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Weimar´s Legacy: A Democratic Germany AAR

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An SPD victory in the March elections? But Hitler was already chancellor by then.

Who is chancellor from 1932-1933 in this mod? Did Schleicher or von Papen stay in office? And if so, where is their agenda?
 
JodelDiplom said:
An SPD victory in the March elections? But Hitler was already chancellor by then.

Who is chancellor from 1932-1933 in this mod? Did Schleicher or von Papen stay in office? And if so, where is their agenda?
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The game starts in March 1933 , but I already stated that Schleicher was acting as Chancellor and the March elections were going to decide if Hitler would finally manage to be named as chancellor. So, in terms of this AAR, the appointment of Hitler as chancelor did not occur in January.
 
Well, you could revive the "good old days" of the Ebert-Freikorps cooperation and destroy the KPD together. :rolleyes:

I am interested in how this will proceed. There is something fascinating about the political workings of an unstable parliamentary system like the Weimar Republic. Will you create your own sphere of influence instead of just being a sword and shield for the Western Allies against the USSR?
 
It is so nice to see this AAR in English! I am greatly enjoy it Nacho!
 
Battle bunny said:
Well, you could revive the "good old days" of the Ebert-Freikorps cooperation and destroy the KPD together. :rolleyes:

I am interested in how this will proceed. There is something fascinating about the political workings of an unstable parliamentary system like the Weimar Republic. Will you create your own sphere of influence instead of just being a sword and shield for the Western Allies against the USSR?
Click to expand...

I will try to create my own sphere, specially in Central Europe, and I think the mod has also some events to facilitate it.Or perhaps the USSR will come to an agreement....who knows?
 
Chapter II: The Second Putsch

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Once Hindenburg announced his intention to nominate Otto Wels as Reichskanzler, the leader of the SPD promised to form a strong government committed to the people, saying that "only those forces that fully accept the democratic principles will be able enter the new Cabinet ".

However, the Nazi party was not happy, and despite the protests of some party figures such as Joseph Goebbels, Robert Ley or Richard Walther Darré who proposed a policy of firm but peaceful opposition to regain the first place inthe German politics, Adolf Hitler decided that he should not wait more.

After summoning Ernst Röhm and other SA commanders, Hitler said "the time for action had come," and ignoring those who intended to wait for the Government of Wels to be isolated and weakened as time passed on after the elections, the NSDAP leader chose to call to "a general insurrection against the result of the unfair and manipulated elections".


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Adolf Hitler in his speech calling for a general insurrection

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However, the police were already warned and many of the highest ranking military saw Hitler as an upstart with too much ambition and no experience, and in most cities the Nazi revolt was quickly suppressed and its local leaders arrested .

The exception was to be found in the ultraconservative Bavaria and in Nuremberg, key city for all NSDAP members. After years of infiltration within the local organizations and police officers, the rebels took control of Munich and Nuremberg in a few hours.


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Situation after the first news arrived to Berlin

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Seeing that the police was not able to contain the revolt and that there was an urging need for some form and quick action, the new chancellor asked Hindenburg's to allow "a temporary state of emergency" to end this fearsome situation. Without hesitation, Hindenburg agreed to ratify a new document, and under the auspices of the 48th Article of the German Constitution published the "Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the German Law", allowing the temporary suspension of certain civil liberties and the assumption by the Chancellor of all military command.


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The "Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the German Law"

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Without further delay, Wels mobilized the reduced German Army, and after verifying that the High Command was loyal to the Government he ordered the deployment of three divisions to quell the revolt of Nuremberg and redeployed the remaining forces to Munich, where the local garrison was in battle with the mutineers.


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The Army arriving to defend Munich from the rebels

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Battles were not easy. As much as they understood the need to defend the country from the Nazi enemy, the soldiers had to fight against other Germans, and the need to fight in urban environments turned the struggle even more difficult. This situation did not begin to change until a week later, when the first reinforcements began to arrive and General von Rundstedt managed to coordinate the efforts of all the deployed soldiers finally gained control over Nuremberg.

Still, it was not until 12 days later, on March 25th, when the Government´s troops ended with the last pocket of resistance in the city of Munich and ended the Nazi uprising. Hitler's madness claimed the lives of 6542 dissidents and 960 soldiers.


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Results of the Nuremberg and Munich battles

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Upon resolution of the crisis, Chancellor Otto Wels kept his word and requested the President to cancel the Presidential Emergency Decree, returning to the democratic system and to the necessary separation of powers. However, the main Nazi party leaders who had participated or encouraged the revolt were arrested for High Treason and would be tried in the coming months. In this situation, Goebbels took command of the party, but he was forced to write a statement of rejection to avoid more arrests within the NSDAP.

The rebellion had failed and the democratic forces had triumphed, but lot of things still needed to be done. The Nazi party was weakened but still was the second political force, and many Germans were sympathetic to Hitler despite his attempted coup. And, on the other hand, the economic situation was the same. The SPD had a long road ahead ...
 
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Chapter III: The road to Wirtschaftswunder (I)

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The time for peace and reconstruction arrived with the defeat of the Nazi uprising, and the new chancellor could not afford to waste any time in forming a Government and beginning the recovery of the German economy. Otto Wels knew that he should not form a government based solely on personalities from the SPD, and instead it was necessary to appoint the ablest men in the country regardless of their political affiliation. This way, the Government would achieve a broad consensus around them and show an image of unity and strength to the German people.

That is why one of the most important portfolios, the Economy and Armaments one, was entrusted to the member of the Zentrum and former Chancellor Joseph Wirth, who as Doctor in Economics and Mathematics from the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg had extensive knowledge of economic matters. He would not be the only Zentrum politician in the Wels Government, since the Ministry of Security would be granted to one of its most leftist members, Adam Stegerwald. With the aim of integrating minor parties in the new Executive, the intelligence services were put in the hands of Otto Gessler, chief of the Deutsche Staatspartei and expert in optimizing state resources. Finally, one of the most important ministries, the Foreign Affairs one, was given to Arthur Crispien, Wels´ right hand and member of the SPD, as well as other ministries and subordinate positions.


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The first Wels Ministry

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The first decision of the Wels Government would be to provide the tools for the German market recovery; relying on theories of Wirth, Wels accepted the need to help the market recover on its own, creating a welfare state that would allow the creation of jobs and economic recovery, but not imposing themselves upon companies by requiring them to work in accordance with state guidelines. According to Wels, social democracy would be "the invisible guardian of economic justice."


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Predicted results of the Wels-Wirth reform

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To achieve this ambitious goal, it was imperative to take effective measures to end hyperinflation, get the credit to flow and end the feeling of insecurity among citizens. Therefore, Wels announced a double package of measures: first, a major change was made in the tax system to allow for greater ease in creating businesses, and a minimum wage was also introduced to ensure a minimum purchasing power to every citizen.


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Taxes were reformed, and a minimum wage introduced.

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Similarly, the state would provide funds to improve the health system, the educational network and the police force, taking the first steps towards the creation of a welfare state as necessary in the context of 1933.


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The creation of the Welfare System required State investements.

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Abandoning the ongoing shipbuilding and postponing the reform and upgrade of the Army, Navy and Air Force, state factories would focus on providing, at least temporarily, enough consumer goods to the people, attempting to achieve a reduction in prices and end with the hunger that affected nearly 6 million Germans. Similarly, the State would try to attain ample amounts of foreign currency in order to restart exports and pave the way to improve diplomatic relations with other European nations.


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German State controlled factories and trades

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Finally, various personalities began to receive funds to investigate different technologies to modernize both the economy and the military, and while in some areas the country still lacked the skills to start investigating, much of the researchers began to modernize the nation's outdated areas


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Albert Einstein agreed to improve the Decryption Systems​
 
Chapter IV: The road to Wirtschaftswunder (II)

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After two months of the nazi uprising and the formation of the first Wels Ministry, the country began to show the first early signs of improvement, and while there was still much to do, the latest polls seemed to affirm that about 70% of the Germans approved the initial steps taken by the Social Democratic Government. Although the costly war reparations and hyperinflation continued to plague Germany, it was estimated that the State investments managed to prevent the closure of new companies or banks, and also facilitated the possibility of creating small businesses, thereby reducing the level of unemployment. It would be a long road until the full restoration of the German economy was achieved, but the foundations were already placed.


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Entreperneurs have been able to create small businessess and unemployment starts to diminish

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Trying not to relax in the line of duty, the Chancellor planned the route to follow, and he considered vital the focus in three basic pillars: economic recovery through the creation of the welfare state, the achievement of a lasting social peace with the right-wing sectors of society and the creation of a true Diplomatic Corp to put pressure on the allies and end the unfair treaty of Versailles.


After meetings with each of the ministers, the Chancellor gave green light to the planning of various future projects that would be directed at ensuring the desired welfare reform: improvement of the healthcare system, modernization of the state-owned factories and the support to economic stimulus to revive the economy. State funds currently did not allow to go beyond the first package of measures already implemented, but when the time came the government would be ready to enact it.




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Otto Wels discussing economic plans with advisors

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However, the SPD still had a daunting task: to convince the voters of the right-winged parties, and even those less radical Nazi voters, that the social democratic option was a valid option to restore national prestige. The first step had already been taken with the admission of various right-winged ministers in the cabinet, but knowing that he needed a symbol that would unite all Germans, the Chancellor proposed to the Parliament a measure to change the national flag of the Empire to one showing the Reichsadler . Thus, it would indicate the Germans that some day they would return to greatness after so much suffering. While the Communists felt outraged and many of the Nazi parliamentarians flatly refused to approve the reform, most right-wing parties welcomed the measure, which was approved for a total of 368 votes in favor, 26 abstentions and 253 against.



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The new flag of the Deutsches Reich

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To end the injustices imposed by the victors of the First World War, the Chancellor knew he would need both the support of other non-aligned European countries and also a modernization process of the Armed Forces to make them capable of facing any external threat. According to the Foreign Minister Arthur Crispien, it would be best to make a series of periodical diplomatic campaigns, in order to improve the vision of Germany in the other countries of Europe.


At that time it seemed impossible to ostensibly violate the provisions of the treaty by raising new soldiers, but that could not stopthe military commands from starting to project the "Army of the Future". The High Command would be granted to Ludwig Beck and the Army would be commanded by General von Brauchitsch, but the soul of the new German Army would be in the hands of another person: Heinz Guderian. War veteran and scholar of the manouver warfare theories by J. F. C. Fuller and B. H. Liddell Hart, Guderian proposed a total change in military strategy, according to which the speed and coordination between forces should prevail over the simple accumulation of soldiers from the Great War. After listening to his theories, the government decided to trust him and assured him sufficient funds to translate their theories into a manual that would become the bible of the army: Achtung Panzer!


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Guderian is currently working on his book, Achtung Panzer!
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However, the army would not be the only branch to be renewes, as the Reichmarine was put in the hands of Admiral Hermann Mootz, who proposed to further investigate the Indirect Approach doctrine in favour of submarine warfare, and the Air Forces was put under the guidance of the industrial Karl von Siemens in order to achieve the necessary modernization of the Air Force.



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German reorganization of the Armed Forces


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Anyway, the news that would shake all Germany and Europe would be the trial of the Nazi leaders responsible for the uprising in Bavaria. Once on stage, Hitler passionately defended himself and invoked the duties of defending the Fatherland and "German values​​", but this time the judges understood that it was not a reckless young men trying to save his country like in 1923, but of a maniac capable of everything to come to power. After long deliberations, the Court, in accordance with Article 81 of Reichsstrafgesetzbuch, decided to put to death Adolf Hitler, Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler and Rudolf Hess, while other leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment in different jails. The Nazi party, now under the command of Goebbels, protested strongly against that ruling, but the fear of further reprisals or arrests prevented further disorders. Would that be enough to end the nazi menace in Germany?



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News spread all over Europe​
 
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TO DEATH?!?!?!
I don't think that he would have been senteced to death ...:(
 
Migthy said:
TO DEATH?!?!?!
I don't think that he would have been senteced to death ...:(
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It´s the second time he was condemned for a charge of High Treason, but this time wihout a sympathetic tribunal to help him. I really think that under such circumstances the judges would apply the highest penalty, which in this case it´s death penalty. And besides, it would be very difficult to write an AAR of a prosper and peaceful democratic Germany with Hitler alive and seeding dissent. And c´mon...killing the bastard is cool!
 
Hi nachopontmercy,

as long as Germany abides by the Versailles Treaty, they may research air but not build it(and submarines, tanks also). Will you somehow implement clandestine research and unit establishment by Germany in the SU, Sweden and other countries?

And don`t forget that the Weimar Republic was more hostile to Poland than Nazi Germany was until the end of 1938 at least. So any attempts to normalize relations with Poland would be ahistorical.

Rgds, Oldtimer
 
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