• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.

nachopontmercy

Lt. General
4 Badges
Oct 19, 2011
1.292
62
  • Darkest Hour
  • 500k Club
  • Hearts of Iron IV Sign-up
  • Stellaris Sign-up
tc5y.png



WEIMAR´S LEGACY
A Darkest Hour AAR


Intro

Start Date: 1933
Nation: Germany
Difficulty: Normal/Normal
Game Version: Darkest Hour 1.03 RC3, Mixed Mod Beta 7

Commentary

Hi, and welcome to my first AAR! After trying it in Spanish, I finally decided to post this AAR in the Darkest Hour AAR thread. As you can guess, in this AAR I will try to prosper and be victorious as Germany, but without the nazi horrors and keeping a democratic Government. In a first moment I will focus on estabilizing the country and achieving economic recovery, and later we will try to create a strong alliance network all around Central Europe and choose the path to follow with the events the mod presents.

It is my first AAR, so criticism and suggestions are greatly encouraged, and please understand that despite I will try to do my best, English is not my native language and some mistakes will be there.

Index

Prologue (I): The Treaty of Shame
Prologue (II): Troubled times
Chapter I: Election Day
Chapter II: The Second Putsch
Chapter III: The road to Wirtschaftswunder (I)
Chapter IV: The road to Wirtschaftswunder (II)
Chapter V: The road to Wirtschaftswunder (III)
Chapter VI: the Aufrüstung starts
Chapter VII: Death of a Patriot
Chapter VIII: Welcome back to the Reich
Chapter IX: The Axis
Chapter X: War in the South
Chapter XI: For the defence of Democracy
Chapter XII: Good times, bad times
Chapter XIII: A World in flames?
Chapter XIV: Nationalism on the rise
Chapter XV: The Edge of the Knife
Intermission: the Stony Road to War
Chapter XVI: Fall Weiss/Fall Grün
Chapter XVII: Fall Gelb
Chapter XVIII: "Une Europe Allemande"
Chapter XIX: Fate knocks at the door
Chapter XX: Waiting for the Sun
Chapter XXI: Into the East (I)
Chapter XXII: Into the East (II)
Chapter XXIII: Into the East (III)
Chapter XXIV: Into the East (IV)
Chapter XXV: Morgenröte (I)
Intermission: Quo vadis, Germania?
Chapter XXVI: Morgenröte (II)
Chapter XXVII: Morgenröte (III)
Chapter XXVIII: Götterdämmerung
Chapter XXIX: Rise of the SED
[URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?716140-Weimar%B4s-Legacy-A-Democratic-Germany-AAR&p=16515359&viewfull=1#post16515359"]Chapter XXX: New World Order (Finale)
[/URL]
 
Last edited:
Prologue (I): The Treaty of Shame

These are bad times for Germany. After a long and exhausting war and the final German defeat, the Entente powers decided it was necessary to humiliate Germany, and imposed a harsh peace in the Treaty of Versailles, stripping us of our colonies and of much of our legitimate lands in Europe. And not only that, but fearing the strong will and the might of our great nation, they also decided to limit our army to some ridiculous figures.


TreatyOfVersailles3.JPG


The Treaty of Shame


But it's not just about lost territories that the German people is crying ... the scandalous economic conditions imposed by the victors do not allow the companies and the workers of Germany to raise their heads, and what was once a prosperous and powerful nation is now involved in a daily struggle trying to survive.

And even the people are not united, since the Parliament is completely divided and it seems that only the extremists manage to mobilize a nation that remembers much better times. On one hand, the Communist Party is growing larger every day and threatens all honest citizens, but also the violent and radical NSDAP wins more support every day and is the main political force in the Parliament after the 1932 elections.


index.gif


Result of the elections held in November 1932


Only the strong hand of President Paul von Hindenburg has avoided the end of democracy in Germany, but certainly he will not be able to govern by decree forever, and many wonder if he will succumb to the pressures of extremist parties and withdraw his support to Kurt von Schleicher as chancellor if the Nazis repeat his victory.

hindenburg.jpg


Only Hindenburg seems convinced not to appoint Hitler as Chancellor...


The next elections will determine the future of Germany ... and maybe forever. Who will prevail? The democratic ideals and freedom, or will the country be thrown into a spiral of chaos even greater than the current one?
 
Last edited:
I hope Hindenburg realizes that the only way of ensuring political stability is to give the German populace a permanent beacon in politics...like a Kaiser or something.

But it's your call, isn't it? I'll keep an eye out for this, the writing seems promising and it's a Good!Germany AAR, apparently.
 
Prologue (II): Troubled times

A few days before the elections that may decide the future of our nation is finally held, there are many problems to be considered, especially in the economic and political fields. It is in part due to the unjust conditions of the Versailles Treaty but also because of the recent crisis in the U.S. stock market, which has damaged the economies of the rest of the Western World.

While it appeared that the twenties would serve to restore the country and return to our position as the engine of the European economy, all that vanished when the American banks were affected by the Crash of 29 and stopped investing in Germany, ending any hope of rebuilding the German businesses and banking system. Soon, German banks would close or suspend payments, eliminating any type of credit and forcing thousands of companies to close and lay off hundreds of thousands of workers.

berlin-bank-run.jpg



German citizens standing in front of a bankrupted bank


While other countries were able to partly mitigate these effects with the redistribution of markets in favor of increased trade with the colonies, the Allied Powers had taken our overseas territories, and to top it off, the scarce resources of the state that were still available were endorsed to the payment of the war reparations imposed by the victors.

Thus, and in just four years, more than 6 million unemployed people lack any type of income, and the raging hyperinflation we suffer of increases the problem and prevents any kind of savings or economic progress in our country.


hiperinflacion_en_hungria_1946.jpg


Hyperinflation

With this perspective, the Social Democrat SPD gradually lost votes for the extremist parties, whether Communist or Nazi, to the point that the NSDAP won the November 1932 elections and only the opposition of Hindenburg to appoint Chancellor someone so opposed to the democratic system as Hitler has prevented his access to power.

However, many people claim that these new elections, should be won again by Hitler, will ensure his dominance over German politics. But what will the German people choose? Will they be tempted by Hitler and his propaganda, which claims to convert Germany in a power by intervening in the economy and the recovery of what was lost at Versailles? Or perhaps, tired of waiting, the Germans will opt for the dreaded communism and the end of private property and of all freedom in our country...


Thaelmann(1).jpg
hitler_discurso000.jpg



Thalmann and Hitler, leaders of the KPD and NSDAP


Only the SPD seems able to prevent the end of democracy, and that will only happen if they manage to regain his electorate and enlist the support of minority parties, especially the Catholic Zentrum. Will Otto Wels convince the centrists that the SPD is the only viable option to avoid chaos and put some order in Germany? And more importantly, will the voters believe in a long-term and peaceful recovery, or tired of famine and poverty will they end the current system? The die is cast...


l5el.png


What will the German people vote?
 
The AAR title kind of gives it away ;)

True! Now seriously, I wasn´t planning in surprising anyone: Germany will have a Democratic Government, but what will be veiled is which kind of government, how it is created and more important, how it copes with the economy and the events to turn Germany into the Great European Power. After all, most AARs advance the general content of the game, so I hope I make it pleasant enough to keep it interesting!
 
True! Now seriously, I wasn´t planning in surprising anyone: Germany will have a Democratic Government, but what will be veiled is which kind of government, how it is created and more important, how it copes with the economy and the events to turn Germany into the Great European Power. After all, most AARs advance the general content of the game, so I hope I make it pleasant enough to keep it interesting!

Well,I vote for DNVP restore Monarchy :D
 
I vote for the Pirate Party! (I realize they don't exist yet, but that just gives you more incentive to get ahead in your electronics research).
 
Chapter I: Election Day

After studying his options, SPD leader Otto Wels realized that he could not defeat the Nazi menace alone. Firstly, there was an urgent need to end the electoral hemoragy and to recover the lost votes. This could only be done by convincing the German people that the ideals of freedom and peaceful coexistence were the only ones that would allow the Volk to attain its ultimate goal: the recovery of Germany as a prosperous nation.

Moreover, even in an scenario where the SPD managed to avoid the rise of the NSDAP to the top of the political grid, the social democrats needed gain the support of other parliamentary groups to achieve a large majority in Parliament, forcing Hindenburg to appoint Wels as Chancellor and strengthening his legitimacy in the eyes of the German people.


ermaechtigungsgesetz-maerz.jpg


SPD leader Otto Wels in a recent speech

Although the communists feared and hated the Nazis as much as anyone, any agreement between the KPD and SPD seemed impossible; on one side, much of the society would perceive it as a dangerous twist to the left by the SPD, and on the other side Thalmann was not at all willing to form a popular front that would contradict the guidelines of the Komintern.

The remaining parties of the political spectrum were also dangerously tilted to the right, proposing measures similar to the ones of the Nazis or calling for the restoration of the monarchy. Therefore, there was only one viable option for Wels: to gain the support of the Zentrum.

This centrist party, now under the leadership of Ludwig Kaas, had approached the National-Socialist postures, but much of their leaders disagreed with that course of action and supported the need to act within the limits of the democratic system, refusing to trust Hitler's promises.

After contacting the former chancellors and Zentrum members Heinrich Brüning and Joseph Wirth, Wels discovered that the only obstacle to reach an agreement with the centrists was their own leader, Ludwig Kaas. After committing to make concessions to Brüning and Wirth, they in turn promised to do everything possible to convince Kaas that Hitler could not be trusted.


225px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-1989-0630-504,_Heinrich_Br%C3%BCning.jpg
wirth.jpg


Brüning and Wirth would play a key role in the upcoming elections


Following days of intense discussions, Kaas finally understood that his only option to stay ahead of the political game and avoid an internal party war was to accept the proposals of Brüning and Kaas, and he finally accepted to negotiate an agreement with the SPD.

After a long meeting at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, the two leaders reached an agreement just a few days before the election: the Zentrum would support Wels as Chancellor if he could achieve a significant parliamentary majority, and in turn the SPD pledged to respect the concordats with the Church and its influence in education, to try to achieve a broad national consensus around the concept of the German nation and, once the situation had calmed down, to support a member of the Zentrum as candidate for the German Presidency once Hindenburg retired.


Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-13848F_Berlin_Hotel_Adlon.jpg


The Adlon Hotel

The so called "Adlon Declaration" signed by the two leaders, sparked immediate reactions once it went public: Adolf Hitler called it "a mockery of the beliefs of the voters" and Thalmann spoke of "collusion between bourgeois", but much of the public opinion and newspapers praised the efforts of both parties to try to bring some stability to the country.

Finally, the expected election day came, and with him the first results. While Hitler could increase his support and got a total of 211 seats, the big news laid in the spectacular rise of the SPD, which went from 121 seats to 214, becoming the first political force. Another major victor would be the Zentrum, that after obtaining 86 seats became the third political force and immediately announced their support for the candidacy of Otto Wels as Chancellor of Germany. For its part, the Thalmann´s KPD sank and fell to 71 seats, while the DNVP got 41, the BVP 16 and the rest of seats were divided among other minor formations.


k344.png


Election results


Following the results and knowing that there was no majority of 324 seats required to form a government immediately, it was up to Hindenburg to appoint a chancellor. After refusing to meet Adolf Hitler, who declared that the NSDAP "would not tolerate any option that did not include the NSDAP within the legitimate Government of Germany", the President declared he was to appoint Otto Wels as Chancellor, and entrusted him with the task of forming a government. However, the Nazis would not stand idly…


o96l.png


The SPD has managed to obtain an important victory, but will it be a lasting one?
 
Okay :unsure:

Gupka, please realize that even though the Mixed Mod gives plenty of options to play as Germany, in 1933 the Democratic path is only avaliable as the SPD, so I had to follow that and write an history. That can change later, of course, but the DNVP and a Restoration of Monarchy is kinda unistorical in my oppinion, and I´m not even sure it is avaliable with the current mod (it was with mod33, but I don´t know if it is with this one).
 
Gupka, please realize that even though the Mixed Mod gives plenty of options to play as Germany, in 1933 the Democratic path is only avaliable as the SPD, so I had to follow that and write an history. That can change later, of course, but the DNVP and a Restoration of Monarchy is kinda unistorical in my oppinion, and I´m not even sure it is avaliable with the current mod (it was with mod33, but I don´t know if it is with this one).

Well,where you downloaded the Mod "A democratic Germany" for 1.03 final?