Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

One of the things that the Polish Agricultural Ministry should have been doing all along was to promote Polish Agricultural products like having a campaign that said it is not Christmas or Easter without a Polish ham on the table, develop a program that makes Polish butter and cheese a prestige item for consumers to order at stores and restaurants and to serve at home.
When Asian immigrants start to arrive in large numbers in to the Empire start growing the foods that they want if possible as an example have cabbage farms makes "Polish Kimchi", grow crops like blueberries, and cranberries and also promote cooking schools to develop a "Polish Cuisine" that is distinct in of itself.
 
Olli needs to start a legitimate political party and organise a food festival where all the local farmers produce their own speciality to show the benefits of having a wide range of different cultures to drawn on. But can he do this by accident?
Farmer-Labour Party of Galicia?

Marc A
 
Part 111, Chapter 1822
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty-Two



4th November 1967

Pawiak Prison, Warsaw, Poland

It was odd for someone like the Interior Minister of Poland to visit such a place. However, Mieczysławm Moczar was humming to himself as he walked with his bodyguards through the corridors of the prison. His critics might accuse him of having come here to gloat, because of course he was going to do exactly that. The man locked in the cell was just the first of many who he hoped to throw into here in the near future. This man had threatened to start an armed insurrection inside Poland so that Germany could once again force a fourth partition on the country just as an independence movement was finally gaining steam. What else could they be planning now that the Soviet threat was a generation in the past? As if flooding Southern Poland with all manner of riffraff did not make that clear. There was also the easy alliance that the same riffraff seemed to be forging with those people who infested the cities to consider as well. History always informed the present, no one should ever forget that. Moczar figured that after a few days locked in the dark would have Erwin Bachmann in the right frame of mind.

Standing outside the cell and looking through the bars, Moczar could see that Erwin Bachmann’s jailers had not been gentle in their treatment of the General. Then, those who ended up in a place like this were here for a reason and it was very few people’s idea of a destination resort.

“I thought I smelled something foul coming this way” Bachmann said when he looked at Moczar through eyes that were nearly swollen shut.

“I am prepared to be generous with you” Moczar said ignoring what Bachmann had just said, “You will be returned to Germany if you promise to never return and give your cooperation in…”

Bachmann started laughing at that. “You honestly think that you’ve won anything?” He asked once he stopped.

“You are one of the leaders working on behalf of your puppet masters in Berlin” Moczar replied, “Removing you from the equation is a victory.”

“I’m nobody’s puppet” Bachmann said, “But if I were at least I wasn’t Stalin’s until it became politically inexpedient. All that nationalistic twaddle hasn’t erased that.”

Moczar glared at Bachmann.

“As I was saying, give your cooperation in disbanding your organization” Moczar said, “Before there is any more violence.”

“My men aren’t unarmed students in Krakow” Bachmann said with a smirk. “If I start singing your tune, they will disregard it, so you can fuck off.”

“I hope you enjoy rotting in this cell then” Moczar said coldly, this had not gone how he had thought it would.



Jena

When Ben had entered Kiki’s house in Jena, he found her laying in her bed and she was a completely despondent wreck. Far worse than usual. He had known that once again, Kiki had been taking the weight of the world on her shoulders. It was something that people seldom thanked her for but that that had never stopped her from trying. The trouble was that it only took small personal matters to cause her to come apart at the seams when she was like this. Vicky had informed him that it was a fairly major event that had occurred this time and that he needed to be understanding.

Hera, the ill-tempered calico moggie who had been with Kiki or Vicky since they had been children had died during the night a week earlier and Kiki was just beside herself. She had always been more than just a cat to Kiki. While Hera was an unholy brute to nearly everyone else, she had been the closest thing Kiki had to a friend during the loneliest portions of her childhood. Hera had managed to live to a great age, small consolation for Kiki who was mostly focused on yet one more personal loss. This one coming at a time when she was already troubled by recent events seemed like a low blow.

Prying Kiki out of her bed and into a shower was a herculean effort by Ben and Vicky. She still had obligations and the excuses that Vicky had been giving Kiki’s employer weren’t going to work if it ran into a second week. Ben found himself sitting with Kiki in the bathroom while Vicky was getting fresh clothes for her. She had a towel wrapped around her and Ben couldn’t help but noticing the small pale circular scar on her left shoulder from a vaccination she had received years earlier.

“All I do is complicate your life” Kiki said, “Why do you put up with it?”

“Because I sort of fell in love with this amazing girl who moved in across the alley” Ben replied.

“Do I know her?” Kiki asked.

“Quite well, I would assume” Ben replied as Vicky came back into the bathroom.

“We need you to be somewhat presentable” Vicky said as she threw clothes at Kiki. “Franz is coming for lunch today.”

With that Vicky rushed back downstairs.

“I cannot believe she’s going through with that” Kiki said as she dressed. “Vicky and Anna think that they can fool the entire world. That sort of thing eventually falls apart and I am worried about her.”

This was the first time that Kiki had told Ben her opinion about her sister’s impending marriage.

“Why don’t you tell her that?” Ben asked.

“I have” Kiki replied as she frowned at herself in mirror, seeming to be unhappy with what she saw.
 
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Really great chapter, as always!

“I cannot believe she’s going through with that” Kiki said as she dressed. “Vicky and Anna think that they can fool the entire world. That sort of thing eventually falls apart and I am worried about her.”

Eh, I think Kiki's underestimating the ability of the world to ignore stuff as long as the people involved behave in an outwardly 'acceptable' manner.*

Person A: Ah, the Prince and Princess make a wonderful couple, don't they?

Person B: Em...you know the Princess is ga...

Person A (louder): And it's wonderful of her to keep her friends from college, and not be too proud to receive them!

Person B: Lady Anna's actually...

Person A (even louder): AND THE PRINCESS IS SUCH A WONDERFUL MOTHER TO HER CHILDREN! SHE'S THE VERY MODEL OF WHAT ROYALTY SHOULD BE!

Person B: ...I give up.

*Often because one person in such a circle's secrets being revealed would end to everyone else's following in short order...
 
"Owning a pet is just like owning a tragedy" - George Carlin
I once had a cat that just liked me and was mean to everyone else and what just happened shows us how much people loves Kiki because when my cat died I received no sympathy what so ever instead there was great rejoicing in the neighborhood.

While looking for something that was totaly unrelated to this timeline I came across the name Janusz Radziwill (1880-1967) of Polish-Lithuania Royalty and who's Great-Grandfather was Reichfurst of the Holy Roman Empire.
IOTL Janusz was a conservative nationalist Senator in the Second Polish Republic and his third son Stanislaw married an American woman by the name of Caroline Lee Bouvier sister of Jacqueline Bouvier and distant cousin to Marge, Patty, and Selma Bouvier of Springfield USA.
 
Really great chapter, as always!



Eh, I think Kiki's underestimating the ability of the world to ignore stuff as long as the people involved behave in an outwardly 'acceptable' manner.*

Person A: Ah, the Prince and Princess make a wonderful couple, don't they?

Person B: Em...you know the Princess is ga...

Person A (louder): And it's wonderful of her to keep her friends from college, and not be too proud to receive them!

Person B: Lady Anna's actually...

Person A (even louder): AND THE PRINCESS IS SUCH A WONDERFUL MOTHER TO HER CHILDREN! SHE'S THE VERY MODEL OF WHAT ROYALTY SHOULD BE!

Person B: ...I give up.

*Often because one person in such a circle's secrets being revealed would end to everyone else's following in short order...

Person C: Good, because no-one besides those parasites in the tabloids and a few right wing homophobes actually gives a fuck.

Edit: Moczar OTL was a right bastard. It looks like TTL version is worse.

'A popular joke in Poland from the time period illustrates how the average citizen viewed Moczar. "What do you get when you take away the 'czar' from Moczar?" (Czar is pronounced like Char and means charm in Polish). The answer is "Mo," which were the initials for the Polish police, "Milicja Obywatelska". '
 
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Part 111, Chapter 1823
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty-Three



24th November 1967

Wahlstatt, Silesia

They had just finished listening to the Prussian Training Institute’s Headmaster explain the basic overview of the school’s history and current syllabus. Manfred could see from Ilse’s face that she would need a lot more convincing.

“Things might look the same but many of our alumni find that the school is run somewhat differently than when they attended” The Headmaster, a portly man stuffed into an Oberstlieutenant’s uniform said to Manfred and Ilse, “It is a real shame that your husband couldn’t be here today, it would be a thrill for the students to meet him.”

“Albrecht is currently aboard the Lilienthal and will not be back for another two weeks” Ilse said as they left the Headmaster’s office. “We are getting him for the holidays this year though, which is good.”

They walked past a wall that Manfred knew was covered by the framed photographs of famous alumni of this school. There were plenty of photographs of men in military uniforms, but unlike when Lothar and Albrecht had attended this school decades earlier those were now outnumbered by men in three-piece suits and white lab coats. Doctors, Lawyers, Politicians, and Captains of Industry, Manfred realized. The expectations for what the students would do later in life had changed.

A photograph of Albrecht was front and center while Manfred’s had been pushed to the side. He was wearing a bright orange spacesuit and holding a helmet. A brass plate tacked to the frame read Kapitan-zur-See Doktor Graf Albrecht Siegfried von Richthofen, 1932-1939. The last part being the years he had attended. Manfred realized that it would probably include titles Kurfürst and Admiral in the future as Albrecht continued to climb the ladder and they got around to updating it.

“We are particularly proud to have a man like your son as a graduate of our school” The Headmaster said to Manfred, “He went on to University and has done important things. We encourage all our pupils to follow his example.”

“I see” Manfred said as they walked away from the photographs.

“These days academics are our main emphasis and the standards are quite rigorous” The Headmaster said, “I am sure that your husband has told you stories about how this school was run when he attended, but we have had to change with the times.”

It was obvious to Manfred that the Headmaster was pandering Ilse to a degree, though the well-practiced way in which he was giving this tour suggested that there was a great deal of truth behind what he was saying.

“My son Nikolaus wants to come here because his friend Sabastian is next year” Ilse said, she was keeping her voice neutral. Manfred knew that she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Nikolaus attending this school. “Bas was referred here after he got into trouble, as in nearly getting arrested.”

“You must mean Dietrich Schultz’s boy” The Headmaster replied with a chuckle. If Manfred had to guess he would say that the Headmaster must have read up on Ilse, who her friends and relations were. “We understand that not every boy is well suited to a traditional classroom. A bit of structure and discipline might be needed, or they might excel on the athletic field given a chance. School records indicate that you were quite the athlete in your youth Herr Kurfürst.”

“Among other things” Manfred replied.

“Yes, and your climbing to the top of the church steeple has become legendary” The Headmaster said, “Not that we have ever encouraged our students to engage in such exploits.”

“Did the records say how much trouble he got in for doing that” Ilse asked.

“As a matter of fact, they do” The Headmaster replied.

“Tell me more” Ilse said, finally interested in something she was hearing today.

It seemed that the school as an institution remembered a bit more than Manfred would have preferred.



Tegel, Berlin

The Systems Operator/Bombardier had two jobs aboard the Pfeil. Running the fire control system, the actual aiming of the rockets and bombs and the electronic countermeasures, which hopefully prevented the airplane from getting blown to bits in the meantime. Oberlieutenant Wilhelm “Wim” Franke frequently compared it to juggling chainsaws while on roller skates. It seemed to him that every time the technicians from Arado came around, the systems grew just a bit more complicated and he needed to figure them out all over again.

Presently, Wim was sitting in the cockpit of Black Knight III reading the guidebook. Ben was seated in the pilot’s seat as they waited for the alert that hostile bombers were inbound, and they would need to defend the City of Berlin. Wim could easily point out the absurdity of that. While they might pick off a bomber or two if they even managed to get off the ground, the city was going to get glassed by missiles that couldn’t be intercepted. The truth was that having them sit out here all afternoon was the Commander of SKG 18’s way letting them know who was boss and for the Government to show the taxpayers that their money wasn’t going to waste. Glancing up, he saw the passengers in the Terminal Building looking at them across the runway. Seeing the big Fighter-Bombers parked on the tarmac was a real thrill for them. Word was that SKG 18 was going to be moved to Berlin-Brandenburg International when it opened and the land Tegel was on would be a new suburb like had happened to Tempelhof a decade earlier. At least it wasn't raining.
 
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Scrapping Tegel already? I came through there in 04-05, it's a solid fit for the Berlin transit network.
It is small for the community it serves, is very close to the city center which poses a lot of obvious problems and once a state of the art new airport is built in the same city all the major carriers will leave.
 
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It is small for the community it serves, is very close to the city center which poses a lot of obvious problems and once a state of the art new airport is built in the same city all the major carriers will leave.
It's still useful, and for a World City like Berlin, there's going to be more demand than OTL. It's role can evolve for shorter hops, particularly as air travel gets cheaper for the masses.

Of course, if you're set on axing it, may I suggest turning it into a sport and engineering complex? Perhaps turn it into a race track, stadium complex, and some engineering schools and firms, instead of doing what Kat did earlier?

Former/active airfields make for great race tracks, (see Silverstone, Sebring, and Burke Lakefront Airport just to name a few). If the runways aren't going to be active, and the racing bits get a proper repave, you'd have chapter options for Emil/Zella getting a Berlin race track. If you want, lemme know, and I could pull up Google Earth and give you a few layout suggestions, back in my old TL, I made a few alternate motor racing courses.
 
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