AHC: Heil Himmler!

Wolfpaw

Banned
A common trope of Nazi victory scenarios is Himmler succeeding Adolf once the latter keels over. Whenever this is proposed, the thread usually turns into a long discussion of why Himmler is one of the more unlikely candidates to become the next Führer. I hope we can avoid that.

Let's say that the Nazis somehow beat the Soviets and have mastery over mainland Europe (excluding the British Isles and Sicily). There is a peace or at least a ceasfire/armistice with the Western Allies.

Your challenge is to have Heinrich Himmler succeed Hitler as
Führer.

And before anybody says anything, Heydrich is already dead ;)
 
It's easier if Goering dies before Hitler. CalBear's Anglo-American Nazi War TL has the SS becoming more powerful in time, and Himmler becomes Double Secret Acting Fuhrer after Hitler has a stroke.
 
A common trope of Nazi victory scenarios is Himmler succeeding Adolf once the latter keels over. Whenever this is proposed, the thread usually turns into a long discussion of why Himmler is one of the more unlikely candidates to become the next Führer. I hope we can avoid that.

Let's say that the Nazis somehow beat the Soviets and have mastery over mainland Europe (excluding the British Isles and Sicily). There is a peace or at least a ceasfire/armistice with the Western Allies.

Your challenge is to have Heinrich Himmler succeed Hitler as Führer.

And before anybody says anything, Heydrich is already dead ;)

While Himmler is usually chosen simply for the sake of convenience; it is worth noting that he was the head of the SS. He controlled the Nazi secret police, so it's not too farfetched to think that he could simply use that to systematically take out all other candidates. Goebbels, Goering, and all the others would be "placed under house arrest" or something or blackmailed into backing down.
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
I never got the sense that Göring wanted to run things, at least not after the BoB. I've always been of the opinion that he could be neutralized by just being pensioned off and left unmolested in some Alpine estate, living like a Roman emperor before dying in an orgy.
 
I never got the sense that Göring wanted to run things, at least not after the BoB. I've always been of the opinion that he could be neutralized by just being pensioned off and left unmolested in some Alpine estate, living like a Roman emperor before dying in an orgy.
Good point. But, I'm pretty sure he would be crucial in an "Anybody But Himmler" movement.
 
A common trope of Nazi victory scenarios is Himmler succeeding Adolf once the latter keels over. Whenever this is proposed, the thread usually turns into a long discussion of why Himmler is one of the more unlikely candidates to become the next Führer. I hope we can avoid that.

Let's say that the Nazis somehow beat the Soviets and have mastery over mainland Europe (excluding the British Isles and Sicily). There is a peace or at least a ceasfire/armistice with the Western Allies.

Your challenge is to have Heinrich Himmler succeed Hitler as
Führer.

And before anybody says anything, Heydrich is already dead ;)

Eh if the POD is post 1938 its ASB... hell it might be ASB in totality anyway

Himmler has the personality of a perennial back bencher and bootlicker

His control of the waffen ss was administrative not heart felt... the waffen ss in the field took their orders from the local heer army/army group they where subordinated to, not direct from Himmler... brand loyalty to him is pretty low


the main obstacle to any scenario where you want Himmler to take over the nazi party and the german state is the army (to say nothing of his hostile party rivals)... the army knew exactly what he did to Fritsch and didn't like it also, they didn't like his blackshirts forming their own little private party army either... they put up with it from Hitler because he proved himself over and over to them over a period of years whilst being restrained when they demanded it (Munich, decapitating the SA etc)

at minimum a POD has to exist where the SS isn't so obviously behind the tasteless and wrong purging of Fritsch... second the waffen SS if it develops as all has to be less antagonistic towards the army (ie their command structure needs to be more subordinated to the heer... maybe Hitler makes them the new footguards or something but keeps them substantively an army formation instead of a political/army formation)
 
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