1938
- * -
Part XXVI - January / Manchukuo / An Unnatural Construction
Part XXVII - The Heart of Darkness / The Liore et Olivier LeO 451
Part XXVIII - Munich
Part XXIX - Crime Wave / A Deal Made In Moscow / Madagascar
- * -
- * -
Part XXVI - January / Manchukuo / An Unnatural Construction
Part XXVII - The Heart of Darkness / The Liore et Olivier LeO 451
Part XXVIII - Munich
Part XXIX - Crime Wave / A Deal Made In Moscow / Madagascar
- * -
Pope Pius XI
26th September 1937, The Vatican
The alliance with France and Italy had strengthened Spain's standing in the world but the anticipated general recognition of Franco's government was still not forthcoming at the end of August. France was eager to help its new won ally and sent its Foreign Minister Alexander Maret to Madrid on 2nd of September to meet with Franco and Súñer to develop a joint strategy to break Spain's isolation. Their conclusion was that the Vatican held the key for a general acceptance from catholic countries, and if that was achieved the world would follow. Maret flew to Rome on the 10th of September and met with Mussolini and afterwards the 80 year old Pontiff; Maret brought with him a personal letter from Emperor Napoleon V to Pius. Maret then negotiated with the Vatican's foreign office and an agreement was concluded on the 12th of September; the deal included a substantial monetary gift to the church from France and a restoration of the privileges the church had lost during the reign of the Spanish republic. Pope Pius XI officially announced the Papal State's recognition of Spain's nationalist government on the 26th of September.
October
Grand Duke and self-proclaimed Czar Cyril of the House of Romanov died on the 13th of October in the village of Saint Briac. Cyril's remains were moved to Paris and laid to rest in a very formal and lavish funeral with soldiers of the French Imperial Guard as honor guard. Except close family, attendees included wealthy and noble Russian émigrés and the French Emperor himself with family. Napoleon V formally recognized Cyril's son, Grand Duke Vladimir, as the rightful heir to the Russian throne in a press release the week following the funeral. On the day after, the Soviet embassy filed a formal protest of this "clear violation of the sovereignty of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; the French ignored it.
As expected, all Latin American states recognized Franco's government in the following weeks after the Pope's announcement. The United States followed suit on the 16th of October and Great Britain on the 23rd.
November
A wave of violence swept through the Paris underworld and several leading gangsters were killed, and some of the murders were eerily similar to the Molyneux/de Florimond murders in Rouen. Police sources confirm a shift of power in favor of a new faction in the city, but surprisingly, no one was willing to give any details, even when threatened with jail or beatings. The only clue, however unlikely to Legrasse and his colleagues was that an Asian gang was taking over.
15th December, Stockholm
Roger Martin du Gard won the Nobel Prize in literature; the jury's motivation was "for the artistic power and truth with which he has depicted human conflict as well as some fundamental aspects of contemporary life in his novel-cycle Les Thibault." The 56-year-old writer was congratulated by the Emperor at a reception in Versailles at his return to Paris.
The 1937 Nobel Laureate in Literature
January 1938
For France, 1937 had been a quiet year of diplomacy, industry and progress. The army and air force were preparing themselves for the coming great expansion and the fleet had seen several modern capital ships go into active service. Franco's Spain had joined the Axis and had received recognitions from all nations except the Soviet Union as the New Year dawned. But Spain's industry and armed forces were in a poor state and the grim truth was that Spain's membership was more of a liability than added strength. France was determined to change that during the coming years and help Spain become a strong nation.
February
The German government officially recognized the government of Manchukuo and established diplomatic relations with the nation.
Happy faces at a German – Austrian border crossing on the 5th of March 1938
March
The relationship between Beck's Germany and Austria had completely deteriorated during the last six months. Berlin repeatedly talked about that Germany must become a home for all Germans and that "the remains of the Habsburg legacy has to end now, even by sword if necessary." It was obvious that the Reich President was determined to end Austria's existence as an independent state. Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Austrian Chancellor and leader of the reformed and renamed National Socialist party: the Deutsches Volk Partei, was determined to stop him. Seyss-Inquart loathed Beck because he had toppled the National Socialist regime in Germany, which after German pressure, also led to the outlawing of the Austrian Nazis. There seemed to be a slight majority of the people that was against a union with Germany, thus it was decided to counter the German threat with a plebiscite. The government parties: the Deutsches Volk Partei and the Vaterländische Front together with the Social Democrat's voted for a referendum and it was passed with a huge majority in the parliament, the date was set for the 7th of March.
Austrian Chancellor Arthur Seyss-Inquart
This brought alarm in Berlin and counter moves were considered, in the end the hawks in the Government prevailed and Beck was convinced to take drastic action. On the early morning of the 5th of March, German forces crossed the border into Austria; contrary to Seyss-Inquart's orders they met with no resistance. The pro-German General Staff viewed it pointless to resist and ignored the Chancellor's commands. Reich President Beck accompanied his troops as they entered Vienna late afternoon; the majority of the populace was positive and they received his short speech, in which he declared the Anschluss of Austria to the Reich, with jubilant roars.
Great Britain hastily condemned the 'invasion' of Austria and called on Germany to withdraw immediately. Berlin's response was to explain that 'the situation in Austria is entirely an internal matter between Germans' and no business of Britain's. France declared in a statement that it viewed Austria as an 'unnatural construction without the house of Habsburg' and its end inevitable. This surprised and scared the British and Chamberlain decided to wait and see how the situation would develop.
General Ludwig Beck, Reich President
Last edited: