alternatehistory.com
Chapter LXIV
Voting.
The little cross made inside a little box in a secluded booth; an achievement of over a century of reform and protest and pain. Despite it being the greatest political act most Germans would achieve in their lifetimes, Ernst couldn't help but reflect that most wouldn't need to vote for themselves.
His name wasn't actually on the ballot of course, for federal elections in the republic the ballots bore the name of the party leadership irregardless of who was actually standing in what constituency. All the same, he believed voting for himself to be a peculiar feeling, any sense of detachment from the political process he might have had would fade away, a sense of personal pride would take hold, a merging of political power and political action, as an agent of the process he had also now become a direct part of it. This wasn't his first time voting for himself, Ernst only hoped it would not be his last.
Even for the most seasoned candidate the last day of a campaign can be a nightmare, the final pleading with the electorate, ensuring the visibility of the party faithful on the streets, getting out the right votes. In Berlin the Social Democrats were used to a good showing, having dominated elections in Berlin for a generation. Even in the times when the junkers conspired to keep the party out of government at a national level, in Berlin the task often fell to simply getting out the vote. In modern Germany this could still be a stressful period but one that carried an implicit assurance of victory. The last few weeks had been something different altogether.
The bizarre decision by the Chancellor to embark on an election, seemingly in the hope that his authority alone would be enough to sway the German people, had backfired monstrously. The parties that had taken a role in the various governments since the crises of the early years, whether left, right, or centre, had all embraced the American loans that were keeping the German economy viable and prosperous, providing them with enough money to pay off Anglo-French demands for reparations at the same time as reasserting Germany as the leader of Europe in societal advancement and economic strength. Whether through gritted teeth or warm embrace it had been accepted that the underlying order that connected the United States and Germany at the hip was the basis for prosperity, if not the republic's continued existence.
Now the American economy had crashed and it was dragging the world with it, but Germany especially. The Americans had turned their back on global trade to try and shore up their own economy, the British and the French had responded in kind, but Germany had no empire; formal or informal, in which to retreat to. The resulting tariff wars were shrinking the German economy and depleting its limited foreign currency reserves at a time when German businesses were demanding to be bailed out in the face of the international downturn. The number of unemployed people in Germanym already far too high before the crash, had doubled after only a few months of the effects of the crash, it now stood at 4 million and was expected to increase further still.
Campaigning in such an environment was often impossibly hostile, for though the Social Democrats had viciously opposed the attempted cuts to welfare and worker's wages to alleviate Germany's near bankrupt state, they had had to admit that they had stood by the consensus that created the mess in the first place. The Communists had no such burden, and the unemployed flocked to them in droves. Ernst hadn't been worried about this at first, the KPD tended to be most popular amongst the unemployed, it was one of the things that made it hard for them to gain too much influence in trade unions. However, increasing numbers of regular workers, from old to young, skilled or unskilled, seemed to be receptive to what Hitler had to say.
Whether it was Hitler's patriotic break from Moscow, the increasingly aggressive crackdowns of workers in Berlin and other cities by the state or by fascist gangs, or perhaps just the knowledge that they too might soon be unemployed, the "New Society" that Hitler's propagandists had begun to crow about appeared to be resonating with those who would previously have dismissed it as fantasy.
The KPD's newspaper declared that it was "their time" on the frontpage that morning and Ernst couldn't help but feel they might be right, at least in regard to how many deputies the KPD might win In Berlin. The Kapelle areas of the capital were already effectively vacated of the police following a general focus on a surge of officers into Berlin's central quarters. Ernst had heard rumours of barricades being erected and mass vote tampering in those parts of the city the KPD now held sway. As in Hamburg and in the Ruhr, the red flag flew once again. Germany appared to be on the brink and it had seemed that the expected revolution would forgo the election entirely.
Yet here he was, holding his ballot paper all the same.
For most Germans, it was a matter of when rather than if it seemed, but Ernst could merely fill out his ballot and deposit it amongst millions of others. Just another person doing their best to try and indicate where the country should go, how could anyone possibly think this could be improved upon? The act of voting itself always gave him a reprieve from his muddled thoughts, whether it was a glow from taking part in a democracy or the realisation that the election campaign was now effectively over, Ernst felt liberated from his misgivings all at once. They would return, he was sure, but for the moment he found a spring in his step as he deposited his ballot into the dark box at the centre of the Lutheran church hall.
He exited the polling place and couldn't help but smile at the sun-filled day cooled only by a welcome breeze. He nodded at the man with a sandwich board bearing three arrows and the walking poster winked back, prompting Ersnt to whistle the old workers songs his father had sang as he strolled leisurely through Zehlendorf's leafy suburbs, the release that came from voting having lightened his mood.
Seeing an old friend at the tram stop, he felt his luck was improving. Robert Oaks eyes widened as he saw Ernst wave to him before striding forward to shake his friends hand.
"It's been too long, Mr Mehr!"
"I agree Mr Oaks but when you devote your life to politics, elections leave cruelly little time for friendships."
As the tram pulled in the two men shuffled inside along with many other Berliner's, the warmth and ease of the day that Ernst had embraced wasn't universal it seemed. Robert and he were crammed together, and thus began to converse in English rather than their usual French.
"Would you ever consider a political life yourself Mr Oaks?" The American rolled his eyes, it wasn't the first time Ernst had broached this topic with him, but it seemed that the fever of the election season had affected his stoicism.
"Well Mr Mehr as a diplomat I am required to state that I am an American and that I serve my country without party interest but I am also a Virginian, where folks are born registered Democrats."
Ernst smirked, despite his odd accent Robert's candour shone through.
"And do your political parties all have armed gangs in the United States?"
"Of course, but they don't wear uniforms. That's the benefit of a two-party system."
---
---
The photomontage is John Heartfield picturing himself as the rather inept barber of the chief of the Berlin police following the events of Bloody May.
Special thanks to @Utgard96 for the wikibox!
'Legislative reform and revolution are not different methods of historic development that can be picked out at the pleasure from the counter of history, just as one chooses hot or cold sausages. Legislative reform and revolution are different factors in the development of class society. They condition and complement each other, and are at the same time reciprocally exclusive, as are the north and south poles, the bourgeoisie and proletariat.'
~ Rosa Luxemburg
~ Rosa Luxemburg
Voting.
The little cross made inside a little box in a secluded booth; an achievement of over a century of reform and protest and pain. Despite it being the greatest political act most Germans would achieve in their lifetimes, Ernst couldn't help but reflect that most wouldn't need to vote for themselves.
His name wasn't actually on the ballot of course, for federal elections in the republic the ballots bore the name of the party leadership irregardless of who was actually standing in what constituency. All the same, he believed voting for himself to be a peculiar feeling, any sense of detachment from the political process he might have had would fade away, a sense of personal pride would take hold, a merging of political power and political action, as an agent of the process he had also now become a direct part of it. This wasn't his first time voting for himself, Ernst only hoped it would not be his last.
Even for the most seasoned candidate the last day of a campaign can be a nightmare, the final pleading with the electorate, ensuring the visibility of the party faithful on the streets, getting out the right votes. In Berlin the Social Democrats were used to a good showing, having dominated elections in Berlin for a generation. Even in the times when the junkers conspired to keep the party out of government at a national level, in Berlin the task often fell to simply getting out the vote. In modern Germany this could still be a stressful period but one that carried an implicit assurance of victory. The last few weeks had been something different altogether.
The bizarre decision by the Chancellor to embark on an election, seemingly in the hope that his authority alone would be enough to sway the German people, had backfired monstrously. The parties that had taken a role in the various governments since the crises of the early years, whether left, right, or centre, had all embraced the American loans that were keeping the German economy viable and prosperous, providing them with enough money to pay off Anglo-French demands for reparations at the same time as reasserting Germany as the leader of Europe in societal advancement and economic strength. Whether through gritted teeth or warm embrace it had been accepted that the underlying order that connected the United States and Germany at the hip was the basis for prosperity, if not the republic's continued existence.
Now the American economy had crashed and it was dragging the world with it, but Germany especially. The Americans had turned their back on global trade to try and shore up their own economy, the British and the French had responded in kind, but Germany had no empire; formal or informal, in which to retreat to. The resulting tariff wars were shrinking the German economy and depleting its limited foreign currency reserves at a time when German businesses were demanding to be bailed out in the face of the international downturn. The number of unemployed people in Germanym already far too high before the crash, had doubled after only a few months of the effects of the crash, it now stood at 4 million and was expected to increase further still.
Campaigning in such an environment was often impossibly hostile, for though the Social Democrats had viciously opposed the attempted cuts to welfare and worker's wages to alleviate Germany's near bankrupt state, they had had to admit that they had stood by the consensus that created the mess in the first place. The Communists had no such burden, and the unemployed flocked to them in droves. Ernst hadn't been worried about this at first, the KPD tended to be most popular amongst the unemployed, it was one of the things that made it hard for them to gain too much influence in trade unions. However, increasing numbers of regular workers, from old to young, skilled or unskilled, seemed to be receptive to what Hitler had to say.
Whether it was Hitler's patriotic break from Moscow, the increasingly aggressive crackdowns of workers in Berlin and other cities by the state or by fascist gangs, or perhaps just the knowledge that they too might soon be unemployed, the "New Society" that Hitler's propagandists had begun to crow about appeared to be resonating with those who would previously have dismissed it as fantasy.
The KPD's newspaper declared that it was "their time" on the frontpage that morning and Ernst couldn't help but feel they might be right, at least in regard to how many deputies the KPD might win In Berlin. The Kapelle areas of the capital were already effectively vacated of the police following a general focus on a surge of officers into Berlin's central quarters. Ernst had heard rumours of barricades being erected and mass vote tampering in those parts of the city the KPD now held sway. As in Hamburg and in the Ruhr, the red flag flew once again. Germany appared to be on the brink and it had seemed that the expected revolution would forgo the election entirely.
Yet here he was, holding his ballot paper all the same.
For most Germans, it was a matter of when rather than if it seemed, but Ernst could merely fill out his ballot and deposit it amongst millions of others. Just another person doing their best to try and indicate where the country should go, how could anyone possibly think this could be improved upon? The act of voting itself always gave him a reprieve from his muddled thoughts, whether it was a glow from taking part in a democracy or the realisation that the election campaign was now effectively over, Ernst felt liberated from his misgivings all at once. They would return, he was sure, but for the moment he found a spring in his step as he deposited his ballot into the dark box at the centre of the Lutheran church hall.
He exited the polling place and couldn't help but smile at the sun-filled day cooled only by a welcome breeze. He nodded at the man with a sandwich board bearing three arrows and the walking poster winked back, prompting Ersnt to whistle the old workers songs his father had sang as he strolled leisurely through Zehlendorf's leafy suburbs, the release that came from voting having lightened his mood.
Seeing an old friend at the tram stop, he felt his luck was improving. Robert Oaks eyes widened as he saw Ernst wave to him before striding forward to shake his friends hand.
"It's been too long, Mr Mehr!"
"I agree Mr Oaks but when you devote your life to politics, elections leave cruelly little time for friendships."
As the tram pulled in the two men shuffled inside along with many other Berliner's, the warmth and ease of the day that Ernst had embraced wasn't universal it seemed. Robert and he were crammed together, and thus began to converse in English rather than their usual French.
"Would you ever consider a political life yourself Mr Oaks?" The American rolled his eyes, it wasn't the first time Ernst had broached this topic with him, but it seemed that the fever of the election season had affected his stoicism.
"Well Mr Mehr as a diplomat I am required to state that I am an American and that I serve my country without party interest but I am also a Virginian, where folks are born registered Democrats."
Ernst smirked, despite his odd accent Robert's candour shone through.
"And do your political parties all have armed gangs in the United States?"
"Of course, but they don't wear uniforms. That's the benefit of a two-party system."
---
---
The photomontage is John Heartfield picturing himself as the rather inept barber of the chief of the Berlin police following the events of Bloody May.
Special thanks to @Utgard96 for the wikibox!
- The Red
- Word Count: 1.4k