How could this map become reality?

Disaffected youths, the lower middle class, etc. etc.

The Coming of the Thrd Reich goes into the base of the Nazis' support very well, if you're interested.

So then, how could the KPD have received enough support to at least LOOK like they were going to win. That's all that is needed. Enough of what appears to be a momentum to scare Schleicher, the army and the conservatives.
 
Just a few Ideas about the OP's question...

Everything as OTL until the Munich agreements and the Anschluss of Sudetenland.

POD1 - somehow, Hitler realizes that annexing rump Czechoslovakia might endanger this relation to London prematurely. So, march of 1939 remains calm. He focuses on getting Danzig and the Corridor first. There is no British guarantee to Poland, and there are no negotiations between London, Paris and Moscow - but there is also no Hitler - Stalin pact. The Germans attack Poland more or less on schedule (or a bit early) - the west sends protests and (limited) military aid, talks about severe consequences, but does not declare war (yet). Poland doesn't better than OTL - but Stalin, who has no agreement with Hitler, and doesn't trust the West, remains out of Poland, but uses the distraction of the other powers to put some leverage on Estonia, Latvia and Finland.

Then, surprisingly, Hitler drops dead. The new German leadership doesn't seek outright war - certainly not with the West - so an arrangement is found in which Germany is allowed to lead an Anti-Soviet bloc, the West accepts puppetized east-central Europe and returns to business as usual with Germany - who restrains from further outright annexations except for the the territories lost to Poland after WW I.
 
So then, how could the KPD have received enough support to at least LOOK like they were going to win. That's all that is needed. Enough of what appears to be a momentum to scare Schleicher, the army and the conservatives.

Assuming Hitler drops dead early in 1930. The NSDAP starts soon to fragment in a leadership struggle - so it will never see the surge to the leadership of the German right it got in the elections in September 1930.
But, for some reasons, this election isn't really held - Brüning has no majority, and doesn't wan't to rule by decree (why - dunno...). (Or - the election is held, but without a credible new force to the right, voter turnout remains low, the right remains extremely fragmented, and the SPD by far the largest party) So - Hindenburg and Brüning realize that a coalition against the SPD is difficult, and there is no real legitimation for rule by decree..

Anyhow - the SPD remains part of the government, but can't get additional spending pass - the economy is as shitty as OTL, so the SPD shares more of the blame... - This should facilitate the KPD line of reasoning about how Social-Democrats are just fascists with another label, at least somehow, and allow them to win more of the working class over..

comes along the 1932 Presidential election. Without the threath of a President Hitler, no one is really backing Hindenburg for a new term - there is a plethora of candidates, KPD, SPD, Zentrum, DNVP, and various groups of the right - will all run their own candidate for the first round.

Then, after the first round, KPD leader Ernst Thälmann has the strongest showing, getting 26 % of the vote. Now, the difficult task of finding a person that might unify the country against communism will arrise

- scenario a - this Person is found and wins round 2 with >70 % - and will start to rule a bit authoritarian due to his huge popular mandate...
- scenario b - this Person is NOT found - several people from the Zentrum and the right (at least 3) remain on the ballot - without a moderate socialist in the second round, the chances that part of the SPD voters might actually break for Thälmann seem real - so there is a military coup and the election is cancelled - or first results of the election show that Thälmann might win with a low plurality of 34 % - and then there is a coup, and the election result is supressed...

Although, in case of a coup, I'd expect the coup leaders not to call for really free and fair elections anytime soon - they are more likely to form a 'National coalition'-'Patriotic Front' - 'Movement for Germany' - or whatever and - if they feel the need to hold elections - allow a token opposition only - after a few years...

And, if it goes without a coup, the new President might actually become the leader of such a national rally, uniting the country against the communist threat...
 
1920 Continued unrest in Germany lead to President Friedrich Ebert resigning
Brockdorff-Rantzau [German Foreign Minister] Becomes the new President
http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~jobrien/reference/ob94.html

1921
Referendums in several Austrian-German border regions call for annexation by Germany
President Brockdorff-Rantzau Welcomes the Territories and invite them to send Representatives to the Reichstags
Great Britain with problems in Ireland and the Palestine, prefers to look the other way and does nothing except a few harsh diplomatic notes.
Italy rapidly sliding into the problems that will lead to Mussolini, also declines.
France without the Backing of the other Allies, sits and Fumes.

1922
Seeing how the Allies didn't stop the annexation in 1921, the rest of Austria votes for Ancluss except for a few small areas in South Tryol that vote for joining Italy.
This is too much and the French Government asks Parliament for a DoW. To their amazement it fails to pass, and the Government Collapses.

1924
Poland, and the Baltic's sign a defense agreement.

1925
Germany starts rearming, the Defense Bill Caps Germany's Military at one million.

1937
Second Polish Russian War.
The war starts when Russia tries to force the Baltic's to give Russia Basing Rights.
In return for Germany's Support-- Poland agreed to abide by a referendum in Danzig and the Corridor.

1939
Referendum in Danzig and the Corridor return those to Germany

1945
Russia has bases in Estonia, and Latvia, which are nominally independent. Lithuania OTOH is occupied by Poland, who is working on a more formal Union.
 
Thank you for your contribution. :)

That said, I don't see this as a particularly likely scenario.

I really doubt France or even Britain would just let Austria be annexed by Germany in the early 1920s. It was far too soon after the Great War, and intervening would have been easy.

Rearming to 1 million troops in 1925 would send up red flags everywhere. No way would they stand for that.

A referendum in Danzig would give it to Germany, but the rest of the corridor would almost certainly go to Poland. That's why Germany needs to lift it off of them by force.

Poland occupying Lithuania is an interesting idea that I didn't think of. Hitler did tell them he wouldn't be opposed to them gaining a sea port through this means, if they exchanged Danzig for such a thing.

You forgot the Sudetenland. The original map I took this from didn't make it obvious enough imo that it has been annexed, but if you look closely you'll see that it has been.
 
I really doubt France or even Britain would just let Austria be annexed by Germany in the early 1920s. It was far too soon after the Great War, and intervening would have been easy.
My thought is that it is still soon enuff after the Great War that the Population of France and Britain, wouldn't want to go back to war.
 
My thought is that it is still soon enuff after the Great War that the Population of France and Britain, wouldn't want to go back to war.

It wouldn't be much of a war, really. Germany was almost completely defenseless around that time.
 
I was thinking of turning this into a scenario/timeline. What are your opinions on the Presidential candidates I listed in the first "update"?
 
An updated map to better reflect the global situation in TTL's 1945. I've made it clear on the map that the USSR did in fact annex the Baltic States and Finland, while I've ended Japan's war with China, returning it to what is more or less a status quo, likely thanks the massive allied support for the Chinese.

A-1945.gif
 
Oh, woe is me. The bad thing about coming onto an old site like this is that all of the timelines and scenarios you find interesting have already been done to death by others several years ago, and nobody wants to bother with revisiting them, or trying new ways to do them. :(
 
i hate to be nitpicky but i think the ussr needs to bessberia romania.

also in your timeline (if u make it) u should have the ussr invade japan, and the scandanavians.
 
i hate to be nitpicky but i think the ussr needs to bessberia romania.

also in your timeline (if u make it) u should have the ussr invade japan, and the scandanavians.

Well, forcing Romania to cede Bessarabia under these circumstances would probably lead to outright war. While an invasion of Japanese Manchuria (never mind the home islands) would also send up some red flags, but maybe not lead to war. I might consider the latter though.
 
A new version of the map showing a much scarier Soviet Union in the East. Having fought a war with Japan sometime in the early 40s, the USSR, despite western aid to the Japanese, was victorious, and established several far eastern puppets in the wake of the war...

Japan itself could not be invaded by the Russians thanks to the IJN, so it remains free of Communism.

A-1945.gif
 
ok it could happen like this:
war starts a bit later than normal, with the ussr being more succesful and in its anextions.

the bulk of the polish army is stationed at the soviet border as they see the ussr as a bigger threat.

mr pact signed as normal. sov and ger both attack poland, the germans catch poland by suprise, the soviets not so much. while the germans make quick wins russia is boged down in winter war style combat with desperate and angry polish troops. because of the su falure they dont get that much of poland.

adolf hitler on a vist to the front at warsaw is hit by an artillery shell and killed.

the western allies declare war on germany and ussr, but there is a lack of capability to strike at the ussr and france fights phony war style with germans and french throwing insults at each other (which neather side can understand:))

with hitler dead there is no attack on the lowlands, however a sealion is made but destroyed even worse than real life. (the logic behind this is that with frances reputataion if there ally britan went down france would sue for peace). sealion fails.

eventually a french general relizes that they arnt actually fighting, this takes some time to reach the top but eventually france makes a secret white peace with germany.

and the war with the ussr has consisted of britan and franch writing insulting letters to moltov who promptly sends his own profanitys. so peace is made there 2.

later britan makes a amphibous landing in germany, which is destoryed by a combenation of the armed forces and patriotic germans.

eventually they settle on a comprimise, germany will release a (puppet) poland, and be allowed to keep everything else including a slice of poland and germany gets someof its colonys back, cameroon would work i think. mean while gb and france get a good reputation as part of the peace treaty saying that as far as the rest of the world knows instead of ending the war with blood they ended it with deplomacy (technically poland did get released.

russia which lost face in the war and was double crossed is tempted to strike at germany but doesnt wish to have to march through the new poland cause that would cause a diplomatic incident. instead the strike at japan and china in the far east taking sikang, and manchuria. war with japan ends in a tie and the war with china was technically not real (it was a war agianst a warlord).

some power in china (nationalist or communist) takes control and unifies china.

now we just need to find a name for this new war, maybe german-polish war?

well thats one way that your map could become reality.
 
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