September 18 1947
The most remembered day in History. On this day, the North American Resistance finally concedes defeat after 2 years of intense fighting. 2 years prior, on December 11 1945, the Nazis dropped a Heisenberg Device (the German A Bomb) on Washington DC, killing the President and most of High Command. However, the population and the Army fought on, until their last breath.
Their surrender also marked the end of the most devastating war in the history of mankind: World War 2. Since the war ended, few conquests remain for Germany, Italy and Japan. To finally make Africa fully colonized, Germany invades Liberia and subsumes it into German Sub Sahara. Italy annexes Saudi Arabia and the entire peninsula. Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal falls under Japanese influence and are merged into the Unified Himalayan State.
The United States is divided between the Japanese and Germans. On the East Coast, the Germans create Nazi America or the American Reich, a puppet state of the Greater German Reich. On the West Coast, the Japanese established the Pacific States of America. A Neutral Zone sits as a buffer zone. Today, we will explain the 3 places where the show takes place.
Nazi America (Or American Reich)
This is the largest of the 3 sectors. It is a puppet state of Germany, although it has formal independence. The capital is New York City, chosen by Hitler as Washington DC was destroyed and irradiated by the Device. It is a totalitarian 1 party dictatorship like Germany proper; It has 1 ruling party, the American Nazi Party and 1 supreme authority, the Reichsmarschall.
Citizens are strictly devoted to Hitler and his Party. It is basically a "White Man's Society", full of white, Aryan people. Citizens with disabilities (Mental or Physical) or of different race is exterminated through the process of the "Final Solution", which was implemented in America after it's success in nearly wiping out Jews, Slavs etc. in Europe.
Nazi America relies on Germany for economical needs like transportation, (e.g. Concorde style jet planes) finances and defence. The entire Reich as a whole has a nuclear monopoly, being the sole producer of nuclear weapons. It is unknown if there are any Heisenbergs deployed in America. But if there is, Nazi America can pose a serious threat to the PSA and the Resistance.
Within its borders, there is no privacy. Security cameras are scattered everywhere; every phone is tapped and audio sensors are all around, making attempts of rebellion or Assasination plans almost impossible to enact without getting caught. This strict security measure is mainly driven by the SS and the Gestapo, although there is no evidence of the Gestapo's involvement.
The armed forces is the same: The Wehrmacht. Although there are several local law enforcement units established. Some were even kept active by the Nazis even after the US defeat, like the New York City Police Department , (NYCPD) which continues to patrol NYC, although with additional assets like swastika armbands. There is also the American Reich Bureau of Investigation, (a revised version of the Federal Bureau of Investigation) which conducts intelligence work in the region.
The highest authority is the Reichsmarschall. The current Reichsmarschall is Obergrüppenführer John Smith, which replaced George Lincoln Rockwell in 1962. Reichsmarschall's obligations is to directly take orders from the Nazi government in Berlin and to rule over their assigned territory. Even though it is a highly respected position by the average Nazi American, it is a dangerous one. John Smith is a target of the Resistance. Enemies within his own party too has shown interest in replacing him.
It borders the Neutral Zone to the west, Mexico (a Neutral Zone too) to the South through Texas, and Canada to the north.
Japanese Pacific States (Or Pacific States of America)
This territory makes up Washington State from the north to the border with Mexico in the south. A map in a classroom in one of the episodes shows that Alaska, Baja California and the Western coasts of South and Central America are also part of the PSA.
Within its borders, Americans are treated as second class citizens. Jews are also discriminated and even be sent East to Nazi America to be exterminated. The capital is San Francisco in California. Eastern Culture dominates the landscape, while old US culture is left in the dark. (e.g. even Hollywood is banned from the public.) Japanese foods and traditions are also most seen in the streets. Like the SS and Gestapo in Nazi America, the Kempeitai (the Japanese version of the SS) keeps close tabs with the population, with audio sensors or double agents blending in the public.
The PSA is in a Cold War with Nazi America. The Japanese Empire is in a technological disadvantage, as they have no Heisenberg Devices. It is depicted in one of the new films that the Nazis detonates a Heisenberg on San Francisco, a reflection of the Nazi Empire's War Plan. With war looking inevitable, the PSA is part of the funding team to create their first working Heisenberg Device. Also, through the help of Rudolph Wegener and Trade Minister Tagomi, the Japanese obtains the schematics and materials needed to create it, and they start producing it in secret in San Francisco.
It is easier to start an uprising here than in the East, as there are not many cameras around, but there are many patrols. In the trailer of Staffel 3, (or Season 3) Americans are shown rallying in front of a Kempeitai road block, and later getting beaten up by force. Takeshi Kido is also shown holding a picture of a Heisenberg Device test, the fireball seconds after blowing up.
The Kempeitai's reputation is ruthless in the PSA. They act as a sort of SWAT Team which raids bars, houses, hotels in search for Resistance members. People of Jewish ancestry is immediately detained on site, in preparation for their deportation East.
The Neutral Zone (aka The Rocky Mountain States)
This is a buffer zone that sits between the PSA and NA. While the capital is Denver, most of the events in the zone is focused in Canon City. While it is politically neutral and independent from the 2 powers, it is a dangerous place, crawling with gangs and vigilantes. This is the main operating base of the Resistance, an underground group of freedom fighters, some of which are from the North American Resistance during the war, who will not give up freedom.
The leader of the Neutral Zone is still unknown, but takes the title of "Governor", which is quite wrong, as a governor rules a region or community. The zone is crawling with poverty. Denver is also poor and far from the status of New York and San Francisco. It has no standing army or militia.
It has however, a some kind of Police force, called the Neutral Zone Local Police. They are unrecognizable due of their civilian clothing and their habit of blending in with the population. The only exception is they secretly carry firearms like pistols and shotguns. (Like when a disguised cop asks Joe Blake for his ID papers)
The Resistance is the other force in the zone, in exception for the Police. It is led by Lemuel Washington. (in the Neutral Zone and Nazi America. Gary Conell leads in the PSA) It was previously known as the Rebel American Army, and finally was named The Resistance after the surrender of the NAR.
They are shown also to be armed with US weapons that in 1962 was deemed obsolete. Weapons such as the M1A1 Thompson SMG and the earlier M1928A1 variant, the Winchester Model 12 shotguns and M1911 Colts are the most seen and used weapons in The Resistance.
The economy of the Neutral Zone is, again, poor. It relies on the PSA and Nazi America for pretty much anything for the economy: financial needs, funding and the reconstruction of some cities.