Chapter Four: The Third Five Year Plan of the People's Republic of Germany
4th of February, 1963:
The State Council once again met, however this would a different meeting than the two prior meetings held. Besides the fact that this was held in Frankfurt, the years had not been kind to prominent members of the State Council, especially the year of 1960. Wilhelm Pieck passed away in his sleep in 1960, being replaced by Otto Grotewohl for the position of Party Secretary. Unfortunately, Grotewohl was diagnosed with leukemia later that year, and the position of Secretary of the Party passed to Walter Ulbricht. Minister of Domestic Affairs Hans Loch would also pass away in 1960, being replaced by Willy Rumpf. Following Ulbricht's promotion, Otto Winzer would be promoted to the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. These deaths would have a large effect on the party, as Germany had a month of sadness for the passing of all these great men. Within the party, men scrambled find replacements and decipher their organisational charts. By the time the party was ready for the final meeting of the Third Five Year Plan of the People's Republic of Germany, it was already February. Ulbricht would open the meeting.
WU "Comrades, this year has been a changing point for us all. The passing of Comrades Pieck, Grotewahl, and Loch was a loss that we all will feel. However, we must advance their ideals in their memory, and not be grounded to the past. This year has been an amazing success for the People of Germany, and I hope everyone gathered here will be positive in their deliverance of such a memory. I am sure that the President would be most displeased at the notion that we have disappointments in regards to such a ground. Thus I pass on the attention of this body to Comrade Winzer, the Minister of Foreign Affairs."
Comrade Otto Wizner (OW) "Thank you Comrade Secretary Ulbricht. Comrades, as we all know, the foreign situation has stabilised on all fronts, though not without some limited difficulties. The Eden Government of England collapsed spectacularly between '58 and '61, as first humilitation of the British state occurred after American bankers readjusted their debt rates in such a way that caused London to nearly engage in a revolt against the government, forcing the British to listen to American dictates. As well, following the defeat of the Siegen Uprising, the British agreed to stop infiltrating on the basis of destabilising the PRG. This removed the needed support the French needed to maintain the illusion of legitimacy concerning the International Authority of the Ruhr, allowing it's reannexation in October of 1959. This in turn continued the fall of the British Empire until a meeting between British and Soviet diplomats allowed the return of de jure peace between the two nations. The removal of British resources of Sri Lanka was reportedly part of the deal, which led to British international humilitation for the second time as the Sri Lankan pro-London regime fell to the armies of the Proletariat in 1961. Following this, Prime Minister Eden publicly retired in the face of immense pressure. This caused a snap election to be called, which returned power to the Labour Party.
This connects nicely to the issue of decolonisation, which has been advancing at an amazing rate since the fall of the British Imperialists. While in 1958, only 10 decolonised nations of British origin, as of yesterday, there are 18 newly formed nations. The fall of the British Imperialists had a domino effect on the French state, as many of her colonies would likewise declare independence from the reactionary republic of France. We are pleased to note how that the majority of the world is to date freed from the despicable institution of imperialist dominance, with few British and French holdouts remaining.
Continuing on, foreign wars have been limited. Peace reigns in Rhodesia, though the Congo has been divided in a civil war since it's independence in 1959. The only real official conflict of note is between the Indian and Chinese, as the Chinese liberation of Aksai Chin was a tremendous failure. Despite the mobilisation of the will of the people, the Indian army has driven the Chinese forces into constant retreat, as the Tibetan and Uygher lands of the East were captured and are still being held by the Indian state.
Elsewise, the Treaty of Rome was formed in 1960 between France, Britain, Portugal, and Belgium. We joined the Warsaw Pact in February of 1960, a month after it's formation. The Soviets put a man by the name of Gagarin into space in 1961. Egypt formed a transnational state between itself, Palestine, Jordan, and Syria called the United Arab Republic which lasted two years. Though the state is once again officially 'Egypt', the integration of the province of Palestine by the Egyptians did not go without remark by the various Arab regimes. Finally the Austrian government finds our state the most influential in it's domestic politics, with the Nicaraguan, Luxembourgian, and Dutch governments warming up to us.
As to my recommendations, I have decided that the continuation of a friendlisation of neighbouring powers is the correct decision, with the continuation of the policy of non-interference internationally.
For the sake of brevity and time, I turn the attention of this body to Comrade Rumpf and his report on the domestic nature of the German state."
Comrade Willy Rumpf (WR) "Thank you Comrade Minister Winzer. Domestically we have continued to make major strides in advancing the life of the average citizen of our Glorious Republic. The integration of the International Authority of the Ruhr in 1959 marked the end of the natural borders of Germany being held by foreign powers. This is a glorious moment for the People of the Germany.
Our biggest incident was a British-sponsored rebellion in the city of Siegen on February 28th of 1958, where reactionary students and their British masters gathered to oppose our 'lack of democracy'. This rebellion, though large for the city, was quickly put down by the People's Army of Germany. This failure, and the capture of numerous British agents committing high treason against the German state, is one of the reasons that the British agreed to leave us alone in 1959.
Elsewhere, we now have a population of 100 million people, the adoption of the German Youth's Temperance League has grown into a national phenomena, German state enterprises have engaged in a massive infrastructural spending in the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, and Nicaragua. German businesses have been noted for adapting Japanese techniques for production, especially in the automotive sector. Lastly, the successful invention of the M01 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile by the German Army has allowed us the ability to project our military far past our borders.
This quiet year has been a good thing for our government, as peace has the added benefit of allowing our government to avoid dirty issues that could threaten our future. The continuation of our lead in economic thought and practice, as well as the ever continuing modernisation of Germany's industries, are at the head of our goals for the Third Five Year Plan.
Having completed by presentation, I ask this body to pay attention to Comrade Mielke."
Erich Mielke (EM) "Thank you Comrade Rumpf. The rebellion of Siegen proved to us that the forces of reaction still seek the removal of the German People's Will and the return of such revisionists like Hitler or the Kaiser. As such, I have authorised the extension of powers to the Ministry of State Security, with the acceptance of the President, in order to prevent any future actions against the German people. Furthermore, I ask the rest of the government to continue to keep their various factions in check. A liberal by the name of Anton Ackermann tried to push the idea of a liberal economy following the principles of the capitalist oppressors. While he now resides in prison, his ideas have taken with the youth. As such, when possible, the continued support of the Ministry of State Security, and the broadening of it's powers, would do much to improve the defense of the revolution from those that seek to take it from us."
WU "Thank you Comrade Mielke for you ... avid discussion on the future of the Party and the Revolution. Given that there is nothing more to discuss, I officially schedule the next meeting, marking the end of the Fourth Five Year Plan of the People's Republic of Germany, for January 2nd, 1968."