June 25th, 1941
Paul Reynaud sat in his office barely suppressing his tears. In his hands he clasped the telegram from Churchill, stating British support for France in the coming years, with promises of liberation repeated ad nauseum. Cold comfort for a newly conquered land. Glancing out the window, he saw German Panzers rolling through the Arch d'triumph and dazed French onlooks lining the streets. It seemed like a nightmare that no one could wake up from. Sadly, he set down the paper and slumped back into his chair. How could this have happened? he thought, exhausted. The Germans had broken the line on the Somme and poured into the country, forcing the government to capitulate. There would be no repeat of the last war, the French people had no stomach for the fight. Especially one so plainly unwinnable. The British could shout defiance to their last breath if they wished; they had the channel between them and the German army. The French were not so lucky.
This was a bleak year for the allies, of that there was no confusion. Germany had swept the Allied nations from the continent and all the remained were the British Isles. Churchill stood defiant at its helm, rejecting German offers of peace, only willing to stand for German withdrawal from all occupied territory. Reynaud could only chuckle at the thought. How could they force that? The 'noble' Americans stood aloof, calling it a European affair, one they refused to be drawn into again. Really, the only solution was to hope for Stalin to cast his lot in with the Allies, but the communists were worse that the Boche. Churchill was never very reasonable though. He, Reynaud, would have to pick up the pieces of this travesty. Soon they would call him back and have him issue their decrees. The Germans would expect him to be their puppet and let them rape his beloved France. But he had no other choice; the army was destroyed and no help was coming. Reynaud would play nice for now, if that was what it took to free France once again. But still, the question nagged at him: How could this have happened?
The Stir of Echoes
That moment had its first origins in the events of 1923. The ripples began with the putsch attempt in Munich. The political party, the National Socialist German Workers Party, was led by a man by the name of Adolf Hitler in a copy of Mussolini's 'march on Rome'. His march began with high hopes for the future of political power, but was cut short by a volly of gunfire from the police. Caught in the salvo was Hitler and his friend former general Ludendorff. With the death of these men, the rest of the party's leadership were arrested, and their rioting ruffians were dispersed. The death of Hitler percipitated the collapse of the Nazi party, shattering the early coalition of the nationalist German groups. Chaos was the result.
Every right wing group tried to seize the mantle of the nationalist movement, but none were able to garner a plurality of members. All the groups lacked an orater with the skills of Hitler. No one really spoke to the movement and the right wing stayed divided politically. The disorganization remained until the collapse of 1929. Finally several men emerged to take on the leadership role and began to form the Deustsche Nationalist Front (DNF). The one man that rose to the top was Heinrich Fuchs. He had been on the rise with in the right wing for a number of years, but the economic collapse gave him chance to rally the various nationalists and establish his base of power.
Fuchs was an interesting character of the time. A Hessian from Frankfurt, Fuchs fought in the Great War in the infantry and rose to the rank of Hauptman (Captain). His experiences lead him to reject the Kaiser and all sorts of cronyism and disdain the Prussians. Though he did not care for the Weimar regime, he did not totally reject Republicanism either. As Fuchs came from somewhat liberal household, he was remarkably open minded for his generation. Regardless he was a stauch nationalist with a burning hatred of communism and the French. His record of heroism on both fronts in the war earned him much respect, especially for one so junior within the movement. Ultimately he had risen to the helm of the DNF because of his inclusive rhetoric that most of the right wing could sympathize with, rather than catering to a select minority of radicals, like Hitler.
Ultimately, he was approached in 1930 by a group of industrialists that felt he could be useful in their economic agenda. They would finance his rise to prominence and help his party gain power in the Reichstag by 1932. This meteoric rise was exceptional, as other manipulative right wingers like Schleicher had sought to oppose him. Eventually he was able to be sworn in as Chancellor in June of 1932 and quickly began to impliment his independent agenda...