a Valkyrie Rises Over Europe, a Alternate Story of the Cold War
- Thread starter Kaiser K
- Start date
Yes, there is; and the UK and South Africa's relationship has already begun to grow increasingly tense because of it.
I don't support it (obviously), but an Aparthied Rhodesia-South Africa bloc would be a wonderfully horrific thing to behold, especially if it declares for the Reich. 
I don't support it (obviously), but an Aparthied Rhodesia-South Africa bloc would be a wonderfully horrific thing to behold, especially if it declares for the Reich.
Have you been reading my notes?..........
Hi Kaiser K, I'm new here & have just caught up on your TL (which is phenomenal by the way). Could you go into more detail on what's going on in ITTL's Indochina right now?
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...Oh dear. How I hate being right sometimes.
At least the train wreck will be a fun ride, right?
Basically a somewhat reverse situation of OTL's Indochinese Wars, we have Socialist and Democratic governments in South Vietnam (lead by Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh), Cambodia and Laos being supported by the US, fighting against the Chinese and German supported North Vietnam (lead by OTL South Vietnamese President Diem) and fascist Laotian and Cambodian rebels.
At least the train wreck will be a fun ride, right?
If you say so boss... Who am I kidding, of course it will. A terrifying, nightmare inducing ride, but fun all the same.
Hey Kaiser K, is Cambodian monarch, Norodom Sihanouk, part of the Socialist government in Phnom Penh? The peasantry loved him. I would think any Cambodian government, OTL & TTL, would need his backing to garner popular support. Also is Pol Pot leading the fascist Cambodian guerrillas?
"My fellow Americans, the events of the last few days have certainly been traumatic for all of us; and forced us to think about things that we may have otherwise not wanted to think about. I just like you, have been forced to under go this process as my mind worked to try and comprehend the events that have transpired recently, but this process has been of some benefit to me; as it has given me some great clarity on a number of issues that face our nation in these troubling times of the present day.
It pains me to have to say what I am about to say, especially as a man who loves his country and fought and put his life on the line for it; but it must be said; especially in light of recent events.
There is a great cancer that has infected this nation to it's very bone, this cancer is a deadly infliction known as segregation, a practice which not goes against the very principles of this nation and it's freedom and democratic; but against all known kinds of morality heavenly or mortal in this universe. And yet the fascists that promote this practice and advocate for it are so wrapped up in it's idea, that they are willing to murder to ensure it's continuation; and that is why we must ensure that it gets wiped out; and never returns"
To be continued next time.
I don't believe it is; but I could probably have used a better photo of Smathers.
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PART 39
A Floridian and A Racist Walk Into a Bar: Part II
"There is a great cancer that has infected this nation to it's very bone, this cancer is a deadly infliction known as segregation, a practice which not goes against the very principles of this nation and it's freedom and democratic; but against all known kinds of morality heavenly or mortal in this universe. And yet the fascists that promote this practice and advocate for it are so wrapped up in it's idea, that they are willing to murder to ensure it's continuation; and that is why we must ensure that it gets wiped out; and never returns"
- President George Smathers addressing his assassination attempt and other recent events regarding segregation; December 21st, 1961
PART 39
A Floridian and A Racist Walk Into a Bar: Part II
"There is a great cancer that has infected this nation to it's very bone, this cancer is a deadly infliction known as segregation, a practice which not goes against the very principles of this nation and it's freedom and democratic; but against all known kinds of morality heavenly or mortal in this universe. And yet the fascists that promote this practice and advocate for it are so wrapped up in it's idea, that they are willing to murder to ensure it's continuation; and that is why we must ensure that it gets wiped out; and never returns"
- President George Smathers addressing his assassination attempt and other recent events regarding segregation; December 21st, 1961
(Cont from last time....)
While the Civil Rights Movement had many events occur during it's lifespan that one could call "defining" of the struggle - it's cause and it's leaders, there are few moments tied to it that are more defining or more influential to the course of the movement's history then the one that occurred during the middle of a chilly afternoon in the nation's capital In late 1961 - on the grounds of the world's most important building; and between the nation's most powerful figure and the woman who was increasingly becoming an important figure of her own right.
More specifically, it was on this late winter day (December 20th; to be exact) that President George Smathers welcomed into the hallowed halls of the White House famous civil rights activist and fellow Southerner, Rosa Parks; whom he had decided to invite over for the direct purpose of getting a face-to-face meeting with the woman considered by many to be the "de facto" leader of the Civil Rights Movement; upon which he hoped he could talk with her about a wide range of topics that ranged from her own personal activist work to the cause of civil rights in general. This decision would unsurprisingly end up being met with an immediate and seemingly endless series of protest from various Southern and pro-segregationist government officials at both the state and federal level, many of whom would in the wake of the visit's announcement go on to do such things such as openly lambaste the President for supposedly helping to facilitate what they perceived to be the so called "negroification of America"; and accuse Parks of being everything from an anarchist to a black-power fascist.
Figure 1: Rosa Parks (1913-2000), famous to many for her countless hours of dedication and work towards the cause of Civil Rights; was at the White House when an assassin's bullet tried to take out President George Smathers on December 20th, 1961
However, such statements were of little to no concern to Smathers, who chose to deliberately ignore them as he continued on with his personal pursuit of trying to find a way to even further open up the national dialogue on segregation laws and other race-based discrimination across the country; two things which he in his own view perceived to be a poisoning influence on America that had to be removed at all cost. Unbeknownst to him at the time however; he was about to get way more then he ever expected he would need to chew.upon Parks visit; something that could have theoretically cost his life.
Parks meanwhile had arrived in the capital via a paid for charter flight from Montgomery during the late evening hours of December 19th, she would end up taking the evening to grab something quick to eat and rest for the night at her paid for hotel room; before departing during the morning in a vehicle that was under the escort and protection of both the Secret Service and Metropolitan Police. She would ultimately end up arriving at the grounds of the White House complex sometime shortly after 12:30 PM local time, upon which she would then be helped out of the car and promptly escorted through the building's entrance and to the Oval Office by yet another group of Secret Service agents; where she was then left so that she and Smathers could discuss whatever needed to be discussed between the two. According to all later accounts given of this first meeting from both Smathers and Parks themselves, the conversation was for the most part an exclusively civil and productive one that allowed both sides to listen to the arguments and questions of the other; and even possibly learn something that would help both of them further down the line in achieving their goals in their respective fields of work.
The conversation between the President and Ms. Parks began shortly after the latter's arrival into the Oval Office, and would continue on for around the next hour and a half - a time span that would see the two individuals touch upon upon a wide variety of personal and political subjects; and ultimately achieve (as duly noted above) some of the most significant constructive conversations between an American political leader and a civil rights activist in the country's entire history. Sometime shortly after 2:00 PM local time however, both the President and Ms. Parks - after separately noticing to themselves that they were each respectively getting somewhat hot staying in the air conditioned Oval Office for so long, decided that they would take a quick break from the conversation and step outside for a breath of fresh air; choosing the typically idyllic and peaceful White House Rose Garden as the location where they would go to do exactly that. However, unbeknownst to both the President and his guest, the cold shoulder of a lurking assassin was hovering above them; and the opportunity that had presented itself to him was one that he was not going to pass up.
Figure 2: The White Rose Garden (as pictured in 2015); scene of the December 1961 assassination attempt on George Smathers and Rosa Parks
The first shots would ring out at around 2:13 PM local time - roughly around two minutes after Smathers and Parks first stepped outside, the first bullet fired by the assassin would end up going slightly off-course from it's intended path and strike a glass panel on the door in between the two possible targets - breaking through into the Oval Office itself and lodging itself inside of a wall), the second bullet would then quickly be fired off and manage to barely (albeit, successfully) graze the President in his upper right shoulder as he and Parks began to run away. Unfortunately for the assassin, not only did he have particularly bad luck with his aim and the wind on this day, but both the President and Ms. Parks - in addition to the entire staff of federal security that were on the grounds of the White House at the time, had already been alerted of the situation that was undergoing around them by the ringing out of the first two shots, something which meant that there was pretty much little to no maneuvering room for the assassin to do anything but flee the area and make an attempt to get out of the city.
Meanwhile, the situation back on the ground at the White House - after a brief initial period of chaos in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt, would end up being quickly stabilized with the arrival of Secret Service agents from other areas of the executive complex to the rose garden crime scene; which would then alongside the entire complex and the area surrounding it be promptly secured and cordoned off from all non-essential personnel and civilians; as per the standard operating procedure in situations such as the one that they were faced with at the time. An investigation into the incident would formally begin around ten minutes later (around 2:34 PM local time) upon the arrival of field agents and officials from the CIA, NSA and FBI to the complex; all of whom would then alongside the already present Secret Service personnel begin combing over every single inch of the crime scene to try and find any evidence present in the area; especially the kind that would prove to be of a critical or reasonable use to the purposes of the investigation.
However, it would not be at the scene of the crime where the biggest break in the investigation would ultimately come from, but rather a random intersection some twenty miles away from the White House; during what had initially started as a typical traffic stop
Figure 3: Henry A. Walker (1900-1963), pictured above in a mugshot taken in Kentucky sometime during April 1960, was a Virginian born white supremacist, activist and Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan; who is now best remembered for attempting to assassinate President George Smathers and Rosa Parks on December 20th, 1961
Henry A. Walker, the attempted assassin - had fled the confines of his apartment recluse after he had failed to kill either the President or Ms. Parks, and then promptly departed the area in his automobile (a 1960 Ford Thunderbird, to be precise) in an attempt to try and escape the city; and thus escape the claws of federal authorities that would most certainly be trying to reach for him as a result fo what he had just done. Unfortunately for Walker, he had failed to keep mind of the laws of the road as he attempted this escape the city - a lapse in judgement that would result in he and his vehicle being forced to pull over to the side of the road near the corner of Virginia Av. and 4th Street; after a mindful officer from the Metropolitan Police noted that Walker's vehicle was twenty miles over the speed limit.
Once pulled over, Walker - rather then trying to clear up the speeding matter civilly so that he could be on his way and out of the theoretical reach of federal authorities, decided that he would get out of his car against the orders of the present officer and initiate a fight with him, since the officer was an African-American man; a decision that would come back to bite the Virginian in his ass once he beaten down by the better trained police officer. The officer on the other hand, having been given probable cause by what he had previously believed to be a mere speeder up until that point to investigate the vehicle, moved to do so after he had cuffed Walker and secured him, to the officer's astonishment however - it would not be drugs or illicit goods that he would end up discovering on the car, but rather a sniper rifle and several boxes of ammunition hidden in the vehicle's trunk; a discovery that unbeknownst to him at the time would end up helping to kick-start a process that would lead to local and federal authorities tying Walker and the rifle to both the assassination attempt at the White House and the Ku Klux Klan; and Walker's arrest and imprisonment in jail.
Ultimately, there would be one thing that was crystal clear to every single party involved in this mess of a day once it was over; and that was the fact that there was going to be major consequences for many for the events that had just transpired.
Well, if the Klan can be buried so deep and the earth from which they sprouted can be salted so much that they'll never emerge again, that'll be at least one good thing that emerges from this.
But something would come about to take it's place.
And the KKK would go down with a large fight to the end.