AHC: Make Flensburg the Capital of West Germany

Flensburg briefly served as the capital of the German Reich after Hitler's death and Admiral Doenitz being made President. I think this all took place in less than a year. How do we get the post war West German government to choose this city the Capital of Federal Republic over Bonn? You can use any point of divergence you want. Be as creative as you like.
 

Nebogipfel

Monthly Donor
Flensburg was a small-ish town at the Danish border. The only reason it became provisional capital was that there wasn't much of (unoccupied) Germany left at that point. Nothing else. So completely ASB in any recognizable post 1945 POD TL.
 
Flensburg was historically the most Danish town in Schleswig. The fact that it remained German after two lost world wars is an achievement in and of itself, and having it become the capital of West Germany is out of the question.
 
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The British first had the idea to work through the Flensburg government, but quickly gave up that thought when they realised that it had even less contact with the country than they themselves had, and Dönitz & co we're arrested instead. The PoD here could be that Dönitz has some very skilled co-workers that actually make the British believe that the Flensburg government does control civilian Germany, and then expand to make it happen.
 
One, slightly sarcastically meant, path to Flensburg as West German capital.

Lauritz Lauritzen was traffic minister in the 1970s and the only German Minister of Traffic to dare introduce a speed limit on German Autobahnen.

Maybe, as the oil crisis is relieved, Lauritzen does not bow to the demands of ADAC and the car industry, until the latter instigates a "coup". The CDU votes out Chancellor Brandt with a vote-of-no-confidence and the car industry, together with the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt which is located in Flensburg, makes it the de facto capital of Germany. By the 1990s, the German version of the Business Plot, centred around the KBA in Flensburg, has gained so much power in the Bundestag that the capital is de jure moved to Flensburg.

Though we would still need to explain why they didn't choose Stuttgart...
 

oberdada

Gone Fishin'
One, slightly sarcastically meant, path to Flensburg as West German capital.

Lauritz Lauritzen was traffic minister in the 1970s and the only German Minister of Traffic to dare introduce a speed limit on German Autobahnen.

Maybe, as the oil crisis is relieved, Lauritzen does not bow to the demands of ADAC and the car industry, until the latter instigates a "coup". The CDU votes out Chancellor Brandt with a vote-of-no-confidence and the car industry, together with the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt which is located in Flensburg, makes it the de facto capital of Germany. By the 1990s, the German version of the Business Plot, centred around the KBA in Flensburg, has gained so much power in the Bundestag that the capital is de jure moved to Flensburg.

Though we would still need to explain why they didn't choose Stuttgart...


Good one.

I will try to get even sillier:

After the Morgenthau plan is seen through, Germany has the huge problem of deindustrialisation and developa a ervice industry much earlier.
Of ourse, most of the service Industry was blocked in the 1955 peace treaty.
But they forgot about PORN!

It was pretty new after all.

But one woman would set out to save the Germans from starving.


By 1980 Flensburg based Beate Uhse Company dominated the International porn market with almost 80% of the worldwide porn industry, making up for almost the entire German export and about 70% of the GDP. The rest of the country was all farmers and fishermen after all.

So eventually, Flensburg also became the capital, as the by far richest city in the land.
 
Flensburg briefly served as the capital of the German Reich after Hitler's death and Admiral Doenitz being made President.
That's going to be your main problem – being seen as a continuation of Hitler's Reich. Even if it had the actual infrastructure to support a national government no-one is going to want those kinds of connections.
 
Good one.

I will try to get even sillier:

After the Morgenthau plan is seen through, Germany has the huge problem of deindustrialisation and developa a ervice industry much earlier.
Of ourse, most of the service Industry was blocked in the 1955 peace treaty.
But they forgot about PORN!

It was pretty new after all.

But one woman would set out to save the Germans from starving.


By 1980 Flensburg based Beate Uhse Company dominated the International porn market with almost 80% of the worldwide porn industry, making up for almost the entire German export and about 70% of the GDP. The rest of the country was all farmers and fishermen after all.

So eventually, Flensburg also became the capital, as the by far richest city in the land.
This is a technicality, but the Morgenthau plan would see Flensburg ceded to Denmark. Fun scenario nonetheless.
 
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