Chapter 57:

October 27, 1939

Kassel, 9th Military District, Central Germany, and the New Government Building in Frankfurt Operation Widerstand, that is, nearly two months since the outbreak of the civil war. The New Government was now fully and smoothly functioning as the new government of Germany.

After ousting the royalist Military Government, we had laid the foundation for the future democratic government by appointing major figures from various factions of the Weimar Republic era to each department of the emergency war cabinet.

We first appointed Konrad Adenauer from the Catholic conservative liberal camp, representing the Rhineland, as the Minister of Finance to represent the interests of companies and conservatives.

Then, we appointed Kurt Schumacher, a representative of the Social Democratic Party who advocated for workers' rights, as the Minister of Labor to check and complement Adenauer and the conservatives.

Finally, we appointed Editor-in-chief Theodor Heuss, representing the centrist forces and free journalists, as the Minister of Propaganda, entrusting him with the media war.

The fact that a war cabinet mixing the military, with its strong royalist forces, with liberals, and even those with socialist leanings could harmonize was likely thanks to our unique characteristic of having risen against the common enemy of the Nazis, and the system of a constitutional monarchy.

The military situation had also stabilized.

The Italian Army almost broke through the Austrian Border Guard, but Major General Eglseer fully defected to the New Government's side, and we succeeded in holding the front line by dispatching a large number of the Freedom Corps.

At this point, we declared the revival of the German National Defense Force (Reichswehr) and appointed Colonel General Wilhelm Ritter von Lepp as Commander-in-chief of the Army, and for the position of Army Chief of General Staff, we seated the somewhat detestable, but nevertheless capable, Erich von Manstein.

“You have worked hard on your trip to America, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“Ah, after being away for so long, it felt more like my hometown. Hahaha!”

I was greeting Prince Louis Ferdinand Victor Eduard Albert Michael Hubertus, a Crown Prince with a ridiculously long name befitting the imperial family.

He was originally the second son, but became the Crown Prince after his older brother, Wilhelm, was stripped of his right of succession by Wilhelm II for entering into a morganatic marriage.

“Well, I never thought my experience from the days I lived freely, not as a Crown Prince, would be this helpful.”

Crown Prince Louis Ferdinand lived in America until his older brother Wilhelm's morganatic marriage, and during that time, he built considerable acquaintance with Henry Ford and the current President, Franklin Roosevelt.

After successfully negotiating with Britain, we used that connection to dispatch the Crown Prince and Foreign Minister Weizsäcker to America to conduct lobbying, and in the end, we were able to achieve significant results.

Because of the Neutrality Act, America is, in principle, unable to provide any form of support or sell weapons to a nation in a civil war.

So, instead of direct war supplies, we arranged a deal where oil and trucks, usable for civilian purposes, were sold from America to the Netherlands, and we would then import them from the Netherlands.

The Netherlands had been displeased by the pressure from Britain and France due to the royalist military government's coup, but when we resolved the issue ourselves and offered a formal apology, they seemed quite satisfied.

Thanks to that, they cooperated with the treaty in exchange for some tariff benefits, and under the leadership of Roosevelt, who already had a strong animosity towards Hitler, America also recognized the New Government as the official government of Germany.

“Still, you have accomplished something truly great, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“Haha, you are giving me too much credit.”

We faced each other and laughed. I still thoroughly disliked Wilhelm III, but I quite liked the Crown Prince, Louis Ferdinand.

Having been influenced by America, the free-spirited and proactive Crown Prince was four years older than me, but he wasn't very authoritarian and his thinking was flexible.

In any case, to have somewhat resolved Germany's chronic problems of supply capability and oil shortage, and to have established a line of cooperation with America in advance, is a significant achievement.

Even more so when considering the status America will hold in the future.

“The support of Your Highness, the Crown Prince, was also a great help for the agenda item on female workers being implemented by the Ministry of Labor.”

“That's because I also thought it was too old-fashioned, Vice Minister.”

Germany already had a masculine and militaristic culture, but thanks to Hitler and the Nazi Party, who were excessively infatuated with machismo, the atmosphere of considering it a virtue for women to stay at home and watch the children was severe.

However, with a significant number of young German men already conscripted into the Poland invasion force, and with voluntary enlistment into the Freedom Corps continuing, there was a risk that our industrial productivity could drop, just like Germany at the end of the war.

So, the first thing the new Minister of Labor, Kurt Schumacher, and I tried was to get women to work as laborers.

Unsurprisingly, conservative figures, the military, and even Wilhelm III showed resistance, but I succeeded in getting it passed with my report on the labor shortage I investigated in the Ruhr and the support of the Americanized Crown Prince.

In the first place, while other countries were all using female workers in factories during the height of World War II, wasn't it a crazy act for Germany alone to drag in Jewish people, concentration camp inmates, and residents of occupied territories for forced labor?

There are still quite a few skilled workers left in each factory, so even if they handle the difficult tasks, with gradual training, things might not change immediately, but they will be much better in the future.

It's obvious that women making equipment for their husbands and sons to use would be far better than forced laborers who have no motivation, no energy from not being fed properly, and are prone to strikes and resistance.

No one knows if World War II will break out in this world or not.

I've at least prevented the disaster of the Nazis starting World War II and ruining Germany as a nation of war criminals, but we are already at war with Italy, and the Sino-Japanese War is in full swing in Asia.

Poland's movements are also suspicious, and France must be grinding its teeth at us.

It wouldn't be strange if the conflict escalated into World War II at any time, so it's negligent to not prepare while vaguely expecting peace in this chaotic era.

As we were talking for a moment, there was a knock and Claudia came in.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince, and Vice Minister. I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but time is tight before your next appointment.”

“Ah, time flies. Then I shall be on my way, Vice Minister.

Hmm, will it be difficult for you to attend the dinner invitation this time?”

“I apologize, Your Highness, the Crown Prince. I am just so busy.”

That damned Wilhelm III was constantly inviting me on one pretext or another, claiming to promote friendship between me and the imperial family whenever he was bored. I wish he'd show some concern for my stomach's health.

“Hahaha, well then, I will relay the message. Keep up the good work, Vice Minister, Aide.”

The Crown Prince laughed as if he understood, received our farewells, and left.

“Ah, my apologies.

I lose track of time when I talk with the Crown Prince, unlike with the Emperor.”

“Heh, here you go.

You need to read this on the way.”

Claudia chuckled at my words and handed me a speech script.

The New Government is putting a lot of effort into the media war, and while Minister of Propaganda Theodor Heuss is usually in charge, I'm typically the one who gives speeches to counter Goebbels, given my style.

Since becoming the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, I've been so incredibly busy that writing the speeches has become almost entirely her job.

Fortunately, perhaps because she understands my thoughts so well, the speeches she writes almost always suit my taste. It's to the point where I only need to make minor edits while on the move.

As I walked, I skimmed the speech script with my eyes, then turned my gaze to her.

“Are you okay, Claudia?”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

I only ever feel sorry for her.

We're engaged, but I'm 28 and she's 26, which is by no means young by this era's standards, yet we're so swamped with work we have no time to enjoy things like dating.

Besides…

“No, I was just wondering if being my aide is enough for you.”

I had to give up immediately after facing tremendous opposition, but I originally wanted to appoint her as the Vice Minister of Propaganda. Minister Theodor Heuss and she also have something of a mentor-mentee relationship.

If I gained fame as a spokesperson through the New Government's broadcasts, she also gained public recognition as a skilled journalist who could conduct natural interviews, expressing empathy without being over-the-top to those who suffered in the concentration camps, and she is more than capable.

However, even my position as Vice Minister of the Chancellery was being called 'too soon'—though they couldn't say it overtly because of my achievements—and there were even many who opposed me making her my aide.

I finally got it approved by persuading them it would also serve as public relations for the women's participation in the workforce policy being implemented by the Ministry of Labor, and by gaining the support of the Crown Prince and Schumacher.

In this Germany, it's still unimaginable for a woman, especially one not yet in her 30s, to hold a high-ranking position.

I can't erase the regret of wondering what it would have been like if she had been born in modern times, or even just 10 years later.

It's a shame in many ways.

It's not just that I'm blinded by love; she's far too talented an individual to be just an aide.

Claudia, who was staring at my expression, gently pulled my cheek.

“Ack.”

“Focus on your work, Vice Minister.

You have to give that speech in exactly 30 minutes.”

“Ugh, my apologies, Aide.”

As I shifted my eyes back to the speech script, I heard a voice whispering in my ear.

“It's not like I decided to help you because I wanted to advance my career.

For now, I'll be satisfied with my loved one recognizing my worth.”

Ah, damn it.

The entire speech in my head just flew away in one fell swoop.

After telling me to work, she'd stylishly distracted me.

I tried to grab my outrageous aide for a kiss in the government building hallway and got scolded again.

-

October 30, 1939

Central Poland, Warsaw, the Capital of Poland The German New Government had dispatched Foreign Minister Ernst von Weizsäcker to propose that Poland re-sign the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact that had been concluded in the interwar period.

Regarding this, President of Poland Ignacy Mościcki, Prime Minister of Poland Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, and Minister of Defense, Field Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły, were gathered in consultation.

“Has that self-proclaimed New Government seized the momentum of victory in the German Civil War?”

At Field Marshal Rydz-Śmigły's remark, Prime Minister Składkowski tilted his head.

“Would that devil Hitler collapse so easily?”

To all of them, the politician named Hitler, who had appeared like a comet and swept all of Germany into a storm, had left an indescribably powerful impression.

The New Government's media war against him had also become famous worldwide, but not knowing the specific war situation of the civil war, they couldn't make a rash judgment.

“So, what do you all think of the German New Government's proposal?”

To President Mościcki's question, Field Marshal Rydz-Śmigły answered simply.

“Is there any reason to accept it?”

“Are you thinking of refusing, Your Excellency, the Field Marshal?”

The situation of a nation's prime minister addressing someone as 'Your Excellency, the Field Marshal' was a bit strange, but Rydz-Śmigły, who held the position of Inspector General of the Armed Forces, was the de facto ruler of Poland.

Under his rule, known as the 'Dictatorship Without a Dictator', both the President and the Prime Minister of Poland were nothing more than figureheads.

“Those Germans will continue to covet Gdańsk (the Polish name for Danzig) and the Polish Corridor anyway.

They're only desperate now because they are being attacked by Italy. Is there any reason to make a pact when they are cutting their own flesh in a civil war?”

“But besides them, we have a powerful enemy in the Soviet Union.

If they win the civil war, a non-aggression pact with them will be helpful for Poland's future security.”

Rydz-Śmigły scoffed at Prime Minister Składkowski's words.

“We thought the same when we made the non-aggression pact with Hitler. But don't we all know now how worthless that treaty was?”

Składkowski shut his mouth.

Unlike the Weimar Republic, which had been consistently hostile to Poland, Hitler, who had just become Chancellor, seemed to be employing an appeasement policy by stopping the economic sanctions that were ruining Poland's economy and signing a non-aggression pact.

But even that Hitler eventually threatened Poland's sovereignty by demanding they hand over Danzig and grant railway extraterritoriality in the Polish Corridor, and didn't he finally shout 'Danzig or war'?”

“A treaty is nothing more than a stopgap measure that can be broken at any time.

As long as we hold Gdańsk, permanent peace with them is impossible.”

“Then what do you intend to do?”

At President Mościcki's words, Field Marshal Rydz-Śmigły put on a slightly contemplative expression.

“In the end, military power is everything. If we crush those German bastards now while they are floundering in their civil war and gain territory, they won't dare to look down on us again.”

At least in Field Marshal Rydz-Śmigły's judgment, the Polish strong army could easily handle the German military, which had been depleted by the civil war.

Although Italy showed unseemly behavior in the initial battle, it was ultimately one of the three great powers, so it would surely be able to sufficiently divide Germany's military power beyond Austria.

“If it weren't for those Soviet bastards…”

Poland secretly wanted to strike Germany during its civil war to reclaim all of East Prussia and Śląsk (Silesia), which were originally Polish territory, but the Soviet army was gathering on a large scale in the west, making it difficult to move lightly.

It wasn't that the Soviet Army was being deployed in large numbers on the Polish border, but the intelligence that some of the army from Russia's eastern region, on the border with Japan, was moving west was enough to send a chill down Poland's spine.

About half of the reason they couldn't intervene in Germany while the civil war was in full swing was that they were waiting for Germany's strength to be further broken by the war, and the other half was that they were watching the Soviet Union's movements.

“Finland proposed forming an anti-Soviet alliance with the three Baltic states, saying that the Soviet Army was being deployed on its border.”

Unlike in the original history, since the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact wasn't signed, Stalin put Poland, whose independence had been guaranteed by Britain and France, on the back burner and turned his eyes to the easy and tempting target of Finland.

When the Soviet Army began to be deployed on its border, Finland was startled and wanted to form an alliance with Poland, a traditional enemy of the Soviets and a country they believed could stand up to the Soviet Union, but—

“How much help could that weak nation Finland be, to antagonize the Soviet Union with a delicious-looking cake right in front of us?”

The greedy Rydz-Śmigły thought that rather than joining hands with the weak nation of Finland to confront the Soviet Union, it was better to aim for Germany, which was in the middle of a civil war and had tempting territory, while Finland was getting beaten by the Soviets.

Since they were being attacked by Italy anyway, if Poland just occupied East Prussia and Silesia and requested an armistice, they would have no choice but to accept.

Even if things went wrong, Britain and France had guaranteed Poland's independence, and France was also grinding its teeth at Germany right now, so if things went well, they might be able to join hands with France and Italy to gain not only East Prussia and Silesia but even more territory.

With that kind of achievement, even the Sejm (the Polish nobles) who were a nuisance at every turn would shut up, and he might become a greater hero than Piłsudski, as the one who demonstrated Poland's greatness.

“It would be great if those Soviet bastards hit Finland as soon as possible.

Then we can teach those arrogant German bastards a lesson…”