I have received permission from CalBear to create this. All credit for the original timeline belongs to him.
After reading CalBear's masterwork, I became fascinated by how the post-war world would pick up the pieces. CalBear made his own vision of the post-war world that was both disturbing and convincing at the same time. This is my attempt to create a post-war world. Whether it's a better or worse world I'll leave up to you to decide.
The plan for this is to explore the physical effects of the major areas of the world beginning in March 1960 and hopefully ending in the present day.
I'm not the first person on this site to write a post-war world in this universe, CalBear did it in his original as well as Star Eater, the latter can be seen here: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/new-world-order-the-anglo-american-post-war.368298/
I know that CalBear's work includes references to the post-war world, those will be included here.
If you haven't read CalBear's original, here it is: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-anglo-american-nazi-war.140356/
Same applies to his unfinished work detailing the 1942-54 period: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/aanw-stalemate.426854/
Once again, thanks to CalBear for allowing this.
On the 12th of March 1960, the Second World War came to an end as last major pocket of German resistance in the bombed-out, starved and Anthrax-drenched remains of Nuremberg surrendered unconditionally to forces of the British 21st Army Group. Across the world, the 12th of March was declared "Victory in Europe Day" (or "VE Day").
The celebrations of the next few days ranged from wild street parties to private prayer, but common to all was a sense of relief beyond mere words. In the Allied countries anyway. In the recently liberated (or occupied depending on who you asked) European states, there was neither the energy nor the will to celebrate beyond a few old men and women who met privately to share drinks, memories and their thoughts.
By far the worst affected area of the world was Europe. At the war's outbreak in 1939, Europe had 5 Great Powers: Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy & Soviet Russia. Now, only Britain retained that status in 1960. Even then, they still weren't in the clear. Whilst not as physically damaged as the rest of Europe (or indeed the Britain of 1947 when the Bombing Holiday began), they still had plenty of bomb damage to clear and rebuild. German nerve gas attacks against London had done their share of destruction as well. Saddled with eyeball-bulging debts, economic recovery would still be a long-way off. The Empire, well, Whitehall had long concluded that the Empire was dead, and would be cut away as soon as the guns fell silent. With the more-than 400-year-old British Empire at its end, post-war Britain would have to rebuild itself culturally as was as economically and physically.
Still, with most of its cities, industry and cultural landmarks intact, Britain was in a condition that most of Europe could only dream of. The fact that Britons could be guaranteed bread and clean drinking water was enough to make the older generations in parts of Western Europe think about leaving. As the Germans had been forced into retreat, they had saved many resources solely to the destruction of everything that post-war Europe could cling on to. With its centuries-old cultural monuments obliterated and civilian infrastructure thoroughly wrecked, Western Europe sank into its deepest trauma since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476AD. What had once been the wealthiest and most influential part of the world in 1900, leading the globe both culturally in the fields of art, science, philosophy and technology and literally with the largest empires ever formed was now an impoverished backwater with no global influence to speak of. Those who had let hubris dictate that they were the summit of human civilisation were now solely left with the reality of their own capacity for evil, traumatising them to the extent that they only had the energy to cry.
It was in Eastern Europe, though, that the Nazis had unleashed the very worst aspects of the human condition onto the world on an industrial scale. Even for an area that was no stranger to tragedy throughout its long and bloody history, the Second World War was Eastern Europe's seminal catastrophe. Reconstruction here would be a challenge hitherto unseen for centuries.
By far the war's biggest winner was the United States of America. Going from a relatively isolated, but by no means weak, position in 1939, they had risen to become the greatest military and economic power the world had ever seen. American armies occupied vast swathes of the world from Poland to Japan. American industry occupied more than half of the entire world economy, having penetrated deep into the British imperial economic system, and even the St. Patrick's Day attacks in 1954 hadn't put a halt to America's potential. Whilst they were also saddled by the reality that hundreds of thousands of their young men in uniform would never return home, they were also the only power that had the potential to recover to anything approaching normality, something its youngest generations hadn't experienced in their lifetimes so far.
Peace had returned to the world after more than 20 years of bloodshed that not even Nietzsche could have imagined. What kind of peace awaited the world? Was the peace worth the cost in money and blood? There wasn't any choice but to move forward and see.
After reading CalBear's masterwork, I became fascinated by how the post-war world would pick up the pieces. CalBear made his own vision of the post-war world that was both disturbing and convincing at the same time. This is my attempt to create a post-war world. Whether it's a better or worse world I'll leave up to you to decide.
The plan for this is to explore the physical effects of the major areas of the world beginning in March 1960 and hopefully ending in the present day.
I'm not the first person on this site to write a post-war world in this universe, CalBear did it in his original as well as Star Eater, the latter can be seen here: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/new-world-order-the-anglo-american-post-war.368298/
I know that CalBear's work includes references to the post-war world, those will be included here.
If you haven't read CalBear's original, here it is: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-anglo-american-nazi-war.140356/
Same applies to his unfinished work detailing the 1942-54 period: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/aanw-stalemate.426854/
Once again, thanks to CalBear for allowing this.
A Brave New World: An Anglo/American – Nazi War Aftermath
"There is no decent place to stand in a massacre..."
– Leonard Cohen
"There is no decent place to stand in a massacre..."
– Leonard Cohen
On the 12th of March 1960, the Second World War came to an end as last major pocket of German resistance in the bombed-out, starved and Anthrax-drenched remains of Nuremberg surrendered unconditionally to forces of the British 21st Army Group. Across the world, the 12th of March was declared "Victory in Europe Day" (or "VE Day").
The celebrations of the next few days ranged from wild street parties to private prayer, but common to all was a sense of relief beyond mere words. In the Allied countries anyway. In the recently liberated (or occupied depending on who you asked) European states, there was neither the energy nor the will to celebrate beyond a few old men and women who met privately to share drinks, memories and their thoughts.
By far the worst affected area of the world was Europe. At the war's outbreak in 1939, Europe had 5 Great Powers: Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy & Soviet Russia. Now, only Britain retained that status in 1960. Even then, they still weren't in the clear. Whilst not as physically damaged as the rest of Europe (or indeed the Britain of 1947 when the Bombing Holiday began), they still had plenty of bomb damage to clear and rebuild. German nerve gas attacks against London had done their share of destruction as well. Saddled with eyeball-bulging debts, economic recovery would still be a long-way off. The Empire, well, Whitehall had long concluded that the Empire was dead, and would be cut away as soon as the guns fell silent. With the more-than 400-year-old British Empire at its end, post-war Britain would have to rebuild itself culturally as was as economically and physically.
Still, with most of its cities, industry and cultural landmarks intact, Britain was in a condition that most of Europe could only dream of. The fact that Britons could be guaranteed bread and clean drinking water was enough to make the older generations in parts of Western Europe think about leaving. As the Germans had been forced into retreat, they had saved many resources solely to the destruction of everything that post-war Europe could cling on to. With its centuries-old cultural monuments obliterated and civilian infrastructure thoroughly wrecked, Western Europe sank into its deepest trauma since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476AD. What had once been the wealthiest and most influential part of the world in 1900, leading the globe both culturally in the fields of art, science, philosophy and technology and literally with the largest empires ever formed was now an impoverished backwater with no global influence to speak of. Those who had let hubris dictate that they were the summit of human civilisation were now solely left with the reality of their own capacity for evil, traumatising them to the extent that they only had the energy to cry.
It was in Eastern Europe, though, that the Nazis had unleashed the very worst aspects of the human condition onto the world on an industrial scale. Even for an area that was no stranger to tragedy throughout its long and bloody history, the Second World War was Eastern Europe's seminal catastrophe. Reconstruction here would be a challenge hitherto unseen for centuries.
By far the war's biggest winner was the United States of America. Going from a relatively isolated, but by no means weak, position in 1939, they had risen to become the greatest military and economic power the world had ever seen. American armies occupied vast swathes of the world from Poland to Japan. American industry occupied more than half of the entire world economy, having penetrated deep into the British imperial economic system, and even the St. Patrick's Day attacks in 1954 hadn't put a halt to America's potential. Whilst they were also saddled by the reality that hundreds of thousands of their young men in uniform would never return home, they were also the only power that had the potential to recover to anything approaching normality, something its youngest generations hadn't experienced in their lifetimes so far.
Peace had returned to the world after more than 20 years of bloodshed that not even Nietzsche could have imagined. What kind of peace awaited the world? Was the peace worth the cost in money and blood? There wasn't any choice but to move forward and see.
Chapters
1) Chapter 1 – The Blenheim Conference
2) Chapter 2 – Last Man Standing
3) Chapter 3 – A Nation of Shopkeepers
4) Chapter 4 – Jewel in the Crown
5) Chapter 5 – Da brennt die Luft
6) Chapter 6 – Avoir le cafard
7) Chapter 7 – Hai voluto la bicicletta
8) Chapter 8 – Gdzie diabeł mówi dobranoc
9) Chapter 9 – Дойти до ручки
1) Chapter 1 – The Blenheim Conference
2) Chapter 2 – Last Man Standing
3) Chapter 3 – A Nation of Shopkeepers
4) Chapter 4 – Jewel in the Crown
5) Chapter 5 – Da brennt die Luft
6) Chapter 6 – Avoir le cafard
7) Chapter 7 – Hai voluto la bicicletta
8) Chapter 8 – Gdzie diabeł mówi dobranoc
9) Chapter 9 – Дойти до ручки
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