Kurt instead of Konrad

WI Kurt Schumacher had been elected West Germany's first chancellor?

For those who don't know him, Schumacher was a very different man from Adenauer. He criticized the amount to be paid as German reparations, opposed federalism and parliamentarism, saw capitalism as incompatible with democracy, was a hardcore Marxist (this was a decade before the Godesberg Program), wanted West Berlin to join West Germany as a state (it actually remained a sort of corpus separatum under Allied administration until 1990), sought reunification at all costs, rejected the Oder-Neisse Line (as did Adenauer, mind you), was both anti-Western and anti-communist, advocated rearmament (partly to provide employment), and organized an SPD underground in East Germany. His ideal Germany was a united, neutral, socialist, presidential, non-federal Reich; Susano would've probably voted for him. He would've been a lot more open to the Stalin Notes.
 
Last edited:

Susano

Banned
I think hardcore Marxist is exaggerated. Not that it would be impossible for a ahardcore Marxist to be anti-East Bloc Communist.

Well, two great changes:
1) Under an initial SPD government, West Germany will experimentate with state industries. Probably it will amount to nothing worse than French dirigism in the end, but that will hurt the economy, in comparision. OTOH, many factors of the OTL economy miracle are still there, so if it still happens IOTL (very probably) people might laudate dirigism, which might have consequences even beyond Germany...
2) The Stalin Note of 1953. With a Schumacher government a neutral-by-treaty bloc free reunited Germany might happen.
 
Top