DBWI: Breaking news - Kurt von Schleicher dies

Today, on June, 30 1958, German radio has officially announced the death of former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher, at 75. During his term from 1932 to 1934, he was instrumental in breaking both the National-Socialist coupsters and the communist threat, and in anticipating the Hohenzollern Restoration. The Kaiser has officially decreed that a day of national mourning will be observed and asked the German flags on official buildings to fly at half-mast.

What do you think about this Chancellor's achievements? And, in a whole, how do you consider Imperial Germany and its image throughout the world?

(OOC: This is a draft for a timeline I'm preparing...)
 
Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher is one of the best german Politician in History !

He gave us germans our Honour back, after this fraudulent Treaty of Versailles
and his Proclaiming of new German Empire under Emperor Friedrich IV
is one of glorius moment of German History

how care about this rotten Weimar Republic ?
this so called "a liberal democracy" with his political chaos and crime
by Communist and National Socialist Vermin

it was good that this Vermin tasted the boots of ours faithful soldiers

Gott segnete Kurt von Schleicher für seine werk.
Glorie dem Neue Deutsche Kaiserreich
Lang lebe unser Kaiser Friedrich der Vierte.
 
Well, as an American, I have to admit that its not been out business to push too much into Europe's affairs.

Nonetheless, I have to urge Germany to reconsider its alliance with Horia Sima's Iron Guard in Romania, Benito Mussolini's Fascist Party in Italy, and the Falangist government led by General Mola in Spain. Also, the situation in Europe since the Croatian crisis has been incindeary.

The prospect of a second world war--one fought with the newly discovered nuclear ordinance in the last three years--between the Anglo-French alliance and the German-Italian-Romanian Pact of Steel--is horrifying. Perhaps worse, there are terrible rumors emerging from the Soviet Union that General Secretary Beria is ordering purges of "Stalinist Counterrevolutionaries"--and that the Soviet Union might soon collapse under the strain of three decades of intense dictatorship.

You people in Germany--think Schichleter was a hero. But he is as much an villain. The fear--that the Allies and the Iron Pact might use nuclear weapons against each other--is compounded by all of the rosy propaganda surrounding these weapons. I don't believe that nuclear weapons are "just another bomb" or that they are "Cleaner and meaner" than other ordinance. But no one knows. I am terrified that when the Soviet Union collapses, as I think will happen in the next few years, Europe will be thrown into a war with these atomic bombs. Everyone is all smiles about this--it'll end the long stalemates of the Great War and so people can go about their lives in one month instead of four years--but I am deeply skeptical.

I must urge Germany to reconsider its demands against Poland, and for Italy to stop supporting the Ante Pavelic government in Croatia!
 
Uhm... well, to be honest, I haven't got the highest opinion of von Schliecher, but he certainly wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to Germany, or the world, for that matter. I only wished the restoration wouldn't have infringed upon German democracy so much... it's not like having a monarch and being a democracy is incompatible.
 
Well, as an American, I have to admit that its not been out business to push too much into Europe's affairs.

Nonetheless, I have to urge Germany to reconsider its alliance with Horia Sima's Iron Guard in Romania, Benito Mussolini's Fascist Party in Italy, and the Falangist government led by General Mola in Spain. Also, the situation in Europe since the Croatian crisis has been incindeary.

The prospect of a second world war--one fought with the newly discovered nuclear ordinance in the last three years--between the Anglo-French alliance and the German-Italian-Romanian Pact of Steel--is horrifying. Perhaps worse, there are terrible rumors emerging from the Soviet Union that General Secretary Beria is ordering purges of "Stalinist Counterrevolutionaries"--and that the Soviet Union might soon collapse under the strain of three decades of intense dictatorship.

You people in Germany--think Schichleter was a hero. But he is as much an villain. The fear--that the Allies and the Iron Pact might use nuclear weapons against each other--is compounded by all of the rosy propaganda surrounding these weapons. I don't believe that nuclear weapons are "just another bomb" or that they are "Cleaner and meaner" than other ordinance. But no one knows. I am terrified that when the Soviet Union collapses, as I think will happen in the next few years, Europe will be thrown into a war with these atomic bombs. Everyone is all smiles about this--it'll end the long stalemates of the Great War and so people can go about their lives in one month instead of four years--but I am deeply skeptical.

I must urge Germany to reconsider its demands against Poland, and for Italy to stop supporting the Ante Pavelic government in Croatia!

All very good points, particularly about nuclear weapons.

And I think the more moderate/pragmatic elements in Berlin would support you over the last two points, despite what their government might say the German's are far from happy about Italy raising tensions in the Balkans. The Italian support Croatian revolution that lead to the breakup of Yugoslavia weakened the Pact probably more than it did the Alliance.

It pushed Serbia even more firmly, if that was possible, into the Allied camp, demolished the anti-alliance faction in Czechoslovakia and lead to Greece formally joining the Allies. It also gave a boost to the pro-allied groups in Austria and Hungary and even in Romania itself, we all know the Romanian military has never been overly keen on the Iron Guard.
 
Nonetheless, I have to urge Germany to reconsider its alliance with Horia Sima's Iron Guard in Romania, Benito Mussolini's Fascist Party in Italy, and the Falangist government led by General Mola in Spain. Also, the situation in Europe since the Croatian crisis has been incindeary.

The prospect of a second world war--one fought with the newly discovered nuclear ordinance in the last three years--between the Anglo-French alliance and the German-Italian-Romanian Pact of Steel--is horrifying. Perhaps worse, there are terrible rumors emerging from the Soviet Union that General Secretary Beria is ordering purges of "Stalinist Counterrevolutionaries"--and that the Soviet Union might soon collapse under the strain of three decades of intense dictatorship.

For all the talk of the Croatian crisis, you must remember the Narva Incident too. They are part and parcel, and here in the Baltic area the latter had more consequences in terms of national attitudes, as well as the policy decisions. As a result, many people in Finland and the Baltic nations consider the Pact of Steel our insurance against the USSR - be the facts of the matter what they may. There are those who say Stalin would have gobbled us all up if it were not for the Pact's existence. Personally, I doubt that, but who knows?

Only a week ago we had (again) a Patriotic People's Movement march here in Helsinki, demanding that the Prime Minister Kekkonen's government should apply for Pact membership. Of course, the Social Democrats and Communists did stage their separate counter-demonstrations in support of the "Kallio-Fagerholm-line". The Civil Guard leaders are strongly in favour of membership, as is much of the army, but as long as President Walden has any say in the matter, Finland will do nothing to antagonize the Anglo-French. Or the Soviet Union, for that matter.

As for von Schleicher, he is much respected here. Walden already sent his condolences, of course, as did Kekkonen. As it happens, tomorrow Finland will host Germany in a football friendly at the Olympic Stadium and I hear it will start with a moment of silence. The Helsingin Sanomat said today our team will wear black armbands, too, to match those of the Germans.

The moderate right wing here do indeed consider the Chancellor as a model for a strong national leader - something they would have quite wanted General Mannerheim to become for the 30s and the 40s. That was not to be, and I think I'd rather have our Nordic model democracy, even if it seems to continually stumble from political crisis to another...
 
Uhm... well, to be honest, I haven't got the highest opinion of von Schliecher, but he certainly wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to Germany, or the world, for that matter. I only wished the restoration wouldn't have infringed upon German democracy so much... it's not like having a monarch and being a democracy is incompatible.

Please. What's the worst that would've happened to Germany instead?

A few years under that crackpot Hitler, before the economy collapses and the Socialists take power as part of a Popular Front?

The communists were never going to grab power, despite what the Third Reich might claim. Even at their peak, back when Germany had free elections, they only got 14% of the vote.
 
Please. What's the worst that would've happened to Germany instead?

A few years under that crackpot Hitler, before the economy collapses and the Socialists take power as part of a Popular Front?

The communists were never going to grab power, despite what the Third Reich might claim. Even at their peak, back when Germany had free elections, they only got 14% of the vote.
Well, I'm not quite convinced a Popular Front would have taken charge that easily. You've got a point, of course, but, well, Hitler was a crackpot. I wouldn't put it past him to have managed to a lot of damage before he lost power, even if he's only in power a few years.
And Schliecher wasn't the worst of the reactionaries around. He at least thought the people should have some say.
 
Bumping this thread
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It is hard to imagine the situation in the Soviet Union getting much worse than previously mentioned, but Poland's government denounced the Beria government for "Killing Millions".

A handful of refugees are fleeing the country, many more are stopped at the very omnious border fortifications, and the number of would be-emigrants shot on the Polish frontier seems to be rising.

Of course, the Reds have denounced this as propaganda, as capitalist lies to destroy them, but for a few scattered refugees to say roughly the same story suggests that even their most audacious claim--that some twenty five million people have been killed between Stalin and Beria, that another twelve million have been enslaved in vast gulag projects, and that widespread starvation is killing hundreds of people daily.

If the Soviets go down--and they've got to be close, will that be the end of peace in Europe? The Iron Pact and the Alliance are already acting very coldly against each other. All of these national claims for territory, these nuclear weapons--and a ruthlessness of the Italian and Romanian Governments to expand even at the risk of war.

Its a very good thing that I'm an American and never have to worry those nuclear bombs...but this can't go on...
 
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