Because I would have assumed that those theories would have been either already suggested by another member or added by you yourself. Man, I'm really loving this! Keep up the good work.
"Our Struggle": What If Hitler Had Been a Communist?
- Thread starter The Red
- Start date
That's a very important question although unfortunately it's one that's rather sensitive to spoilers, although I would note that whilst the Bavarian people were predominantly Catholic the church was never particularly ingrained within Bavarian society during the Weimar era.
Well it was rather important, I mean the Zentrum party,the Catholic party, always had the majority in Bavaria.
Zentrum were never all that relevant in Weimar Bavaria, particularly because so many of its previous members were antagonistic to the new republic and the moderate line the national party was taking towards it. They formed the Bavarian People's Party, which always won a plurality of the votes and seats in the Bavarian Landtag but it never had more than 40% of the vote. Although it was a largely Catholic party it did have quite a few Protestants in leadership roles, perhaps the most famous (or infamous) was Gustav Von Kahr who effectively presided over a dictatorship in Bavaria between the fall of the Bavarian Soviet and the Beer Hall Putsch.
I haven't seen Metropolis in years and the version I saw last time was the one that had a modern (for the time) music soundtrack, I didn't think it was too bad but a lot of my friends didn't like the mixing of new music with a classic, which I fully understand.
Its a shame how many silent films are missing bits and pieces or are completely lost, I read once that the first film version of Dracula was made in the Soviet Union of all places in the 1920's but no copies exist today.
Would love to see that film even if its bad.
I've only seen the film with the original score although from what I've heard the 1984 score was a mistake. Some of the songs are okay on their own but I'm not sure who decided that the way to improve a silent film from 1927 was to have Bonnie Tyler do a Kim Carnes impression.
That sounds great, I suppose it makes sense as well given that a large segment of the original book is from the perspective of a Russian captain. Speaking of which, have you seen Battleship Potemkin? Fantastic silent film.
I have not seen Battleship Potemkin yet but they show it on TCM every now and then, the last time it was shown I caught it midway, so I decided not to watch it but I'm keeping an eye open for it.
Maybe, maybe not.
I don't think a Soviet-German alliance would have come about straight away just because they're both Communist. In fact, I'd imagine that Stalin might see Hitler as competition/a threat more than anything. Germany might be too independent for his liking. I can understand Commie Hitler admiring Stalin, but I'm not so sure about Stalin on Hitler...
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In our world the Molotov-Ribbentrop shocked many because it was an agreement between two ideologies which were entirely at odds with each other, yet when you look deeper it becomes less of a surprise; history of Weimar-Soviet cooperation, both isolated, revanchist regimes, etc. Inversely you've got a Communist Germany and the Soviet Union being seen as natural allies but there is also going to be enmity hiding underneath the surface of the relationship.
Chapter L
Weimar Germany conjures up fears of what can happen when there is simply no societal consensus on how to move forward and every minor difference becomes a cause of existential political battles
~ Eric D. Weitz
~ Eric D. Weitz
The so-called “Golden Years” of the Weimar Republic have been the subject of fond, if rather naive memories.
To many it was a time when it seemed as if Germany had successfully negotiated a path between the extremes of left and right and had left the archaic days of the past behind. It is a time that many consider as an era were Germany was working towards a glorious future in relative harmony, before international crises and homegrown forces of chaos and reaction conspired to tear down the promise of German democracy. This is a myth that has gained much attention from the dissidents that fled the German Workers Republic and praised the optimism and hope of the republic prior to the Great Depression. In doing so, this nostalgia completely overshadows the fact that the issues of economic and political strife that plagued the republic had not been overcome, even if they were seen to have been tempered.
There is no denying that Germany experienced some economic success between 1924 and 1929 but this was typically of benefit only to the white collar workers who had always formed the aspirational, socially mobile backbone of the republic. By 1928 productivity had returned to pre-war levels and wages were on average 12% higher than they had been under the Kaiser. However, the number of hours in the working day had also increased for most urban workers as German industrialists attempted to mimic the success of vast American corporations such as Ford. In a time when the Communist Party was having to deal with the fact that German capitalism seemed to be working, Hitler famously commented, “American hours but German working conditions and German wages.” Although wages increased, they were nowhere near comparable to the pay packet an American worker could hope for. It seemed to many those who controlled the means of production were trying to reap the benefits of American industrial strategy without having to invest in their workers.
Instead of higher wages German companies attempted to raise their workers stake in their employer by organising recreational activities, company sports teams, picnics, and other pursuits were designed to engender an image of “family” between the management and the workforce. However these were largely middle class pursuits, and were alien to the average German worker who found their working day becoming longer for little for insufficient compensation. In this regard, working class women were affected even more than working class men.
As the German economy grew women were working in the largest numbers since the end of the First World War but this was an achievement that also became a burden for many. Women in the workforce was still frowned upon in many areas of German society, but it was an utter necessity for many German families. Nonetheless women were still paid less than men for the same work and for the same hours, whilst usually also being expected to do all the household work when they returned home. The husband, employed or otherwise, was not expected to contribute. Although many white collar workers like to imagine an era of domestic bliss, there was nothing particularly golden for a woman who had to work eight hours a day only to return home to a further eight hours work. Government pronouncements of economic success were not much to be applauded when individuals did not have time to even read the newspaper before their day had to start again.
The economic success during the supposed “Golden Years” must also be put under greater scrutiny, although the German economy became a world leader in certain fields, particularly in chemicals, its overall economic growth did not match that of either France or Great Britain. Unemployment remained a serious problem, never going below 1.5 million people out of work. This was a figure had begun to grow even before the Autumn of 1929. The government attempted to alleviate the problems of unemployment or injury that families suffered from by increasing the rate of unemployment insurance and sickness benefit but these only added to the financial burden of a state that was spending on the basis that the economic growth would go on continuously, with little effort being made to ensure it would continue on a firm basis. The government was willing to support those out of work but it was wary of paying them instead to work on developing the infrastructure for a mass production economy or to modernise country’s infrastructure. The republic had driven itself into a great deal of debt to recover from the devastating hyperinflation of the early twenties and it had become reliant on American loans for much of its continued stability.
In this way the German government had tied itself to the success of the American economy. Like the inflationary consensus of the early twenties, it was a gamble that they had a great deal of faith in.
~ Kriegsphilosophie: Totalitarismus und Demokratie in der Deutschen Arbeiterrepublik, Annett Gerhardt
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There would have been a time when a call from the state department would have thrown off Robert Oaks. Then again, there would have been a time when he would have shuddered at the title of “Washington’s man in Berlin” but the city had grown on him after his long spell as advisor to the United States Ambassador.
When Robert had moved to the city he had seen his appointment as some sort of cruel punishment for what he had hoped would be a promising diplomatic career. Germany had been stuck in the midst of the worst hyperinflation in human history and Berlin had appeared to be the eye of the storm. The French had invaded the industrial Ruhr to take the reparations the Germans pleaded that they could ill afford to give, only worsening the economy crisis.
The streets had been full of the destitute and the hungry, and the communist mobs whose numbers had swelled amidst the misery, their cause only growing in popularity as news came out of a communist veteran of the Great War fighting the French occupation in the Ruhr. It had seemed that the country was headed for another communist revolution, which unlike the previous attempts stood a strong chance of success.
Now the situation was entirely different, the economy was booming, the streets were no longer filled with beggars but with the patrons of cafes and bars. The communist presence was relegated to the occasional poster, and a handful of surly men and women selling newspapers. At the recent election their number of seats in the Reichstag had almost halved with the good economy causing voters to strengthen their trust in the pro-Weimar parties. Adolf Hitler, the man who had become a hero of the oppressed proletariat, appeared to be yesterday’s news as workers instead focused on climbing the social ladder, if not for themselves then for their children. The party’s beige covered thugs, the Red Front, were on the verge of being officially proscribed. The thoughts of revolution were increasingly expressed in fictional works, what had appeared to be a reality only a few years ago was now consigned to the picture house.
Robert was not a vain man but he couldn’t help feeling satisfied with the role he had played in bringing this prosperity about. The financial assistance that the United States had granted to both the French and the Germans then both both countries might have still been at each others throats, if not plunged into revolution by a restless working class sick of years of economic stagnation. Instead the American enabled agreement had not only gotten the French troops out of the Rhineland but had formed the basis for the Treaty of Locarno. The German Foreign Minister and former Chancellor, Gustav Stresemann, had been willing to recognise the post-war order determined by the Treaty of Versailles. At least on Germany’s western border.
Stresemann had dragged his government along with him. Germany had shown that it was willing to return to the world stage as a responsible and democratic power. Trade between France and Germany had now grown higher than at any point since before the First World War. Peace was working.
The new Labour government in the United Kingdom for a global move towards disarmament seemed to indicate that perhaps the idea of a world at peace was not so utopian overall. In last year’s election he had been glad that his German colleague, Ernst, had returned to the government with the Social Democrats. It seemed as if the governing coalition was even stronger with their presence and, after all, their party had largely written the republic’s constitution. With the confidence that German democracy was finally finding its feet, it was increasingly a pleasure to read the newspaper with such hope on the horizon.
Robert had been reading his morning copy of Der Tag when the receptionist had informed him that there was an incoming call from the state department. The American news in the popular albeit loudly nationalist paper had been brief, a fluff piece on preparations for Halloween and a brief report about a minor investor loss on Wall Street that was causing some consternation. As he moved from his well lit office to the cramped confines of the radio room the main issue on his mind was whether or not it would be feasible to one day lay down a telephone line from America to Europe. It would save the hassle of having to drop everything when there was a call from Washington.
The radio operator was hunched over the radiophone in an attempt to avoid losing the signal, the atmosphere was stuffy. Robert couldn’t help but wonder whether or not this was good for the man’s, spending all day by himself with a machine, before suddenly facing the stress of diplomatic events. As ever he simply nodded to Robert and handed him the microphone before leaving. Whoever it was, Robert decided he would try and keep whoever it was on the line for as long as possible. Having a leisurely chat would allow the man some time to go out and grab a coffee and a cigarette.
“Mr Oaks?”
“Good afternoon from Berlin, Mr Secretary”
It was the croaky, uncharacteristically sombre, voice of Henry L. Stimson. It was unusual for the Secretary of State to be calling him personally but it wasn’t particularly strange. Since being called out of the blue by President Harding six years beforehand, there was little that could surprise Robert.
“It’s morning in Washington. What time is it over there?”
“It’s almost four o’clock sir, I was actually planning to leave work early. Berlin is surprisingly vibrant on a Thursday evening.”
“I’m afraid you may have to cancel your plans.”
The secretary continued to go on, occasionally interrupted by static interference from the radio set. In Robert’s quivering hands he began to grasp the microphone tighter and tighter. The reason as to why Stimson was so downbeat became so clear all of a sudden. Robert knew that he would have to inform the ambassador, who in turn would have to inform Stimson’s German counterpart, for however long the man might keep his job.
His plans for October 24th, 1929, were now inevitably cancelled.
In the badly lit room, Robert could already see everything he had worked for disappearing before his eyes, as the news of what had happened at Wall Street continued to emanate from the radiophone.
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The painting is Inside and Out by George Grosz
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This is interesting, the books publication in German and its mention of naive and nostalgic memories seems to imply the fall of Hitler or that there is a massive exilic German population which maintains its language and traditions.
