Germany acquires Czechia and moves its capital there

The Avenger

Banned
In the event that Germany acquires Czechia--either with Nazi Germany acquiring it in 1939 in our TL or with Imperial Germany partitioning A-H together with Russia and acquiring Czechia as a part of the spoils--and then moves its capital there, what would the most likely Czech city to become the German capital be?

Also, how many Germans would actually move to their new capital in this TL?

How would Berlin be affected by the fact that it stopped being Germany's capital?

Thoughts?
 

The Avenger

Banned
Why would they do that?
For reasons of pride and also to make Czechia easier to hold. Remember that with the Sudetenland, Czechia is already around 30% German; if you can get that number up to 50+%, eventual Czech independence becomes much less likely.

Plus, due to the territorial expansion to the south (Austria and Czechia), Prague (for instance) is a more centralized location for Germany's capital than Berlin is. Berlin made sense as a central location for Germany's capital when Germany didn't control Austria and Czechia, but since Germany now does control Austria and Czechia, keeping Berlin as the German capital doesn't make as much sense.
 

The Avenger

Banned
Here's a map of Greater Germany:

greater_german_socialist_council_republic_map_by_tiltschmaster-d7ysdil.png


You tell me if Brandenburg or Bohemia (Bohmen) is a more logical location for the capital of a Greater Germany.
 
I just can't see any idea move capital from Berlin which has been firstly capital of Prussia and then Germany centuries speciality to area where might be too much of Czech resistance. Bit same if Nazi Germany would had move capital to Moscow after fall of USSR due succesful Barbarossa. And you should to move whole administration which not be quiet easy.
 

The Avenger

Banned
I just can't see any idea move capital from Berlin which has been firstly capital of Prussia and then Germany centuries speciality to area where might be too much of Czech resistance. Bit same if Nazi Germany would had move capital to Moscow after fall of USSR due succesful Barbarossa. And you should to move whole administration which not be quiet easy.
To be fair, though, such resistance could give Germany an excuse to engage in mass expulsions.

Also, it would make sense to move Germany's capital out of Prussia in order to reduce Prussia's influence within Germany. Prussia already had so many things going for it--its massive population, etc--and thus weakening Prussia's influence by moving Germany's capital elsewhere could be viewed as a positive step.
 
Why would they do that?
———————————————————————————-

Most German cities were bombed into rubble by the end me of WW2, meanwhile Prague was only bombed a few times.
Moving the German capital to Prague makes perfect sense in 1945.
A second motivation is to distance the German government from “war monger it Prussians.”
 

The Avenger

Banned
———————————————————————————-

Most German cities were bombed into rubble by the end me of WW2, meanwhile Prague was only bombed a few times.
Moving the German capital to Prague makes perfect sense in 1945.
A second motivation is to distance the German government from “war monger it Prussians.”
I'm thinking of there not being a WWII in this TL, though. Perhaps Hitler kicks the bucket in 1939--or perhaps Germany and Russia are both content after jointly partitioning A-H after winning an alt-WWI.
 
The only not completly impossible (just very unlikely) solution I see is the following:
Greater Germany is created and the leader decides to build a brand new capital - most likely nazis but anyone works who wants to distance themself of everything old and create a symbol of the new german state works. Nazis if I recall had dreams of building a new Capital. And for some reason they decide to build this new city somewhere in Bohemia.
 
I could potentially see Bohemia as the centre of a German state, with Prag at its center possible, but only with a POD before 1900. Well before.
 

The Avenger

Banned
The only not completly impossible (just very unlikely) solution I see is the following:
Greater Germany is created and the leader decides to build a brand new capital - most likely nazis but anyone works who wants to distance themself of everything old and create a symbol of the new german state works. Nazis if I recall had dreams of building a new Capital. And for some reason they decide to build this new city somewhere in Bohemia.
Yeah, I essentially proposed two similar scenarios in my OP here.

I could potentially see Bohemia as the centre of a German state, with Prag at its center possible, but only with a POD before 1900. Well before.
I think that you are too pessimistic in regards to this.
 
I think that you are too pessimistic in regards to this.

The Nazis goal with Czechia/Bohemia was to eventually Germanize the populace over the next century as to wipe out the Czech race as an independent entity and create Bohemia and Moravia as a full member of the German Volk and not as a military occupation administration ruling over an oppressed populace. Also consider that Prague is dangerous as fuck during this time, filled with Czech nationals ready to strike back at the occupation government. To relocate the government to Prague would be bringing Hitler, someone who has faced his number of assassination attempts to a location where even the Reichsprotektor (Heydrich) wasn't safe from reprisals. Berlin is safe, Berlin is also the intended location of the World Capital city of Germania. In Berlin he has a loyal city that wont be launching mortars into the government buildings. I understand that you have an idea and that you would like to see it work but some ideas are impractical. I only meant that Bohemia was Habsburg for quite a long time and if it had been brought into the Austro-Hungarians as a full constituent kingdom it would be possible to bring Bohemia into the German orbit.
 
———————————————————————————-

Most German cities were bombed into rubble by the end me of WW2, meanwhile Prague was only bombed a few times.
Moving the German capital to Prague makes perfect sense in 1945.
A second motivation is to distance the German government from “war monger it Prussians.”

To be fair, one of the major reasons for not bombing Prague was that it was not a German city but an occupied Czech one. If the Nazis make it much more important and much more German besides, also the Allied bombings of Prague will increase.
 
Here's a map of Greater Germany:

greater_german_socialist_council_republic_map_by_tiltschmaster-d7ysdil.png


You tell me if Brandenburg or Bohemia (Bohmen) is a more logical location for the capital of a Greater Germany.

I'd just go with Frankfurt instead, particularly if we're talking about a communist Greater Germany like that map depicts.

The Nazis goal with Czechia/Bohemia was to eventually Germanize the populace over the next century as to wipe out the Czech race as an independent entity and create Bohemia and Moravia as a full member of the German Volk and not as a military occupation administration ruling over an oppressed populace. Also consider that Prague is dangerous as fuck during this time, filled with Czech nationals ready to strike back at the occupation government. To relocate the government to Prague would be bringing Hitler, someone who has faced his number of assassination attempts to a location where even the Reichsprotektor (Heydrich) wasn't safe from reprisals. Berlin is safe, Berlin is also the intended location of the World Capital city of Germania. In Berlin he has a loyal city that wont be launching mortars into the government buildings. I understand that you have an idea and that you would like to see it work but some ideas are impractical. I only meant that Bohemia was Habsburg for quite a long time and if it had been brought into the Austro-Hungarians as a full constituent kingdom it would be possible to bring Bohemia into the German orbit.

We're talking about the Nazis here, once they've won the war, they can focus more resources on mass murder and ethnic cleansing. Perhaps the Germans choose not to build the World Capital Germania in Berlin (bad soil) and go for Prague instead (although I'm not sure how viable Prague would be versus Berlin in terms of soil). So what they would do is round up every single Czech national in Prague and surrounding towns and as much land as Hitler wants cleared, and dump them somewhere else (be it a concentration camp or just scattering them elsewhere in Czechia). Hitler then imports a bunch of new residents for Prague, including construction workers, engineers, etc. as they prepare to transform the city into Welthauptstadt Germania. Czechs are forbidden from entering the Prague and surrounding areas without explicit permission of the government.
 
We're talking about the Nazis here, once they've won the war, they can focus more resources on mass murder and ethnic cleansing. Perhaps the Germans choose not to build the World Capital Germania in Berlin (bad soil) and go for Prague instead (although I'm not sure how viable Prague would be versus Berlin in terms of soil). So what they would do is round up every single Czech national in Prague and surrounding towns and as much land as Hitler wants cleared, and dump them somewhere else (be it a concentration camp or just scattering them elsewhere in Czechia). Hitler then imports a bunch of new residents for Prague, including construction workers, engineers, etc. as they prepare to transform the city into Welthauptstadt Germania. Czechs are forbidden from entering the Prague and surrounding areas without explicit permission of the government.

Even so, Prague becoming the capital wouldn't come until well after the War when the world city would be finished. In 1939-1945 there is little reason to relocate the capital, and personallyI can only see two real options. One, Nuremberg for its propaganda purposes (the rallies, the grounds, the planned olympic stadium) or Linz, but only after its size is increased post war. This can only happen in a Nazi Victory timeline by the way. I highly doubt this would be able to happen quickly.
 

The Avenger

Banned
The Nazis goal with Czechia/Bohemia was to eventually Germanize the populace over the next century as to wipe out the Czech race as an independent entity and create Bohemia and Moravia as a full member of the German Volk and not as a military occupation administration ruling over an oppressed populace. Also consider that Prague is dangerous as fuck during this time, filled with Czech nationals ready to strike back at the occupation government. To relocate the government to Prague would be bringing Hitler, someone who has faced his number of assassination attempts to a location where even the Reichsprotektor (Heydrich) wasn't safe from reprisals. Berlin is safe, Berlin is also the intended location of the World Capital city of Germania. In Berlin he has a loyal city that wont be launching mortars into the government buildings. I understand that you have an idea and that you would like to see it work but some ideas are impractical. I only meant that Bohemia was Habsburg for quite a long time and if it had been brought into the Austro-Hungarians as a full constituent kingdom it would be possible to bring Bohemia into the German orbit.
If Hitler wants personal security for himself in Prague, he can simply expel the Czechs there en masse.

I'd just go with Frankfurt instead, particularly if we're talking about a communist Greater Germany like that map depicts.

I wasn't talking about a Communist Greater Germany here, though; rather, I simply found that map convenient because it was a map of Greater Germany and also had various cities and regions labelled.

We're talking about the Nazis here, once they've won the war, they can focus more resources on mass murder and ethnic cleansing. Perhaps the Germans choose not to build the World Capital Germania in Berlin (bad soil) and go for Prague instead (although I'm not sure how viable Prague would be versus Berlin in terms of soil). So what they would do is round up every single Czech national in Prague and surrounding towns and as much land as Hitler wants cleared, and dump them somewhere else (be it a concentration camp or just scattering them elsewhere in Czechia). Hitler then imports a bunch of new residents for Prague, including construction workers, engineers, etc. as they prepare to transform the city into Welthauptstadt Germania. Czechs are forbidden from entering the Prague and surrounding areas without explicit permission of the government.
Yes, this.

Even so, Prague becoming the capital wouldn't come until well after the War when the world city would be finished. In 1939-1945 there is little reason to relocate the capital, and personallyI can only see two real options. One, Nuremberg for its propaganda purposes (the rallies, the grounds, the planned olympic stadium) or Linz, but only after its size is increased post war. This can only happen in a Nazi Victory timeline by the way. I highly doubt this would be able to happen quickly.
That's why I suggested butterflying away WWII in this TL--for instance, through an early Hitler death.

Or, alternatively, you could have Germany and Russia ally and jointly partition A-H in an alt-WWI.
 
I could see it under an earlier pod, one where Prussia took Bohemia from Austria and then after German unification Prage becomes its capital, it was afterall the capital of the HRE.
 
You would need a much earlier POD, one where Prague was meaningful as a specifically German city. A TL where the Czechs are as Germanized as the Sorbs would be that.
 
Top