In the OTL Petain was a General of the French Army and a national hero of WW1. Also Germany was a very militaristic society and people back then had a very good respect for those who were in uniform
I won't say it's impossible that Smith could have made the transition from US Army officer to SS officer in a Nazi occupied America. What's more impressive is that he could, with such a background, rise so quickly to such a position (head of the entire SS operation in America). But this may just be the conceit of the narrative. It would be less interesting or thought provoking with some German in the position, or with Smith reduced to some lesser functionary position.
I think it speaks to Smith's skills as a political operator. He managed to outmaneuver the pro-nuclear war conspirators, so we have proof that he's skilled in manipulating the Nazi power structure.
The SS allowed all sorts of obscure men to rise very high in their ranks - starting with failed chicken farmer Heinrich Himmler.
The only thing that's really a surprise is that a former American army officer could do it.
But who knows? Maybe had the Germans won the war, Joseph Darnand could have come to lead the SS in France.
For the Nazis, it makes a lot of sense politically. If you appoint only Germans in the positions of power you will always be a foreign ruler. If you drop the idea of being a German empire, and instead proclaim yourself an empire of all Aryans, that's... inclusive. (Yes. The nazis being inclusive. A weird thought, but it just makes sense if they want to rule a world-spanning empire.) If there are Americans in charge, the American part of the Reich becomes perceived as an American affair. Not foreign, but actually patriotic. No longer are Americans a conquered people; they are part of a great brotherhood of white, racist supermen who can look down on everyone else.
This is also easier for the Americans to accept, psychologically, than being oppressed losers. It just makes a certain amount of sense for all sides to act in this way.
Actually, this makes a lot of sense, given what we've seen from the show. The Americans in the Pacific States regard themselves - and are treated by the Japanese - as conquered and oppressed losers, while the Americans in the Reich have eagerly adopted Nazism with their own American flavor, celebrate VA Day, and seem to think of themselves as being part of the winners of the war. With the Americans of the Reich eagerly keeping themselves in line, the Wehrmacht can focus on suppressing Africa and the Slavic lands. We never see any Wehrmacht troops in the American Reich; the border patrols were actually Americans, as opposed to the Pacific States, which is full of Japanese troops with no indication that there are Americans working in a collaborationist army. The only collaborators we see in the Pacific States are working in clerical positions. There are no collaborators there with positions of power, either; the Pacific States' leadership all come from Japan. It makes you wonder whether the Japanese have adopted a more hands-off policy among the non-Chinese portions of their Asian empire, if they haven't spun them off as independent states.
Also in OTL at 40's 12% of US population were ethnically Germans mostly lived in N.E. of the country
Those who were Anglo-Saxon origin (majority) still considered Germanic nation by Nazis.
Those who had problems in Nazi Amerika were all the Non-whites, the Jews, those of Slavic background, the Communists/Socialists, the homosexuals and those who were mentally or physically ill
The SS allowed all sorts of obscure men to rise very high in their ranks - starting with failed chicken farmer Heinrich Himmler.
The only thing that's really a surprise is that a former American army officer could do it.
But who knows? Maybe had the Germans won the war, Joseph Darnand could have come to lead the SS in France.
Smith's dialogue with Wegener in Season One indicates that they both did some pretty heinous things. Perhaps Smith gained the Nazis' trust by being an eager participant in the occupation? Not only does it prove his loyalty, it also would make him a major target for the resistance, forcing him further into the Nazi camp.
At the very least they probably have been sent South but its sadly likely that something much more Final has happened.No one's really commented on it in the show, but we don't see any black people in the German Reich...
I'd imagine the American Reich moved blacks and other "undesirables" out of the cities and either into extermination camps or work camps. We can likely assume that farms utilize forced, slave labor.I heard that the population for Savannah Georgia they mentioned was half of what it should have been in the 60s.
That does bring up a problem though, if the black population was exterminated who's working the farms? I'm betting the Southern whites wouldn't want to do it.
I heard that the population for Savannah Georgia they mentioned was half of what it should have been in the 60s.
That does bring up a problem though, if the black population was exterminated who's working the farms? I'm betting the Southern whites wouldn't want to do it.
I'm like 99% sure a woman mentions it on the bus to Canon City to Juliana. That the Nazis are exterminating the black people who don't flee, but the Japanese are happy to gradually deport them to the Neutral Zone, where they often immigrate to South America.No one's really commented on it in the show, but we don't see any black people in the German Reich...