Prologue
Too many people here and in England hold the view that the German people as a whole are not responsible for what has taken place – that only a few Nazis are responsible. That unfortunately is not based on fact. The German people must have it driven home to them that the whole nation has been engaged in a lawless conspiracy against the decencies of modern civilization.
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt (OTL)
June 30, 1945
It was a late night at the White House and President Truman was working overtime to fill the shoes of his illustrious predecessor. His staff had long gone home, as had the construction team sent to work on the much needed West Wing addition. [1] The building creaked and moaned all throughout the night, years of neglect had taken their toll on the aging structure. [2] The building had such a reputation for surliness that the president paid it no mind when the panels above him began to groan. "Just you and me here Franklin" [3] Truman muttered to himself just moments before the chandelier above his head snapped lose and struck him with such force that he blacked out. Henry Morgenthau, next in the line of presidential succession, was sworn in as the 34th President of the United States the following morning… [4]
Footnotes
[1] Truman bungled getting the funds appropriated for his requested renovation IOTL. He was later able to get the
Truman Balcony approved, the construction of which revealed the extent of the White House's disrepair. ITTL his earlier project is approved and the commotion surrounding the construction causes the unfortunate incident above.
[2] IOTL the White House was a mess. Bess Truman wrote of "swaying" chandeliers that threatened to break lose at any moment, a decorative killer being located in the oval office and blue room among other locations. On one occasion, Margaret Truman's Grand Piano nearly fell through the ceiling of the first family's dinning room. President Truman also recounted a time when he was taking a bath and the tub began to sink into the floor. Truman feared that he might have tumbled into the room below, where the First Lady was hosting the Daughters of the American Revolution, wearing "nothing but my reading glasses."
[3] Truman jokingly complained about being carried off into the night by ghosts, such was the frequency at which the building produced "ghostly" noises.
[4] Both IOTL and ITTL Henry Morgenthau was next in line at the time.
[5]
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