Chapter 216 |
< World War II - The Awakening of a Giant (2) >
October 10, 1941
The German Capital, Berlin – Radio Station
It’s been a while since I was at a radio station.
Once again, I sat before the microphone in the quiet stillness.
“One minute to air.”
The last time I gave a speech, I was still the Vice-Chancellor.
As always, the speech manuscript, which Claudia and I had poured our hearts into discussing and drafting, lay before me.
“5, 4, 3…”
“2, 1.”
I slowly began to speak.
[My respected fellow citizens of Germany, this is Dietrich Schacht. I am addressing you today not as the Vice-Chancellor, but as a cabinet member of a government formed by the people's election.
]
It was a bitter irony that every time I gave a speech, I couldn't seem to deliver any good news.
[It is with a heavy heart that I must greet you again amidst a long and ongoing war.
The battles continue on the front lines, and countless soldiers are being sacrificed. You have likely been seeing photographs and articles that convey the horrors of the battlefield.
]
The war correspondents we had assembled were not just preventing war crimes by the Allied Forces; they were also capturing the unfiltered reality of the front and delivering it directly to our people and the world.
[Among those listening to this broadcast, there must be many who have experienced the sacrifice of a loved one.
As the Minister of Defense, I feel the full weight of that responsibility.]
From the German Civil War to this day, the total number of casualties was 1.
5 million.
Over 700,000 were already buried in the ground.
They could not even return to their hometowns, crippled as they may be.
[At the same time, as one who bears this responsibility, I am grateful for the current situation where you, the people, are directly receiving news of the war's horrors and voicing your concerns about it.
]
Unlike the last war, where young men who did not volunteer for the army were denounced as traitors and pushed to the front, the press now delivers the grim truth of war to the people without hiding it.
[We no longer sing of the romance of war.
We do not cry out for the glory of the nation and take sacrifice for granted.]
Despite the countless victories we had achieved, the people had learned to look not just at the glory, but also at the sacrifices that came with it, instead of getting drunk on victory and clamoring for more war.
The people who had endured the Turnip Winter under the pretext of national glory in the last great war would no longer accept sacrificing everything they had for a war as a matter of course.
[All these changes were not brought about by a great leader, nor by the German government, but by you, the German people, yourselves.
]
This was happening naturally, without any special directives from the Ministry of Propaganda, without any request from me.
Dictators and totalitarians believe this makes us weak, but it is precisely for this reason that I can declare with confidence:
[I am also grateful.
Despite all these horrors, we, Germany, are facing this war with resolute determination, even as we look its sacrifices straight in the eye. Our countless soldiers are not breaking in the face of the cannon fire, and despite the sacrifice of their comrades, they are fighting against those colossal enemies!
Is it because we have no fear? Is it because we have no loved ones? No! I declare with certainty that every one of them is afraid in the face of the horrors of the battlefield, and that they are all waiting for the day they can return to be reunited with their loved ones!
The reason they do not retreat, despite all this, is because we know what we are fighting for!]
The Germany that had fought on, merely pushed along without conviction in what they were fighting for, was no more.
But what about them?
[Those communists have always said! That no one is special, and everyone is equal! They promised to break down class and inequality and create a world where everyone lives well!
But what are they doing now! They have started a war by invading other countries, bringing nothing but countless sacrifices and death!
And to sustain the war they started, they cry out to defend the Fatherland, driving their own people to the front lines!
Where are the promises they were supposed to keep? Why are they forcing their people to make sacrifices!
Did their people want this war? Did we want this war? No! No citizen of any country ever wants war for themselves.
No one wants to go to the front and die.
No one wants to see their loved ones killed on the battlefield!
And yet, what makes those who started this war so special that they can make such decisions and force death upon those who do not wish to die!]
I thought of Claudia. The most special person to me, someone I wouldn't trade for anything.
My precious one.
[I dare say this! Every single person in this world is an immeasurably special being!
Every single life that is now being scattered as blood on the battlefield is, to someone, a family member, a lover, more precious than anyone else!
Who dares to say that they are not special!
Who are the ones who have whispered to those who deserve to be cherished above all else that they are not special, that they are mere parts to be sacrificed for the nation!
Is the one who dared make such claims fighting on the front lines with a gun in his hands right now? Is he bleeding and dying?
No! He is merely driving his people to the battlefield to protect his own power! They speak of equality with their lips, but in reality, they believe that only they are free and special!
People of the Soviet Union, people of the world!
Remember who started this war, remember what you are standing on the battlefield for!
This is a war for a dictator!
Do not shed any more blood for such a war! Look clearly at what your true enemy is!
Resolutely refuse to become the slaves of a dictator! Break the chains they have shackled you with in the name of equality, rise up, and reclaim your true freedom!]
Please, rise up, so we can end this damn war.
Please, hold on just a little longer, so we can end this brutal war.
[Proud citizens of Germany! What was Germany’s glory! Was it the hegemony of an Empire that commanded the world with its mighty military power?
There was a time when Germany's power made the world tremble.
There was a time when our strength was used to cry out for the nation's glory while shedding the tears of other countries.
But no more! We have risen up against the wars of dictators! We are fighting not for German hegemony, but to protect the freedom of the world.
This is the path that you, the people, have chosen!
Those who scoffed at our freedom have fallen before the Allied Forces. The Führer of Germany and the Duce of Italy have already fallen!
Those who remain are merely struggling against the inevitable fate of this era!
Nations that once feared and were wary of Germany are now fighting alongside us under the flag of the Allied Forces! For the first time, our power is being called not the world's fear, but the world's hope!
If I may be so bold, this is the first glory Germany has ever experienced in its truest sense!
If I may be so bold to proclaim, I hope that this will be Germany's last war!
Therefore, my proud fellow citizens of Germany!
You, who have chosen the destiny of being guardians of freedom not because the nation cried out for it, not because it sang of glory while trying to hide the sacrifices of war, but because you knew the truth and chose it for yourselves!
Let us end this first and final glory with a victory!
And when this war is over, let us make this moment the most radiant time in our history, one that will last for eternity!]
I wiped the sweat from my brow with my hand and steadied my ragged breath, glaring intently at the final line.
–Do you think the budget just grows on trees?! What's the point of having that fancy speech of yours! We need money, and while you, Minister, are off in your idealistic clouds looking prim, the nation's finances are wobbling!
…Damn that fat man.
[For the soldiers struggling for freedom even at this very moment, the German government always welcomes the purchase of war bonds and donations.
]
My beloved wife's brilliant prose, sullied by capitalism…
---
October 13, 1941
The German Capital, Berlin - Government Building
Minister of Finance Ludwig Erhard was smoking a cigarette with a very satisfied look on his face. When I entered, a broad smile spread across his face.
It was a new sight to see the fat man, who usually just blew cigarette smoke at me with a deep frown, beam at the sight of me…
“Welcome, Minister of Propaganda!”
“…It’s a rare occasion for the Minister of Economics to welcome me.”
And he called me Minister of Propaganda, not the Minister of Defense he usually called me when I came bearing news of more expenses.
The intention was so obvious it made me let out a hollow laugh.
“In the last three days, we've sold the same amount of war bonds as in the previous three months! Donations have also increased noticeably!”
“…Ah, is that so.
That’s good to hear.”
It was a good thing.
It was a good thing.
It was a good thing, but something, something…
I felt a deep sense of self-loathing and covered my face with my hand.
Regardless of my reaction, Erhard exhaled a puff of smoke, laughed heartily, and then subtly floated an idea.
“How about we make this a quarterly event…”
He's a monster.
A monster born of capitalism…
“Are you thinking of using the Minister of Propaganda as a designated bond peddler for the Ministry of Economics…?”
As I glared at him with all the contempt I could muster, Erhard cleared his throat.
“Ahem, a joke, just a joke.
Hahaha. …It’s just that the Ministry of Defense devours quite a large budget.”
“…”
Damn it.
Right, I couldn't just refuse outright when my department was a budget-devouring hippo.
I wasn't an idealist. I'd do anything to reduce the sacrifices of the soldiers dying on the front lines right now.
But still, a speech just for selling bonds…
I was so embarrassed I couldn't even face Claudia, who had agonized over this with me…
As we were enacting our little farce, Prime Minister Heuss and the other ministers began to arrive.
“Ho ho, did you all have a good weekend?”
“Haha, and you as well, Mr.
Heuss?”
“I'm always doing well. Ho ho, it’s the soldiers I’m worried about…”
After exchanging light pleasantries and greetings with the always affable and down-to-earth Prime Minister, we got down to the main subject.
The issue that had brought us together today was not so light.
Mr.
Heuss looked back and forth between me and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Erich Kordt, before asking.
“How are the plans for the declaration of the Poland-Belarus Federation Republic proceeding?”
“For now, they are coordinating internally.
Inspector General of the Armed Forces Sikorski is favorable, but it seems there is considerable backlash from public opinion within…”
The issue of Belarus had become complicated now that the Free Russian Army was getting major coverage in the media, especially in America.
We had officially recognized Ukraine, so the Free Russian Army couldn't say much, but Belarus was a more complex problem.
America, swept up in a premature anti-communism frenzy, seemed to be taking an interest in Free Russia. If they were to officially recognize Free Russia, it wouldn't be strange for them to contest Belarus's territorial sovereignty.
So, as a preemptive measure, we decided to join hands with the pro-Allied faction within Belarus and declare a Poland-Belarus Federation.
Poland had already endured the nationalist storm under Rydz-Śmigły, and they knew that if they occupied Belarus, a Poland-centric nationalist rule would be unsustainable and the system would eventually collapse.
So we started the discussion, but…
It seemed the nationalists inside Poland still hadn't come to their senses, as the opposition was apparently significant.
Sikorski seemed to be trying to placate the internal opposition by promoting the legacy of Józef Piłsudski, a Polish hero who emphasized solidarity between ethnic groups instead of Polish nationalism, but it would take time.
In the end, this was their internal problem, so we had no choice but to rely on the capability of Sikorski and the Polish government.
“Well then, on to the next issue.”
Mr. Heuss paused for a moment before speaking.
“In Asia, signs are rapidly emerging of a decisive battle against the Imperial Japanese Navy in the East Indian Ocean.”
So, what was bound to happen has finally come.
In the unlikely event that Japan wins there, things will get very complicated. The Dutch Navy, frankly, isn't a significant force, and the Royal Navy is not the Royal Navy of old.
I received a report that Admiral Dönitz's submarine fleet has just arrived in India…
“It's a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. In case of an emergency, he has asked us to dispatch the completed aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin and a portion of the Reichsmarine's repaired and refitted capital ship fleet.
…What do you all think?”