Chapter One
June 22, 1941
The Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, 1929
This day would go down as the single deciding period in the entirety of Volga German history inside of the Soviet Union. It was the choice of the General Secretary of the USSR, Joseph Stalin, to send two of his most trusted advisors, Lavrentiy Beria and Vyacheslav Molotov, to the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic along the banks of the Volga. The move was seen as starkly a political one, as Stalin had long wanted to eliminate the ‘German problem’ from the Soviet Union. He simply required some legal footing, a reasonable cause to his action, and he was more than willing to use the German Invasion of the Union early that very month as a reason for action.
The Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, 1929
The Volga German populations had historically enjoyed large amounts of freedom and camaraderie from their fellow countrymen, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic going as far to respect the Germans right to declare an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic due to the varying language, history, and ethnicity between the Volga Germans and the Russians and Kazakhs that surrounded them. This was something that the SFSR was used to throughout its early history under the leadership of Lenin, and the VGASSR itself was formed in the final years of Lenin's active role as leader inside of the USSR and SFSR. The SFSR hardly contained many of the Germans that had settled amongst the river, as around 1.6 million Germans were recorded to be living on the banks, only an odd 300,000 actually called the Volga Republic their home. The rest found themselves dotting the lands blessed by the river.
During the brief period of Soviet-German friendship in September 1939, the VGASSR was intended to host a meeting for the Chairman of the Republic and high ranking Nazi officials, with the supreme leader amongst them. Banners of the Reich were hung throughout the capital cities and many villages that were expecting him to pass through, the entire Republic was absolutely aflame in excitement to meet the leader of the Fatherland. Much of this activity was sponsored by the Union at large, due to the relatively hopeful outlook on friendship. This trip, however, never came to fruition.
Two years later, German forces crossed the border. Rounds were fired, planes took off from runways, and the entire country fell sway to the drums of conflict. Peoples who just years ago were viewed as the ‘epitome of a German Socialist state’ now were faced with intense discrimination and distrust from the Union at large. This backlash was expected by the farmer, the statesmen, and nearly every inhabitant of the VGASSR. While the invading forces pressed into the Baltics, Ukraine, and bleeding Belarus, Beria and Molotov were arriving in Engeles.
The sight that they arrived to would have made Lenin break into pure joy. The initial signs of whatever event had encapsulated the city was concerning to say the least, as they initially were only witness to pillars of billowing smoke coming from somewhere in the middle of town square. It was difficult to place the reasoning behind the smoke from their distance, whether it was from anti-war riots, fascist sympathizers, or some other anti-Soviet display was unable to be seen.
As the car began into the city proper, low and booming calls could be heard in a singsong, a melody calling out for the revolution and the Union itself from deep inside of the city.
An dem strom der Mutter Wolga, ach
An der breiten Fluten Fülle, ach
When the car transporting the pair eventually broke into the main square of town, it was forced to a slow stop due to the swarming mass of people that were congregating. The source of the smoke was located in the center of the crowd, and after breaking through on foot, they were witness to a sight that stood for the very heartbeat of the Union during this period of strife. Every single bit of flair that was gathered for Hitler’s planned visit two Septembers ago, every book, every flag, and every single bit of fascist symbolism that had made its way into the city was being burned in a grand pyre. The crowd acted as a single unit, passing objects upwards in order to toss them into the hungering flame, watching the embers of Lenin’s revolution consume the colors of the Reich.
Zieht heran die wilde Windsbraut,
Windsbraut,
Dräuend peitscht der Wind die Wohen, ah!
Drinks were visibly making their way around the crowd, this entire parade of unity was far less than a harsh display of patriotism for the Union, it was a purifying ritual. The Volga Germans were shedding their ties to the Fatherland, the Volga was their home. They were not subject to the will of Hitler, they were not subject to the views of their fellow Union members, they stood for the collective mindset of the Volga, the very heart of the USSR.
As the song slowly died down, the final notes being struck, a call came out from a podium that seemed to have been hastily constructed for this exact moment. Standing behind it was the Chairman of the VGASSR, Konrad Hoffmann, and with a single raised hand the crowd slowly began to calm down all idle chatter and tones. The voice came out in German, given the majority population of the city was of Volga German ethnicity.
“The People of the Volga, the People of the Revolution, the Fatherland has fallen. The Fatherland has become an enemy to the Revolution, and thus the Fatherland has become an enemy to everyone of you. Your fathers, your mothers, sons and daughters, every single one of them now stand at risk of dissolution at the hands of the fascist menace. Our Comrades may doubt us, they may even hate us for the simple association, but I am here to say, brothers and sisters, channel that hate. Do not fall like our old Fatherland has, march for the Volga. March for the Union. Take a rifle in hand and send for the menace. Push the Germans out of Soviet lands, for we are not Germans, we are Soviets, we are the Wolgadeutsch, we are the Revolution!”
The crowd broke out into a thunderous round of applause and cheers, the spirit of the Revolution seeming to be embedded into every face, regardless of origin. The void of any specific thought in the voices soon fell from the ether as a single tune began to overtake all that stood there.
Von Russland, dem großen, auf ewig verbündet
steht machtvoll der Volksrepubliken Bastion.
Es lebe, vom Willen der Völker gegründet,
die einig und mächtige Sowjetunion.
The hymn of the Soviet Union broke out among the lips of every Volga German, Russian, and Ukrainian in the crowd. Each singing the lyrics in their native language, the atmosphere of the situation was so forcefully moving that both Beria and Molotov found themselves swept up into the song. The calls going to the winter winds of the Volga.
“General Secretary of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin,
The Volga Germans have proved to be nothing less than the perfect example of comrades across the Union. We arrived to the burning of fascist flags and songs of the Union and the Volga, with the Chairman of the former commune giving a speech calling for war against Germany from every man and woman gathered in the center of town, it seemed that every single person inside of Engeles was attending with the sheer number of souls that were packed into that square.
I can assure the loyalty of the Volga Germans inside of the Autonomous Republic, however those located outside of said Republic cannot be assured on. With the pure display of patriotism for the Union, I would suggest the relocation of a majority of Volga German populations to the Autonomous Republic, allowing the Union to keep a closer watch on the population and with hope that the spirit of the Republic spreads to the rest of the Volga Germans,
-Chairman Vyacheslav Molotov”
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Hope you all like the first entry into the TL, I haven't written in some time so I am sorry for the poor quality. Going for a low impact TL, looking to take this into modern day. Feedback would be appreciated.
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