germany must not be divided by extreme left-right conflict. I thought the FDP was the perfect fit to play the role of mediation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ho ho, I see. Thank you so much for coming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Heuss turned his gaze to Erich Kordt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for coming too, Vice-Minister Kordt, but I thought you would follow Minister Weizsäcker to the CDU…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was the one who brought Kordt to the FDP.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since I am stepping down as Vice-Chancellor, I won't be able to sway Germany's diplomacy as I did before, but from my perspective, which values diplomacy, it would be nice to have someone I’ve worked well with, so I made the request on a whim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Erich Kordt replied that he would meet me at the FDP with almost no hesitation, which left me bewildered as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Watching Vice-Chancellor Schacht, I had an epiphany, thinking, ‘So this is how diplomacy is done,’ and now the thought of cleaning up after the reckless right-wingers without the Vice-Chancellor already gives me a headache.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We all burst into laughter at Kordt's words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wow, that’s incredibly persuasive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ernst von Weizsäcker is a diplomat who has been through thick and thin, and he's a member of the Junkers in his own right, so he'd be used to the right-wingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Erich Kordt has worked under Ribbentrop as the Director-General of European Affairs for the Nazi Germany Ministry of Foreign Affairs since he was young, so his misery is understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erich Kordt added with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, to be honest, Minister Weizsäcker's position is just so solid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, as a man, I have to aim for the top spot in my field.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ho ho, if that’s your thinking, I think you’ve come to the wrong party…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Heuss, who spoke bittersweetly about the party's difficult situation in aiming to become the ruling party, Kordt looked at me, smiled, and replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don't have to feel too much of a burden. I simply followed my own eyes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you say it like that, I'm the one who feels the burden instead of Mr. Heuss…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, there are few people in Germany to whom I can entrust diplomacy, so I was glad he came, as his perspective is similar to mine and his ability is proven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was thanks to Claudia's introduction, but without him, it would have been difficult to get a proper say in the von Kleist Group, which was a den of Junkers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now then, for the election strategy, as you know, we were also disbanded under the Nazi regime and have just reassembled, so for now we only have the broad framework of a liberal, centrist stance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Heuss took a sip of coffee to wet his throat and spoke again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Within the party, there is an opinion that we should take a clear stance by joining hands with either the CDU or the SPD and slandering the other side. What do you think?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did I come at just the right time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I had been just a little later, it might have already been decided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The value of the FDP is that it can join hands with either the CDU or the SPD depending on the situation, even if becoming the number one party is difficult. There's no need to throw that away so soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The decision on a coalition government can be made after the election. For now, let’s first…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While the left and right are fervently slandering each other and heading for a mud fight, there’s nothing to be gained by stepping into that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s highlight the fact that we are different as our point of distinction.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They are exchanging black propaganda as if it's the most natural thing in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seems they've already forgotten who it was that came to power by tearing down their opponents and dividing society.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>February 27, 1941\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The German capital, Berlin - Government Building\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While handling my duties as Vice-Chancellor, I was spending busy days discussing and planning election strategies and finalizing the list of candidates with the FDP.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was dumbfounded by an unexpected variable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, I secretly thought that no matter which political party I joined, the ruling party would entrust the position of Minister of Defense to me through a coalition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[The conscientious man who ended Hitler’s era with the hero Rommel joins the CDU!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[A soldier discharged amidst internal military political struggles, challenges for the post of Minister of Defense for true civilian control!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That… son… of a…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today's newspaper featured an interview with a photo of a smiling Franz Halder, the former Chief of Staff of the Army, whom I hadn't seen in a very long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An interview full of self-justification, claiming that he had always agonized over how to stop Hitler, carrying a pistol with him, and finally led the end of the Nazis with a grand decision alongside Rommel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And his resolve to run as the CDU's shadow cabinet Minister of Defense to initiate civilian control of the military, as he is an expert on military affairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wow, I'm speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Franz Halder is the man who stabbed us in the back during the Munich Agreement and was the Nazi's Chief of Staff during the final battle between the new government and the Nazis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just because he was lucky enough to be with Rommel when he sniped Hitler and ordered the surrender of the Nazi German army, he gets to completely whitewash his past and show up like this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I never imagined I would see this man again, who I had forgotten about after he was nominally discharged out of a sense of responsibility, but in reality, was expelled from the military.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since a deal was already made to not bring up his past bat-like shenanigans in exchange for a quiet discharge, I can't even make an issue of what he did in the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, speaking coldly, from the military's perspective, Halder is at any rate a former general, and the issue of him being on the Nazi side has been whitewashed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ludwig Beck, the current Minister of Defense, cannot serve as Minister of Defense as long as he is an active-duty Army Field Marshal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, the military would have less resistance to following Halder than some unheard-of civilian as Minister of Defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the CDU has secured Halder, the SPD, which lacks a candidate for Minister of Defense who can appeal to the military, will be in a very difficult position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The CDU has shown that they can keep the military in line even without me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They are already thought to be capable of aiming for a near-majority vote thanks to the high support for the War Cabinet and my father's backing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, the SPD will want to join hands with the FDP, which has a plausible candidate for Minister of Defense, but then the CDU can frame it as a confrontation between conservatives and progressives, Christians and non-Christians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From our perspective, hastily joining hands with the SPD would only mean losing the right-wing support we could have absorbed as centrists, so Adenauer must have thought he had nothing to lose, even knowing I dislike Halder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If necessary, join hands regardless of the past, and once someone is confirmed as a political enemy, there is no such thing as consideration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this is Adenauer's political craftiness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a hollow laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps I thought too lightly of one of the most skilled politicians in German history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as I was thinking that, there was a knock on the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My aide Berger, who opened the door and entered, looked a little flustered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What is it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A-A guest has arrived, Vice-Chancellor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A guest?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don't think I had any guests scheduled for today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I'm so busy, I don't even want to make any appointments…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Vice-Chancellor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Berger could finish his sentence, the door burst open, and a man in a military uniform entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing him, I had to press my hand to my forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Vice-Chancellor!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man who entered, Chief of Staff of the Army Erich von Manstein, ran panting up to me, holding a crumpled newspaper article—Franz Halder's candidacy interview—in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have been thinking wrongly all this time, Vice-Chancellor! You are indeed the light and salt of German politics, and the most excellent person for the military to follow!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, this is the same person who was so sarcastic just the other day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How can he change his attitude like this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“W-Wait, General Manstein. Please calm down for a moment…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Vice-Chancellor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My men and I will actively support you, so you must take power no matter what!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Manstein, as if forgetting his Junkers' face, shouted fervently, looking like he would spray saliva on my face, and finally, he clenched the newspaper article in his hand with enough force to completely crush it and yelled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don't care about anyone else, but that bastard Halder becoming Minister of Defense is absolutely unacceptable! Yes, absolutely not!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I almost agreed inadvertently, then let out a sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He's not a person I want to get close to, so why do we keep finding common ground…\u003C\u002Fp>",2856,"2026-06-05T17:48:35.001Z",1,"novelbin.me","e5aafd8af444ad7535a6f84bec6097cfe0899e5b0c7b0482ec880a47b651ce21","i-don-t-need-nazis-in-my-germany-chapter-127","i-don-t-need-nazis-in-my-germany-chapter-126",190,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-don-t-need-nazis-in-my-germany-cover.jpg"]