Rosenberg's Reich: The Myth of The Twentieth Century

[X_X]

Edit: Well, it's been more than five years since I started this as my first serious alternate history project. This actually germinated out of an idea to do a timeline focusing upon a Prime Minister Oswald Mosley leading a fascist Britain, but I never had the ambition to properly research it. One day, I discovered Rosenberg and became intrigued by him: obscure enough to be a fresh face as a fuhrer, yet fanatical enough to be one of history's greatest monsters. Back in the late 10s, I had a lot of free time to explore all the possibilities and butterflies that would occur, hence the frequent updates. By 2019, however, this had pretty much just become a dumping ground for whatever interesting idea I wanted to briefly glimpse at rather than an attempt to tell a strong narrative. Perhaps I should've concluded the timeline with the destruction of the Reich and a looming, ominous future for Europe with new players entering the power vacuum.

Looking back on this thread is a mixed bag. Many parts I am very proud of, and others I'm deeply embarrassed by. There's some of what's my strongest, most powerful writing ever here, often sandwiched between other updates containing poorly researched schlock. Some of what I've penned is in hindsight too cute. I roll my eyes over many of the pop culture and historical allusions. Additionally, I feel I made the Second World War last too long chronologically. I was also rather inept at making maps (still am to an extent), relying upon Mapchart and her ugly modern borders when I divided China and Germany.

I'm also unsure if I would use the same format of the story being composed of excerpts of fictional writings if I wrote this today. I settled upon that largely because I hoped it would provide life to this universe (it did) and because many timelines I admired did the same thing. Also, I was not using Grammarly or a similar software when writing most of this story. I would not be surprised if the errors are surely in the hundreds.

If I were to rewrite this, I would certainly give more focus to coming up with a rich, interconnecting globe rather than overlook all that is not Germany and America. Ours is a genre with limitless possibilities, yet we suffer from tunnel vision. We ignore the fascinating history of the peripheral world, shoving off the unfamiliar and unknown to the background, a practice that ironically threatens to erase history. Maybe one day I'll do a timeline with a focus on something more arcane.

Still, I am happy that the feedback to this has been mostly positive, being humbled by a few commentators naming this as a favorite story on this site and celebrating the infrequent updates. It remains likely the longest narrative I've written, and certainly the longest I've published online. I hoped to one day publish this as a book. That is not close to my current literary pursuits, being swamped with other projects many of which have absolutely nothing to do with alternate history. Still, one day when my free time returns to me I hope to complete a revision of sorts to this.

Many cheers and keep exploring other worlds through the written word.

- Aiden


Q: What’s this?

A: A timeline

Q: Oh cool, what’s the POD?

A: A solider with a better aim in 1920s Germany

Q: What’s the timeline about?

A: Nazis, Japanese Ultra-Nationalists, Dixiecrats, Scientologists, Rock and Rollers, New Dealers, Neo-Stalinists, Auto-Genocidal Maniacs, Occultists, Animators, Pan-Arabists, one hell of a shitty day in San Antonio (to put it mildly), and more!

Q: This all sounds very ambitious for a new member

A: Undoubtedly, so keep firing those criticisms every chance you get

Q: And the title?

A: Well I’m glad you asked because that leads into our introduction right now…

 

[X_X]

“Attempting to replicate Mussolini’s March of Rome, The Beer Hall Putsch was not nearly as successful. As Adolf Hitler, the event’s leader proclaimed, “Either the German revolution begins tonight or we will all be dead by dawn!” It was Hitler’s unorganized thinking that lead to his own death. The rebels, listless and bored, began to march to nowhere in particular when they were struck by government soldiers. Hitler was shot dead, sources are unclear by exactly whom, and another key Putsch organizer Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter would be wounded critically, but survive.


The following trials would gather media attention throughout Europe, but it would take a few years before the Nazi movement would reform again. Many of the key participants of the failed coup would have large roles in the future German Empire. Chief among them, of course, would be future Chancellor Alfred Rosenberg, one of the Putsch’s critical planners, and fellow ideologies Hans Frank, Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Heinrich Himmler, and Julius Streicher.”


-Excerpt from The Continent of Blood: The History of War, Authoritarianism, and Terrorism in 20th Century Europe

“Indeed, sometimes I ponder if those events nearly three decades ago had gone differently that I would not be such a miserable predicament. May those who find out what I am about to do forgive me. - February 3, 1951”

-Excerpt from The Diaries of Joseph Goebbels

Vonnegut: “And furthermore, I must admit Mr. Rosenberg that your work is quite miscalculated. Jew this, Jew that. You miss the mark ludicrously. I suggest you read Kilgore Trout’s “The Protocols of the Elders of Tralfamadore”. Then I think a few things will be illuminated for you.”

Rosenberg: “*Sigh*… Mr. Vonnegut, you have done nothing in this interview but insult me. You clearly have no understanding of my ideology. I am through of your opinions! Of your desire to ignore the man behind the curtain! I will not stoop to this level! You do not come back here unless you understand The Myth of The Twentieth Century."

Vonnegut: “Oh, I understand perfectly. The true myth of the twentieth century was this idea that anything was going to work out okay for anybody. That we could get through without violence, and if we did have to use violence it would always be righteous. But Mr. Rosenberg, I am afraid I can’t even give you the doubt of following that advice and not unleashing untold death in the modern age. You aren’t even unique in that regard.”

-Excerpt from the fiction book, Jack’s Kevorkian’s Daylight by Kurt Vonnegut, 2000

 

[cpip]

Well, I'm interested to see where this is going...

 

[The Red]

It’s always good to see a new AH.commer get stuck into a TL straight away, looking forward to seeing where this goes!

 

[TimTurner]

It’s always good to see a new AH.commer get stuck into a TL straight away, looking forward to seeing where this goes!

 

[KuboCaskett]

I wonder if this is going to be one of those no WWII TLs? I kind of like those kinds and I do have plans for one myself, using one of my old DA maps called Days Into Nights for the basis (though some retconning is needed to make it sound more original to my tastes).

 

[X_X]

“The death of Adolf Hitler was a blow to the organization of the Nazi Movement, admit just a temporary one. While many of the participants of the Beer Hall Putsch were not prosecuted by the court, the highly publicized rebellion and following trial brought the budding authoritarians shame in the press. The failed Hitler was not viewed by Europeans as a martyr but as a punchline, his death the comic outcome of a poorly planned coup.


Rosenberg, who had great respect of Hitler, was seen as an unofficial leader by many within the movement. Hitler had tasked Rosenberg to lead the National Socialists in the event of his capture or demise, though some had doubts of his abilities.


From the beginning, Rosenberg hosted an extreme antisemitism, characteristic of Nazism. Greatly influenced by writings such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races, and The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, Rosenberg spent most the mid-1920s penning his own text. His colleagues were of great influence in the editing process.


Nazi scholars who’ve researched the editing process have found what was changed from early drafts upon the suggestions of his friends. These edits largely served to make the book more appealing to the public. A lengthy passage on the mythical Atlantis being a homeland for the Aryan Race was removed upon the suggestion of Julius Streicher, who reportedly saw the promotion of Rosenberg’s more extreme theories to be poor publicity to a group viewed skeptically by the German people. Some of the more Anti-Christian views of the party were discarded as well, at least for the time being. Rather Rosenberg began advertising a view of “Positive Christianity”, removing the Jewish influences of the Christian mythology. In private, however, Rosenberg’s theology was more heavily influenced by neopaganism. Another hallmark topic of Nazism promoted early on was Lebensraum, the concept of Germanic living space and the prospects of Germanization of Eastern Europe. Indeed, the Slavic peoples are mentioned in inferior terms nearly as often as the Jews in many drafts of the text and in the final product.


The book, in the first but certainly not least of the many instances of historical revision by the Nazis, fails to mention Adolf Hitler or the Beer Hall Putsch. But this would not be totally ignored by the party leaders. Exactly twenty years after the blotched power grab, Rosenberg would deliver a historic radio address on the site of the Munich pub. “Never forget Germans, of the bloodshed that occurred here, of the pointless slaughter of the brave nationalists by the hands of the hired Jewish and Slavic thugs of the old government! Think of their sacrifice tonight and recall their courage as we continue to defend our lands and reclaim what is ours!”


-Excerpt from The Continent of Blood: The History of War, Authoritarianism, and Terrorism in 20th Century Europe

 

[Emperor Norton I]

I've held the opinion that in another universe, Nazis would become like many other members of failed movements of terror: otherwise sweet old men bouncing children and grandchildren on their knees, doing chores, or silly, easily mocked people storming around in costumes on their free weekends and getting caught off guard by a reporter while coming to the door in their underwear in some low rent apartment -- a novelty of horrid opinions that are easily dismissed because they did not go anywhere. The Right Wing neofascist Afrikaaner movements come to mind. And that banality and passive, unthinking dismissal of evil, which could easily have caused darkness from the imagination of only Hell itself for want of a nail and if they did get the power to do anything, is absolutely terrifying and makes one question human values and perceptions, and what we tolerate and stomach. So if this is something like that -- "mundane" Nazis -- that peaks that interest.

In that regard, I recommend the documentary "The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife".

 

[X_X]

I've held the opinion that in another universe, Nazis would become like many other members of failed movements of terror: otherwise sweet old men bouncing children and grandchildren on their knees, doing chores, or silly, easily mocked people storming around in costumes on their free weekends and getting caught off guard by a reporter while coming to the door in their underwear in some low rent apartment -- a novelty of horrid opinions that are easily dismissed because they did not go anywhere. The Right Wing neofascist Afrikaaner movements come to mind. And that banality and passive, unthinking dismissal of evil, which could easily have caused darkness from the imagination of only Hell itself for want of a nail and if they did get the power to do anything, is absolutely terrifying and makes one question human values and perceptions, and what we tolerate and stomach. So if this is something like that -- "mundane" Nazis -- that peaks that interest.

In that regard, I recommend the documentary "The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife".

As an American it has always fascinated me on how my country's treatment of ethnic minorities in the twentieth century could've evolved into organized ethnic cleansing or how fascism could’ve easily started here rather than Europe. Anti-Japanese sentiment turning out much worse as the result of the war is a scenario that has particularly disturbed me as due to spending my entire life in Washington state.

Thank you for the documentary link, looks very interesting.

 

[X_X]

“Among the greatest mysteries in aviation history is the fate of Charles Lindbergh. The events of what was likely an unremarkable plane loss over the North Atlantic in May 1927, have been debated due to it having the first attempt to fly solo across the ocean. There are countless hypothesizes from the likely to the fatuous.

One of the more bizarre theories is alien abduction. Another is that Lindbergh, who had expressed far-right views in America had escaped to Europe to change identity and join the growing Fascist movements. Others believe the plane had been sabotaged.

However, most aviation historians agree the tragedy was much more mundane. Exactly what occurred is still debated, as the craft was never recovered, forever lost at sea due to the inability or means to search for it. The most common ideas are a bird strike, engine failure, fuel exhaustion or starvation, or simply pilot error.

Regardless of the cause of the missing Lindbergh, his disappearance was heavily covered by the media in North America and Europe. Thousands gathered for a funeral in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. The misfortune of the ambitious pioneer would delay the goal of flying alone over the ocean for a few more years. Regardless, Lindbergh’s dreams and spirit are well remembered by many in the aerospace industry today. No tragedy would defer man’s hopes of flight for too long.”


-Excerpt from the BBC Documentary Flight: Mankind’s Epic Voyage

 

[KuboCaskett]

“Among the greatest mysteries in aviation history is the fate of Charles Lindbergh. The events of what was likely an unremarkable plane lose over the North Atlantic in May 1927, have been debated due to it having the first attempt to fly solo across the ocean. There are countless hypothesizes from the likely to the fatuous.

One of the more bizarre theories is alien abduction. Another is that Lindbergh, who had expressed far-right views in America had escape to Europe to change identity and join the growing Fascist movements. Others believe the plane had been sabotaged.

However most aviation historians agree the tragedy was much more mundane. Exactly what occurred is still debated, as the craft was never recovered, forever lost at sea due to the inability or means to search for it. The most common ideas are a bird strike, engine failure, fuel exhaustion or starvation, or simply pilot error.

Regardless of the cause of the missing Lindbergh, his disappearance was heavily covered by the media in North America and Europe. Thousands gathered for a funeral in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. The misfortune of the ambitious pioneer would delay the goal of flying alone over the ocean for a few more years. Regardless, Lindbergh’s dreams and spirit are well remembered by many in the aerospace industry today. No tragedy would defer man’s hopes of flight for too long.”

-Excerpt from the BBC Documentary Flight: Mankind’s Epic Voyage

At least he died a hero (of sorts) than live to be some...oddball that held some rightly unpopular and unsavory opinions; you know like that saying from the Dark Knight film.

 

[Bookmark1995]

Is this going to be "what if a more competent figure became a Fuhrer" TLs?

 

[X_X]

Happy Holidays to all on this site! Here's an update I'm rather proud of.

“In what would become doubtlessly one of the most infamous acts of dirty politics not only in the history of Illinois but in the United States as a whole, intense violence and murder would be used to determine the outcome of an election and suppress the opposition. ‘It seems more like Mussolini’s Italy than the United States of America these past few months’ wrote one syndicated columnist.

“The conflict arose from the rivalry between Chicago mayor William Hale Thompson and Senator Charles S. Deneen. Both Republicans, they lead separate factions in the state’s party and both desired for control in the upcoming April 1928 primaries for key statewide elections, including the Illinois Governorship. The problem was that Thompson had some special aid in getting his way. The poster-boy for a corrupt politician if there ever was one, Thompson’s ties to organized crime insured an authoritarian grip upon the city. Al Capone and his boys, who had gotten rich from bootleg alcohol, had promised Thompson’s continued power so long as he supported lax Prohibition so as the mob could profit.



“Deneen meanwhile was a tough-on-crime fellow, the Thomas Dewey of his day. Supporting reformist candidates, he funded politicians who promised that Thompson’s days were numbered. It seems irrational what occurred next, but logic runs thin when such large sums are involved. The rum-runners and their associates began a campaign of voter intimidation and fear through violence. The papers dubbed the conflict “The Pineapple Primary”, due to the preferred method of assailment to be grenades, nicknamed “pineapples”.

“A series of bombings and murders continued, over 60 in all, and perhaps would’ve gone along had hubris not gotten into the way. Indeed, who knows how the election results would’ve turned out had they not gone for the biggest fish of all?



“In March of 1928, Senator Deneen’s home was bombed when he was inside of it. That same day a candidate for Cook County prosecutor, Judge John A. Swanson, was attacked in the same way. Both men died in the explosions. This at once got the attention of the nation, and the violence could no longer be ignored. A sitting senator had been killed in what President Coolidge said was an “act of terror.” Al Capone, already heavily sought after, had now found himself to Public Enemy Number One with all the power of the Justice Department focused upon him. Quietly a federal investigation was launched into Mayor Thompson to see if he had any input into the plans.

“Chicago’s Capone Era had begun to end, but it would not stop shocking the public yet.”

-Excerpt from Heart of America: The History of Chicago

 

[marathag]

Though most bombings back then involved dynamite, as in most areas of the Country in rural areas, anyone could buy dynamite and caps over the counter, right up to 1971 or so. In the '20s, around 1/6th of all hardware and general stores reported selling it.

 

[Unknown]

Capone is so screwed it's not even funny...

 

[X_X]

“As 1929 began, the Nazi Party continued its power grab, taking additional influence from the Italian Fascists in their model and structure. Joseph Goebbels now ran a propaganda powerhouse, publishing newspapers that promoted their agenda. Foremost in this time leading up the 1930 elections, the Nazis most emphasized the German Nationalistic, Anti-Capitalist, and Anti-Communist platforms of their party. The theme of those outside the “Nordic Race”, particularly Jews and Slavs, being the source of German’s current problems was clear from the beginning. Nazi scholars point out that even this early, much of the language was genocidal in nature with talk of ‘exterminating the international poisoners of the German people’.


“In regards to Rosenberg’s ethnicity itself, he would fight back harshly against rumors that he was a Baltic Finn. He quite anticipated that many would be skeptical of a man born in Estonia being the face of a pans-Germanic movement, but Rosenberg made it clear that he a Baltic German. He would promise that those in Eastern Europe descended from the Germans would be completely incorporated into his plans. ‘The Germans, of course, were the upper class, the nobility of Estonia for centuries’ he said ‘If that is not proof of our greatness, then what?’


“But the homeland, Germany, and its people came first. And gearing up to next year’s elections, the Nazis felt more confident in their future than they had for many years.”


-Excerpt from The Continent of Blood: The History of War, Authoritarianism, and Terrorism in 20th Century Europe


“In Croatia, Alexander I had cast the Kingdom of Yugoslavia into a royal dictatorship, banning all political parties. There were great concerns from the international community over this, but little could be done. Fearing being caught but the government, radicals pushing for ethnic nationalism began to flee the country or go underground, be they Albanian, Croatian, or even Serbian. The fascist Ante Pavelić hid in Italy, perhaps the other place in the world that would accept him. There his extreme disdain of the sovereign grew and he began his plans to form a Croatian terrorist army to strike back at Belgrade. His hatred of all things Serbian can be seen in these chilling writings from his diary from early 1929:


‘All of Croatia saw the evil that is within the heart of a Serb when the imposter king expanded his powers. They should’ve known earlier however when that demon Puniša Račić began shooting within the parliament building, killing three Croats. Serbs are violent animals by nature and their continued rule over our land shall lead it to ruination. I will not tolerate the fool king. He will die.’”


-Excerpt from The Continent of Blood: The History of War, Authoritarianism, and Terrorism in 20th Century Europe


“Srbe na vrbe!"


-Graffiti photographed in a Croatian village in Yugoslavia, February 1929. The English translation is “Hang the Serbs From The Trees!”



“CAPONE DEAD IN POLICE SHOOT-OUT!” -New York Times Front Page, February 9, 1929


“Al Capone wanted for conspiracy to murder a United States Senator, had been tracked down after almost eleven months of searching for him. The warehouse was surrounded by federal agents and police who demanded the men inside to come out unarmed. Capone and associates fearing prison decided to go out in style, starting a police shoot-out from inside the building. Capone was shot in the head after several minutes of this. Sundry of the remanding gangsters escaped the scene, but they were caught later that day, easily identified by the blood on their clothes. The surviving policemen and the two who had been killed in the incidents were now national heroes, even being invited by President Hoover to the White House. While many Americans were happy to hear that the men who planned the killing of Senator Deneen had been stopped, Capone’s killing meant several questions could be answered. It was never confirmed if Mayor Thompson knew of the assassination plans for instance, but extreme pressure from Governor Louis L. Emmerson eventually forced the mayor to resign in disgrace. He was among the most hated politicians in America now and never recovered in power, his political machine dead.”


-Excerpt from Heart of America: The History of Chicago



“The Capone gang’s killing of Senator Deneen and the subsequent grisly police shooting the next year stunned the nation. Photos of Capone’s corpse circulated the papers, they were among the goriest images ever published by newspapers at that point. The newsreel image of the senator’s bombed house has become one of the most iconic documentary images of the 1920s, up with Mussolini’s marches and speeches.

“The assassination of Deneen killed the gangster film genre in Hollywood for three decades. When gangsters did appear, they were always portrayed as amoral villains with no sympathy. They always lost. Sometimes they even teamed up with the Nazis. It was not until 1959 that gangster films got a breath of life with a Capone biopic. Starring Rod Steiger was the titular criminal, the film explores the history of one of America’s most infamous men. The dark, somber, and violent content got many censors and moral guardians offended, but it was a critical and commercial success, winning two Academy Awards including Best Picture. The film is also credited in helping rid Hollywood’s old content guidelines, showing that daring pictures could be profitable. Starting in 1960, violence and sex would no longer be taboo in American films.”

-Excerpt from Golden Celluloid: The History of Hollywood’s Classics



“Hearing the feds caught Capone was one of the happiest days of my life! Too bad everything went downhill so shortly after…”

-Excerpt from A Conversation with Herbert Hoover, ABC News, 1953

 

[X_X]

Last update of 2017, as always comments and criticisms welcome!

“Kingoro Hashimoto was by all accounts a tad nervous about a private meeting that was to occur, despite the fact that he himself had arranged it. These Buddhist extremists seemed like necessary allies, but ones perhaps more interested in their own motivations. Though they could be trusted in supporting the goal of taking Japan into a bold new militarized direction, Hashimoto feared that they might be incompetent. Regardless, his friends and coconspirators Kuniaki Koiso, Isamu Chō, and Sadao Araki all at least considered such an alliance worthy of consideration. These men were building a group of military officials, the Sakuraki, in an attempt to overthrow the Japanese government sometime over the next few years. Recently a small group of Buddhists part of a nationalist sect known as Nichirenism had received word of the secret society within the military. Calling themselves the Ketsumeidan and lead by the priest Nisshō Inoue, the far-right militants sought to cleanse the country of Western influence and spread Japanese superiority to foreign lands. The group was tiny and new, but it had success recruiting far-right students on college campuses in Tokyo. It had been Inoue who had first contacted Hashimoto, offering his assistance. And on a rainy April 1930 evening the holy man met with the leader of the Sakuraki.



“The meeting was brief, though it would be one that greatly aided in uniting the Japanese far-right in the early 1930s. Inoue stated that while the two groups would obvious not merge, the Ketsumeidan would be perfectly willing to aid in any violent rebellion Hashimoto planned. They did, after all, share a common enemy and there was strength in numbers. Hashimoto agreed also saying that Inoue could have a small amount of input into the planning of potential assassinations required in a coup.


“‘When the day comes that you will strike the heart of the corrupt government, my men will be on your side, Mr. Hashimoto. Full support’ stated Inoue as he left.


“‘Thank you, and I hope I may get back to you over the next few weeks. May your success with your recruits continue’ responded Hashimoto.


“As the monk, one who secretly thought he could change the path of Buddhism forever walked away, Hashimoto felt more confident. Inoue had requested less than he had expected and shared that chauvinistic zeal that Hashimoto hoped one day all Japanese citizens would. He anticipated that he had made an important ally for his forthcoming plans.


“As history would show, he was correct.”


-Excerpt from Gingko and Cherry Blossom: Japan in the 20th Century

 

[X_X]

“It was a complete snafu. That bastard Hoover was far too slow to actually see what was occurring. They all were. All the academics talking about how the worst was over by Spring 1930. Boy was I glad to see them get egg on their ugly faces. Did they live in towns where everybody was being laid off? No, they were in their kitschy penthouses reading goddamn Churchill’s economic theories. Like that limey knew anything, like any of them did. I was Governor of Louisiana at the time and I saw first hand how bad things were. I toured New Orleans, pretty much weekly, I saw the hungry, the sick. I had cared about poverty greatly already for years, but this really cemented the evil of the Republican Party to me.”

“You ran for president in 1932 as a Democrat and were initially a frontrunner before Roosevelt jumped it? How do you reflect on 1932?”

“I didn’t like Frank that much honestly. But I couldn’t attack him too hard. He had the family name and party behind him and I had to be a unifying force after the convention. Pretend that everything was fine. But I don’t think Roosevelt ended up doing enough. I will tell you this though, and I don’t care what they say. Henry Wallace? I’ll defend that man until the day I die.”

-Excerpt from the CBS television film, Every Man a King, 1962



"Following the 1930 German Federal Elections, the Nazis gained an impressive 89 seats in parliament under Alfred Rosenberg, making them the second-largest party in Germany. In total, they had 101 seats. At a speech in Berlin Rosenberg proclaimed:

“Germans! Tonight, you have spoken! We have shocked the world with our extraordinary rise, just a few years ago this all would’ve thought to have been impossible. I thank all of my voters for this amazing victory for the country tonight. But there is still more work to be done. The government is still full of capitalists, full of communists, full of those who do not respect their own constituents. Do you wish to continue to be a second-class citizen in comparison to the freeloaders in our lands, who do not follow Germanic values and serve masters overseas? Or do you desire to be placed first in a new Germany, a fantastic utopia in which your children will prosper beyond imagination! The choice was clear tonight and it will be more transparent still in the future. We are like the fasces, strongest alike and together, with an ax ready to strike our opponents! I promise you this, in the coming years this Germany you live in, that you are oppressed in, will be no more!”

-Excerpt from The Continent of Blood: The History of War, Authoritarianism, and Terrorism in 20th Century Europe



“I see no reason to overly fret yesterday’s shocking results. It is merely motivated out of the economic stresses of unemployment and low wages rather than anti-Semitism. These youths who voted for the Nazis shall hopefully mature with age.” -Albert Einstein [1]



[1] Einstein quote is adapted from an interview he gave with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in September 1930

 

[Bookmark1995]

Poor Einstein...if only you knew...

 

[X_X]

“As the international economy continued its ever-bleak decay, the world, for the most part, ignored the exciting events that were occurring within Brazil. Industrial workers were increasingly turning to communism and fascism, disapproving of the presidency of Washington Luís. Populist revolution was forming and a strong alliance of reformists and socialists began brewing within the country. A leader for these groups was “The Father of The Poor”, the President of Rio Grande do Sul, Getúlio Vargas. Luís’s planned successor Júlio Prestes, who promised to continue on the controversial conservative government, had won the federal election against Vargas by quite a margin, but there were claims of a tampered election. Slowly a conspiracy formed by Brazil’s liberals to launch a coup and put Vargas in power for the good of the nation.

“One of the most interesting members of this movement was Luís Carlos Prestes (no relation). A Marxist and an admirer of Stalin, L. C. Prestes was to the left of the solidly anti-communist Vargas. While he had initially considered abandoning Brazil’s liberal alliance and branching off to form his own coup, L. C. Prestes eventually decided against it fearing that he needed the popular Vargas, a more renown hero to the working class, for the coup to succeed. Nonetheless, L. C. Prestes secretly thought that Vargas’s eventual regime did not go far enough for the Brazilian people. He had itchy feet and Moscow looked quite tempting.


“The politicide of liberal politician João Pessoa in July of 1930 was for many Brazilian leftists the final straw. In October 1930, Vargas and allies launched their coup, overthrowing Washington Luís and Júlio Prestes, though it would still be a few more years before a smooth constitutional government was formed.

“Elsewhere in Brazil, populism of another ilk grew. An initial supporter of Vargas, Plínio Salgado turned to the far-right shortly after the coup, embracing Mussolini style fascism. Salgado formed the Brazilian Integralist Action party, which was embraced by Brazil’s large ethnic Italian population. He had direct funding from Rome itself as part of Mussolini’s policy of spreading fascism to Latin America. Vargas saw this far-right, often anti-Semitic, lot as a threat to his own authoritarian rule and began cracking down upon them.

“But in the end, the fascists had a bigger role in Brazilian history than Vargas, but not for reasons Salgado had hoped…”

-Excerpt from The Weeping Colossus: A History of South America

Female Brazilian Fascists and Children at a local Brazilian Integralist Action meeting

Special thanks to @Gukpard for suggesting I incorporate Salgado into this timeline