a Valkyrie Rises Over Europe, a Alternate Story of the Cold War
- Thread starter Kaiser K
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PART 21
The Lotus and The Wasp
It is one thing to be led astray from your desired course by misguided and imperfect ideals, it is another to be led afoul entirely by outright deceit and deception
Harold Stassen
PART 21
The Lotus and The Wasp
It is one thing to be led astray from your desired course by misguided and imperfect ideals, it is another to be led afoul entirely by outright deceit and deception
Harold Stassen
As the new decade ever so slowly encroached upon humanity and the Earth as a whole, the direction that this decade would ultimately end up taking was being shaped overly and subtly with each passing day by the actions of nations and man, events such as the rise of the United Arab Republic or wars in Africa were a large part of it; but no single nation or individual on the entire Earth had the power or influence to shape the course of history as the two superpowers. The Greater German Reich, the United States of America and both countries respective political and military leaders; possessed directly at their disposal.
In the aftermath of the 1956 Presidential Elections, the newly re-elected President of the United States, Harold Stassen; in tandem with his administration almost immediately from the moment he was sworn in for his second full term as Commander In-Chief began to set out to fulfill their agenda on both the domestic and foreign fronts. For the purpose of this lesson we will tackle American foreign policy between the period of 1957 and 1960 first; before moving on to domestic matters concerning the same period.
Figure 1: President Harold Stassen at Rockefeller Center in New York right before his historic appearance on the Tonight Show, which was at that time hosted by comedian Steve Allen; circa 1957
Foreign policy wise, Stassen generally stayed course with what his administration had pursued before on this front, a policy which centered around working to gain dominance politically and militarily over the Reich and Fascist Europe as a whole; while at the same time working to prevent the spread of Fascist or Right-wing ideology in several different parts of the globe. In working towards this overall goal, Washington would end up increasing it's funding and strengthening it's overall backing of several key allied nation states across the globe (of which included among others the Soviet Union, Iran and Vietnam), states which would end up seeing a steady increase in overall economic funding and supplies (when necessary) from the United States over the next few years as Washington moved towards adopting a much stronger and more proactive defense policy after previous moves made by the White House had largely failed in their efforts to prevent fascist aggression in several key hot zones across the globe, the Soviet Union in particular was deemed priority number one for support by officials in DC due to the country's strategic location at the crossroads of Fascist Europe and Free Asia; especially as clearer evidence from the CIA that the Germans were actively backing and in collaboration with several of the major rebel and independence movements (many of whom were also fighting each other) engaged against Soviet forces in the country's ongoing Civil War soon came to light sometime during the latter months of 1957.
The relationships that the United States had established with countries such as the Soviet Union and Vietnam (both openly Socialist/Communist in nature) were highly unusual when looked at in the context of how such ideologies were actively viewed at one point with a large disdain and even fear by some in the United States and the Western World just not that long before the then present day of the time, but the world had developed and followed a course that ultimately lead nations that in another situation and another time could have been outright enemies at worst to grow to become the unlikeliest of close friends; largely due to the mutual disdain they shared for their common enemies in the Greater German Reich and it's allies in Fascist Europe. The overall strategic military and political benefits that came from these alliances would ultimately also helped speed along the normally complicated process that was the warming up of relations and eventual forming of alliances between the United States and these before mentioned nations, creating a complex web of strategic interests and goals that would form the crux of United States foreign policy for years to come as they fought to contain the forces of Fascism; with the overall opinion of the American public (aside from those forces leaning on the right-wing of the political spectrum within the country) quickly following behind and onto President Stassen's foreign policy agenda as public sympathy for nations like the Soviet Union and hatred of the Germans grew in the quickly escalating years of the Cold War that were yet to come.
Figure 2: German Cosmonaut Kurt Gscheidle posing for a photo in 1979, Gscheidle was famously the first man to ever enter space when his Walküre 1 spacecraft was launched from Germany's space center in Southern Azerbaijan and entered orbit in space for a total of 1 Hour and 18 Minutes
The fight against fascism for the United States and it's allies within ACT across the world was of course not just limited to the political front of things, a large part of it was as always about the ever escalating arms race (and in turn the escalating space race) between the Reich and America; a race which only grew in intensity in the waning years of the 1950s as both sides looked to gain the ultimate upper advantage on one another in the event that they were to ever clash via conventional or nuclear means. The desire (for both practical and symbolic reasons) for the scientists, engineers and of course politicians on both sides of the Cold War to one up the other side and make the next breakthrough or discovery had already lead to developments such as the CCLM (Cross-Continental Long Range Missile), the Hydrogen Bomb, and Earth-orbiting satellite's (the first one having been launched by Germany in 1955, with the United State's first satellite "Lewis and Clark" having been launched on May 9th, 1958) among other developments by the new decade; and would lead to many more in the years to come.
However, the US was struck a huge blow in the arms race when the Greater German Reich successfully launched the Walküre 1 (Valkyrie 1) spacecraft, manned by a Raumfaher (German: Cosmonaut) named Kurt Gscheidle on the evening of July 3rd, 1959 (the launch date specifically chosen by German officials as a way to completely humiliate the Americans as much as possible by humiliating them on their own independence day), the first manned spaceflight in human history; and with the success of the Germans on this front the United States had suddenly found themselves in a highly precarious position in the Space Race going into the new decade. With Germany seemingly the clear favorite to be the first one to successfully land the first man on the Moon.
Figure 3: National Guardsmen stand outside Monroe High School in Albany, GA shortly before the outbreak of the infamous "Monroe Massacre" on September 24th, 1959; in the above shot several guardsmen can be seen standing in position and guarding a group of 6 black students recently enrolled in the former all-white school. Having been deployed by President Harold Stassen to ensure that the kids would safely be able to attend the school despite the protests of the Georgia state government
While the President's foreign policy agenda (in spite of it's successes or failures) was being supported smoothly across the country even as the outright paranoia of the Grey Scare began to die down and the last session of the Fitzgerald Commission convened, domestically the story was a whole different ballgame as the President found himself stalled in dealing with matters at home, thanks in large part to ever growing political divide that was opening in American politics thanks to a number of highly talked about and controversial issues heading into the new decade; the leading issue of these being Civil Rights.
The issue of Civil Rights stemmed from matters dating all the way back to the American Civil War and the abolition of the former institution of slavery, particularly the subsequent creation of the now infamous "Jim Crow" racial laws by the former states of Confederacy, laws that created a separate but "equal" status for all African-American citizens of the states these laws were legal in by segregating most aspects of all civil life between whites and blacks; effectively disenfranchising the entire African-American population of the region in spite of the constitutional laws (the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments) which theoretically guaranteed the civil and voting rights of the same people. Public opinion towards the Jim Crow laws had been that of overt support or in most cases indifference up until the Second World War, but as reports of Fascist brutality and cruel inhumanity quietly trickled back into the Western World on a regular basis, public opinion as a result soon began to quietly turn against the institution of segregation in many parts of the country; quickly creating what was becoming a wide political divide in American politics as those that supported segregation (which were primarily white Southern Democrats and individuals in various right wing extremist groups) and those who were against it (a group which included many common Americans of all color and background and politicians of both Democratic and Republican streak) began to clash over the matter.
Figure 4: Former Georgia Governor Garland Sanders (1917-1999) shortly before a televised debate; circa 1958
Several aspects of segregation, such as segregation of public education facilities (via the now famous Jackson vs the Board of Education of Atlanta, GA case in 1955) and the military (via executive order of former President Harry S. Truman in 1948) had already been successfully overturned in years prior, however the institution of segregation itself had lost little steam in spite of these losses; and those that supported the continuation of the Jim Crow laws had only doubled down in their effort to ensure the continuation of segregation for years to come. Leading to backlash against the Democratic Party itself and many leading Southern politicians as well as the Civil Rights Movement continued to pick up steam heading into 1959 and the nearing of the new decade.
While the efforts of Civil Rights activists such as Shelley Jackson and Martin Davis had done much in terms of bringing widespread national attention to the matter as a result of their and others brave acts of civil disobedience against the established status quo that existed at the time (many acts which unfortunately as one might imagine, ended in horrifically violent manners for many of the activists involved), what many within the United States and abroad consider the ultimate turning point of the Civil Rights Movement would have to be what happened that fateful day in Albany, Georgia in September of 1959.
Figure 5: Policemen watch on as a street in Detroit burns during the 1959 Detroit Race Riots
The event that eventually became known in greater American lexicon as the Monroe Massacre stemmed from the efforts of six black high school students in Albany, Georgia to attend Monroe High School, a former all-white school that they had been enrolled in for the fall semester of 1959-1960. Backlash against the enrollment of the six students quickly sprang up from various local segregationist councils in the city itself and elsewhere within the state, and many individuals in the local community near Monroe High School who were either a member of these councils, groups or who were otherwise actively against the desegregation of the school soon began to organize protests outside the school, others on the other hand would end up taking more drastic measures by actively working to try and physically block the students from entering the school itself; these efforts on the part of locals to prevent the desegregation of the High School quickly found support from Georgia Governor Garland Sanders and much of Georgia State Government itself. And Sanders subsequently would order the state's national guard to blockade the school in support of the segregationist protesters, subsequent pleas by both the Mayor of Albany Robert Hall and various locals who were supportive of the students efforts to the White House itself would quickly lead President Stassen to decide he needed to take action regarding the matter; action which formalized in him formally mobilizing he 101st Airborne Division (minus it's active black soldiers) and sending it down to Albany to protect the six students and ensure their safe entrance into the school. The President would also order the subsequent federalization of the Georgia National Guard; quickly redirecting the Guards mission from blockading the school and preventing the kids from entering to actively joining the Airborne division in their own efforts to ensure everything went safely and smoothly.
On the day that school was scheduled to start however, what had been at that point a relatively calm and mild situation would quickly turn for the worse when seven members of the Georgia National Guard began firing their weapons in the direction of not only the six black students, but the other guardsmen and airborne troops protecting them as well, ultimately inflicting fatal injuries to four children (including one sixteen year old white female accidentally grazed by a stray bullet), three guardsmen, one airborne troop and two bystanders from the crowd that had gathered around the school's entrance to watch the events unfold (as well as grazing another of the black students and two other bystanders in addition); before ultimately either being apprehended or killed themselves in the ensuing firefight.
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DAMN, and we thought what happened to Disney was bad(he ignored little rock nine till was too late)here was pratically and attack against the president via the national guard, it will not end nicely would be a eupherism...
Why not the grey scare people compared segregationist to nazism-facist and calling traitors for not accepting democratic unity(and after this, that would be a genuine argument).
Think will be messy, Disney hit rock bottom when he learned what happend in little rock...here that will be a picnic when comparing to this.
Why not the grey scare people compared segregationist to nazism-facist and calling traitors for not accepting democratic unity(and after this, that would be a genuine argument).
Think will be messy, Disney hit rock bottom when he learned what happend in little rock...here that will be a picnic when comparing to this.
What does Disney have to do with anything?
But yeah, this is basically an attack one way or another by Governor Sanders of Georgia against the President and the National Government (since we can assume that Sanders relayed possible instructions in case of a governmental federalization of the National Guard), and even if Sanders had nothing to do with what happened at Monroe; saying that a hammer will come down on him and the Georgia state government is an understatement.
But yeah the Segregationists are probably going to get the Nazi label pretty fast, what this means for the long term future of the Southern States is a good question; but whatever happens it won't be pretty.
Admiral Halsey
Banned
Reference to the TL where Walt becomes president I think. Also holy shit this isn't gonna end well. Can a president legally remove a governor for doing something like this?
What does Disney have to do with anything?
But yeah, this is basically an attack one way or another by Governor Sanders of Georgia against the President and the National Government (since we can assume that Sanders relayed possible instructions in case of a governmental federalization of the National Guard), and even if Sanders had nothing to do with what happened at Monroe; saying that a hammer will come down on him and the Georgia state government is an understatement.
But yeah the Segregationists are probably going to get the Nazi label pretty fast, what this means for the long term future of the Southern States is a good question; but whatever happens it won't be pretty.
You Didn't read A world of Laughter, A world of Tears, Statichaos magnum opus? well, so i recoment to read it, he use OTL little rock(not enought butterflies) who ended in deaths, but even that, here was far worse(little rock were the segregationist alone, here is direct state goverment implications), so yeah sorry if you were unable to catch the reference.
As say before, people would want the responsible this tragedy and the governor and georgia goverment will be the main ones and yeah stuff will not be easy since them.
Yeah, Is the most possible reaction, specially as people knew about Nazi doctrine more openly, and yeah the South will be as problematic as was 100 year before(or 98 years more excatly) and seems the divided black-white will be bigger in south and created a national divide too.
Amazing update, the writting, the building up till the climax and the impact were pretty good, keep the america events, those will be big in long term
Even if the soldiers who did this were renegades, I don't think there is a way this can end well. The only silver lining is there is no way the segregationists aren't going down, but if this is a sample of things to come this is going to make OTL's desegregation look like a peaceful affair.
Good update Kaiser.
Good update Kaiser.
Shit
I guess if there is a silver lining in any of the death and mayhem it has to be that going after Segregationists and Right-Wing/White-Supremacy comparatively easier for both state and local government in the long run.
But the Massacre in Monroe is probably just the beginning of things to come I would imagine.
Ahh, got ya; I've seen that timeline but never actually read it so I guess I couldn't get the reference my bad.
As for your question, there is no precedent for this sort of thing in real life so I honestly have no clue, even if they were even able to proof that Governor Sanders had anything to actually do with this (which it's still to be determined if he did, implications or not); but even if they were able to proof that he was responsible for it I don't know if there is a mechanism for that sort of thing unless the Senate is willing to impeach him.
It's fine.
For damn sure, the fact that a white child was killed here too will even bring in support and backlash from even some racist or indifferent whites who might not have even cared about this before, and it will definitely grab headlines either way; people will want justice for this tragedy. And the Georgia Governor and Georgia State Government will be first in line to receive the hangman's noose by the public after the actual soldiers responsible for the murders themselves.
As for the future problems of the South and the new national color divide, trust me things are going to get a lot fucking worse from here. This is just the beginning of things sadly.
Oh wow, thanks man, I really appreciate the compliments; thanks for the support.
That's for damn sure.
Oh that is an understatement if I have ever seen one, even if the Georgia state government actually had no responsibility in making this massacre happen, things are definitely are not going to end well for anyone in this situation either way; that's for damn sure.
As for whether this timeline is going to make OTL's desegregation look like a peaceful affair, that remains to be seen.
Either way, thanks man, there will be more where that came from.
Admiral Halsey
Banned
If it does turn that Sanders was involved would this qualify as some form of treason?
It it does turn out that Sanders was involved in orchestrating the massacre then part of me has to say yes, considering that while I won't say I am knowledgeable in what qualifies as treason, I would guess that ordering the National Guard to fire on not only the other Guard members and the Airborne division troops but the kids as well, all against direct federal orders would probably qualify as an act of treason; and thus something that the courts could get him on.
I won't say that I am completely correct on this however.
Oh boy, another update. Man, I just hope TTL's version of Martin Luther King, Jr. will keep things peaceful or else the obvious will happen.
Only time will tell if things can remain peaceful after this or if the obvious and possibly inevitable escalation happens.
Kaiser K, can you please confirm the status of these projects ITTL?
http://io9.com/5924391/the-nazi-breeding-program-that-resurrected-an-extinct-species
http://jalopnik.com/5582511/the-nazi-rocket-plane-to-nuke-new-york-from-orbit
Both of them are pretty crazy but I'm not sure if Speer would have axed them, but I'm curious to know.
http://io9.com/5924391/the-nazi-breeding-program-that-resurrected-an-extinct-species
http://jalopnik.com/5582511/the-nazi-rocket-plane-to-nuke-new-york-from-orbit
Both of them are pretty crazy but I'm not sure if Speer would have axed them, but I'm curious to know.
If I know Speer as well as I think I do (at least the Speer of this specific timeline), he would have axed both of those immediately, unlike Hitler, Speer is more of a pragmatist and long term thinker; so he would have seen absolutely no use for either project and would have redirected those resources into other more useful civilian or military projects.
Bummer.
That's a slightly strange thing to be bummered about, are you sure you aren't a Wehraboo?
(please don't take any offense.Anyway, I am doing some research for the next update, which will be sort of a conclusion/epilogue (and possibly shorter then most updates as a result) to Chapter 21's events and set up the story for the United States heading into the new decade; I plan on hopefully having it up by tomorrow night or the night after that. While ultimately shooting for getting it posted no later then Sunday; January 18th, 2015 at the latest hopefully.
In the mean time, I may or may not have something extra for you guys from the world of the Valkyrie-verse, perhaps something more pop culture oriented?; who knows.
That's a slightly strange thing to be bummered about, are you sure you aren't a Wehraboo?
Anyway, I am doing some research for the next update, which will be sort of a conclusion/epilogue (and possibly shorter then most updates as a result) to Chapter 21's events and set up the story for the United States heading into the new decade; I plan on hopefully having it up by tomorrow night or the night after that. While ultimately shooting for getting it posted no later then Sunday; January 18th, 2015 at the latest hopefully.
In the mean time, I may or may not have something extra for you guys from the world of the Valkyrie-verse, perhaps something more pop culture oriented?; who knows.
Don't rush take your time. Looking foreword to Valkyrie pop-culutre as ing as it's not to Nazi.
Oh I won't rush myself too hard, that's how I burnt myself out last time; don't worry.
