TL-191: After the End

An interlude, which describes the state of the world as of January 20, 1961 (as President Humphrey takes office).


After the End: A World of Difference

Part I: The United States of America and the Compact of Democratic States


Bestriding North America like a colossus, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA remains very militarized, even seventeen years after the end of the Second Great War. Stretching from the Bering Sea to the Sea of Cortez, the USA has vowed never to be caught off guard in a surprise attack again. Along with the German and Japanese Empires, it is the strongest nation in the world.

It has also vowed to sit on its former enemies, until they’re integrated into the Union. With the Mormons largely exiled to the Sandwich Isles, and the Canadians either grimly accepting the new status quo (or being augmented with a continuous stream of U.S. settlers), the former Confederate States of America is proving to be the biggest can of worms. There has not been a gigantic rebellion akin to the uprisings in Canada or Utah, if only because most Southerners remain war weary, even after almost a generation after the death of Jake Featherston. And given how harsh the U.S. response is for every soldier waylaid by shootings or bombings, most Southerners are far from eager to volunteer for hostage duty.

There is still a deep chasm of hatred separating to the South and wider United States, but many hope that eventually, America will be one country again…

Domestically, the Socialist Party is on the ascent, having recaptured Powell House and solidified control of Congress. In his first speech as the Commander in Chief, President Humphrey forwards an ambitious agenda, promising to implement a national healthcare system, to create new laws to regulate pollution, and to speed up the integration of the Canadian and Southern acquisitions into the Union.

On the world stage, America finds itself working with the Germans in an attempt to prevent other nations from acquiring superbombs, while simultaneously competing with the Germans to create newer and better weapons. The Americans and the Germans certainly aren’t enemies.

But they certainly are rivals…

In terms of enemies, the prime security concern is the Japanese Empire and their Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Many wonder if the 1960s will see the two giants embroiled in a final grapple for dominance of the Pacific.

THE LONE STAR REPUBLIC OF TEXAS is counting its blessings that it did not suffer the fate of the wider CSA. Despite being demilitarized, they remain nominally independent. Currently governed by President Jackson Tower, Texas remains a very easy place to do business, with few regulations of any kind in place by the perpetually lazy unicameral Congress. A lot of wealthy Yankees eagerly use the Republic as a tax shelter.

THE REPUBLIC OF QUEBEC is also popular as a tax shelter for rich Americans. As of 1961, the Republic is going through some interesting (political) times, as the émigrés from France and Algeria are starting to make their voices heard. The government keeps a very watchful eye on the more vocally anti-American groups (mostly run by the Algerians), lest the United States’s anger be aroused…

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF MEXICO has finally achieved a degree of economic stability, after the chaos and depravity of the 1940s. Dominated by the deeply conservative Liberal Reconstruction Party, Mexico has copied the Texan model for economic management: do as little as possible. With trade barriers slowly being dismantled, investors from the north are starting to take notice of certain parts of the country, most notably the beachfronts of the Gulf Coast.

Emigration is strongly encouraged by the government, in an attempt to head off any kind of revolt from the extremely poor rural areas. The large wave of Mexicans into the United States and Texas continues unabated. U.S. authorities tend to steer their incoming immigrants into Utah or the South, despite calls from some right-wing Democrats for the border to be closed.

THE REPUBLIC OF HAITI has slowly managed to put itself back together, with generous U.S. aid. The influx of Southron Holocaust survivors has hastened the island nation’s reconstruction, forging a new nation in the process.

Haiti itself is a complete U.S. military protectorate, and will remain so for the foreseeable future…

The other nations in THE COMPACT OF DEMOCRATIC STATES are increasingly bound to the United States militarily (with bases scattered everywhere from Cork to Rabaul), economically (as the remaining trade barriers are slowly dismantled as per the Treaty of Philadelphia), and even culturally (with American movies predominating).

THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND is perhaps America’s staunchest ally, after Haiti. If you’re a sailor, marine, or pilot stationed in Cork, or simply a sightseer on the island on holiday, you’re treated like a king…

The opposite has held true for the Protestants of Ulster. In the intervening years since the end of the war, most have long departed for South Africa or Australia, not wanting to face a campaign of vengeance by the Irish government.

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE plays host to America’s Southern Command, in Santiago. There is currently a lot of goodwill towards the United States, as American aid was instrumental in mitigating the worst effects of a giant earthquake that struck in 1960.

Chile has also benefited greatly from its security commitments to the CDS, and now sports a top of the line army, which is mostly concerned with preparing for the worst case scenario of a war with the Brazilians and their Bolivian and Argentine puppets…

THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA and THE STATE OF NEW ZEALAND, always fretful of an attack by the Japanese, are now home to many American servicemen. The fact that the two countries never actually fought America in close combat has helped to ease tensions first felt when the Yanks arrived in ’45. Both nations have received a large number of immigrants from the Mother Country, who weren’t eager to continue living in the political and economic doldrums of Germany’s shadow…

THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA, which was once little more than a hapless Confederate puppet, is now home to one of the new wonders of the world. No one is complaining about the monies being made from the U.S. servicemen stationed in the Canal Zone, although the presence of the Zone itself has sparked more than a little resentment in some quarters…

The nations of COSTA RICA, EL SALVADOR, LIBERIA, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, ECUADOR, and THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC round out the membership of the CDS, giving America the ability to project its power and influence around the globe.

~~~~~

To be continued...
 
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I doubt the french king is still around, in large part because their (deceased) reinstated king was the driving force behind action francaise. In britain, I would imagine the monarch is still around, both to give some legitimacy to the new, german imposed government (think hirohito in japan) and because he is a distant relative of the Kaiser.

Do rememember that Churchill lost power at the end of the war, and was replaced with Lord Howe (I think) a committed appeaser in OTL.
 
The nations of COSTA RICA, EL SALVADOR, LIBERIA, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, ECUADOR, and THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC round out the membership of the CDS, giving America the ability to project its power and influence around the globe.

Not quite around the globe. Parts of it are going to be solidly German, especially Europe, the Middle East and North and East Africa.

In addition the Germans have bases in former French colonies in Africa (plus their own), Aden (courtesy of the Ottoman Turks who traded their claims for it and Cyprus), Papua New Guinea (a useful forward location from which to watch the Japanese and most controversially of all German Guinea (formerly French Guinea). In addition to their European allies they have the Ottoman Turks, South Africa under the leadership of the Boers and Argentina (without Britain as an strong ally and with Chile cuddling up to the USA see the Germans as useful allies).

With bases in Argentina, South Africa and Papua New Guinea the High Seas Fleet can keep the Americans out of the Indian Ocean and dispute control of the Atlantic. That leaves the Pacific Ocean free for the US Navy because it is of no value to Germany. Then again may be not with the Japanese still around.

Looks very likely that the USA will be number two.
 
Do rememember that Churchill lost power at the end of the war, and was replaced with Lord Howe (I think) a committed appeaser in OTL.

It was Horace Wilson I belive, (in OTL, a Civil Servant and ally of Lord Halifax)

Good so far, can we have more on Europe in the next instalment?
 
Part 2: The German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the European Community


THE GERMAN EMPIRE is currently the strongest nation in the world, along with the United States of America and the Empire of Japan. With a large and very professional military, and home to the most advanced scientific institutions on Earth, it completely dominates Europe, along with its old ally, Austria-Hungary.

Ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm III, the Empire rules over what was once Belgium, and continues its military occupation of northwestern France (which some have called to be annexed fully into the Reich). Paris is still being rebuilt, albeit as a German metropolis, with only memories and photographs existing to remind the world of the city that once was known for its Belle époque. The only remaining security concern for the Germans (outside the remote possibility of a war with the United States), are the Russians, who continue to loom on the eastern frontiers.

Besides its European possessions, Germany boasts an impressive colonial empire, most of it centered in Africa. Mittelafrika is a place of many different extremes. If you ask what kind of an empire it is, you’ll get one answer: “Which part?” It ranges from the relatively wealthy cash-crop producing colonies in West Africa (where the Germans have cultivated local elites loyal to the Empire), to the settler colonies of Southwest Africa, East Africa, and strategically vital Madagascar.

And then there’s the Congo, which is a different case entirely. Just what is being committed there is the subject of an expose being currently being finished by the Boston Herald’s Theodore Schanberg…

In contrast to the overall stability of the German Empire, THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE remains on a knife-edge. Sitting on top of the resentful Albanians, Croats, Czechs, Serbs, Bosnians, and Romanians has taken a steady toll over the empire’s resources. Despite heavy (often encouraged) emigration abroad from the most resentful groups, many observers around the world predict that they will soon fragment and collapse.

For Emperor Karl II, there are few good options to extract his realm from this predicament. There are several proposals to deal with the crisis, none of which has captured his imagination. Even as the Empire’s soldiers prepare to withdraw from the newly formed puppet KINGDOM OF ROMANIA, many storm clouds have appeared on the horizon.

But if the worst should come to pass, the German government has prepared several plans of its own to deal with such a disaster….

Both the Germans and the Austro-Hungarians continue to dominate, politically, economically, and militarily, the other nations of Europe through THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY. The member states of the EC generally fall into three categories:

The First Tier nations include NORWAY, THE NETHERLANDS, FINLAND, POLAND, BELARUS, BULGARIA,UKRAINE, and ESTONIA. They’re either allies of conviction (such as the Norwegians and the Dutch), or utterly dependent on Germany for guarantees to their territorial integrity (everybody else).

The Second Tier nations include GREECE, ITALY, PORTUGAL, SPAIN, DENMARK, and SWEDEN. Although somewhat resentful of being in the shadow of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians, they know that as long their MEPs remain quiet in the rubberstamp Berlin Parliament, they will be left alone.

The Third Tier nations are THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN and THE FOURTH REPUBLIC OF FRANCE. After European Russia (and, increasingly, portions of the Balkans), they are regarded as the worst places to live in the Continent. They also stand as an example of what happens when the wishes of Berlin and Vienna are defied via the sword to any other nation thinking of raising a loud fuss to Europe's masters. The average citizen of both nations grows up, as of 1961, waiting only to get out, whether it’s to America, Quebec, Texas, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, or oil-flushed Venezuela (if you have the right skills, you’re in high demand indeed).

It should be mentioned that London and Paris are still being rebuilt, almost a generation after their destruction by the Germans (reconstruction funds were slow in coming, as the Germans cared more about Hamburg than the capitols of their mortal enemies).

* * *

Other than the Germans, the Spanish, Portuguese, and Italians maintain sizable colonial enclaves on the African continent, although Italy’s Libyan and Somalian colonies and Portuguese Angola are starting to see evolving anti-colonial movements, which are ruthlessly suppressed, with German approval. They are covertly supported by the Independence Movement, who hope to see the Europeans withdraw by the end of the century…

~~~~~

Comments?
 
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Hm...good stuff, as always, Dave. Seems like the stage is set for some major catastrophe(s) to happen...something I don't think the world is ready for so 'soon' after a major world conflict, but it seems the power order makes that inevitable. Hopefully, they'll be able to persevere through it, though. Interesting that you've essentially made France and Britain third world countries in a way...I assume that Germany and Austria-Hungary dominating Europe is a poke at France and Britain doing just that with the USSR after World War II.

Also, I don't know if you've gotten my PM on the issue, but I feel that the actual Austrian-Hungarian emperor-king is probably Otto I, and not Karl II. You see, Otto I was, and is, still alive at the time of the writing, so Turtledove probably avoided offending him and placed a relative on the throne, at least implied, instead of Otto himself.

Will the next installment(s) be over the Empire of the Rising Sun (and, as one other reader cleverly, IMO, called it, their 'Bamboo Curtain'?) and the Independence Movement nations/the Ottoman empire? Maybe more of Britain and France? Also, if you're looking for whose currently leading the sultanate in Turkey...Abdul Mejid II died in 1944, being succeeded by Prince Ahmed Nihad Efendi (from 1944-1954), and currently it would probably be Osman Fuad Efendi (1954-1973), all of this being information from our world, at least, but that's how I'd think it would probably go.
 
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Hm...good stuff, as always, Dave. Seems like the stage is set for some major catastrophe(s) to happen...something I don't think the world is ready for so 'soon' after a major world conflict, but it seems the power order makes that inevitable. Hopefully, they'll be able to persevere through it, though. Interesting that you've essentially made France and Britain third world countries in a way...I assume that Germany and Austria-Hungary dominating Europe is a poke at France and Britain doing just that with the USSR after World War II.

Both Britain and France are (politically at least) at the same position of the USA from Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore.

Also, I don't know if you've gotten my PM on the issue, but I feel that the actual Austrian-Hungarian emperor-king is probably Otto I, and not Karl II. You see, Otto I was, and is, still alive at the time of the writing, so Turtledove probably avoided offending him and placed a relative on the throne, at least implied, instead of Otto himself.

Karl II was the name that I got from the TurtleWiki.

Will the next installment(s) be over the Empire of the Rising Sun (and, as one other reader cleverly, IMO, called it, their 'Bamboo Curtain'?) and the Independence Movement nations/the Ottoman empire? Maybe more of Britain and France? Also, if you're looking for whose currently leading the sultanate in Turkey...Abdul Mejid II died in 1944, being succeeded by Prince Ahmed Nihad Efendi (from 1944-1954), and currently it would probably be Osman Fuad Efendi (1954-1973), all of this being information from our world, at least, but that's how I'd think it would probably go.

The next update will focus on the Japanese. I'll have two more updates after that for the interlude (one on the IM and the other dealing with Russia).

Thanks for the names of the Ottoman rulers. They should come in handy. :)
 
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Is there going to be some kind of Vietnam war between the US and Japan? I always felt thatthey were weak and depended on more powerful countries for support. plus they could only fight and win against an already weak power.
 
Part 2: The German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the European Community


THE GERMAN EMPIRE is currently the strongest nation in the world, along with the United States of America and the Empire of Japan. With a large and very professional military, and home to the most advanced scientific institutions on Earth, it completely dominates Europe, along with its old ally, Austria-Hungary.

Ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm III, the Empire rules over what was once Belgium (where the occupation forces are considering copying America’s method of dealing with the Mormons)

Why? These are Belgians, not crazed religious fanatics. There's probably some low-level terrorism, but I can hardly see it being bad enough to make the Germans think forcibly displacing the local population would be anything but a horrible idea.

Bruce
 
Why? These are Belgians, not crazed religious fanatics. There's probably some low-level terrorism, but I can hardly see it being bad enough to make the Germans think forcibly displacing the local population would be anything but a horrible idea.

Bruce

Point taken. I'll edit that part. :eek:
 
Why? These are Belgians, not crazed religious fanatics. There's probably some low-level terrorism, but I can hardly see it being bad enough to make the Germans think forcibly displacing the local population would be anything but a horrible idea.

Bruce
Funny enough, in OTL the Germans had planned not to annex Belgium but to turn it into a puppet state once WW1 had finished out of fear that occupying it would be exactly as mentioned in this. Basically a massive headache.
 
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