The Crucible of Absolution (A post Battle of Berlin Germany)

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The Crucible of Absolution
Chapter 1: An Unlikely Führer

May 7, 1945

The Führer is dead, he and his love, Eva Braun, thrown into a ditch to burn so as to spare them from the humiliation the Soviets would treat them with, dead or alive. He had been slowly losing it for several years, with virtually everyone grabbing power as he became more isolated and less involved, only re-surging three times, at Stalingrad, at D-Day and at the Battle of Berlin, all three ended badly for Germany. Most of the general staff within the Führerbunker along with Goebbels are also dead. The Luftwaffe is a shadow of it's former self, the Heer is on the ropes, the Kriegsmarine non-existent, it seems the end of the Thousand-Year Reich has come. Göring is considered an enemy of the Reich, slowly losing his power over the last few years, Speer is off to Hamburg while Jodl, Keitel and a couple of petty officers and general staff have, with a few dozen soldiers, made a miraculous escape out of Berlin and had headed north to Dönitz, the new leader of the Reich. The situation is, as the Führer himself said shortly before his death, "completely lost". The Allies are at the Maginot and the Ardennes and the Soviets have captured Berlin. It would seem November 1918 has come again.

On May 2, Dönitz and several high level generals and government officials convene in Flensburg to decide what to do next. It seems surrender, as hated as it is, is the only sane option. After 3 days of deliberation, they agree on an option which stuns everyone. The council agreed to continue fighting the Soviets but try and work with the Allies. During the meeting Dönitz and von Krosigk die unexpectedly. Since both heads of state had died, they began to argue over the successors. After even more deliberation, which delayed the council's adjourning till the 7th, they agree to elect Speer as the new Führer.

While this is considered extremely strange, as Speer was never interested in politics and had actually been entirely dropped from any successor government in Hitler's will, his impressive achievements in completely mobilizing the economy and improving supply lines underneath intensified Allied and Soviet bombing as well as his more moderate stance compared to others, something they hoped would appeal to the Allies more than a military man were enough to overlook these issues. A messenger is dispatched to Hamburg to retrieve Speer, bring him to Flensburg and inform on important matters.

The plan is to have Speer meet with Eisenhower and Churchill and convince them that Soviet's massive forces in Europe and complete lack of any offensive against the Japanese was a definitive sign they had no intention of sharing mainland Europe with them and that they needed the Wehrmacht and the SS to drive the Soviet's out of Europe. Whether or not this plan will work is anyone's guess and the final gamble for the Third Reich's survival has begun.
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I think you'd need a POD prior to Barbarossa to make this feasible, but I love the concept.
 
I think you'd need a POD prior to Barbarossa to make this feasible.

Why? Literally nothing is changed until Hitler's death. The POD, well there are a few minor ones that the POD in Flensburg aren't reliant upon, is them deciding to not surrender and instead work with the Allies and the decision to choose Speer, which I honestly think is one of the most ridiculous things, second only to them deciding to continue fighting. Thank you by the way
 
Very interesting.

I guess Donitz was killed in a coup by the war extremists, because how else could have died?

This would add only confusion among the Allies to decide who is the legitimate head of state (because Goring may pull his stunt), and give the Soviets more time to ravage the remnant sacks of German resistance.
 
What about having a random heart attack or bomb be how Donitz dies?

That was the original idea, but I decided it would be better to leave unknown so that the reader can fill in the blanks. I personally believe that it was a random heart attack as Donitz was 50+ yrs in '45, but that does not mean that's how he died, just my personal opinion
 
They could try and work with the Allies but I really don't see them accepting a separate peace offer after the efforts taken to prevent the Soviet Union potentially signing a separate peace deal as late as 1944.
I think it was the Yalta conference where Roosevelt made his first "Unconditional Surrender"comment to keep the Russians in the war, (a simplified summary).
To prevent this you'd need a POD potentially from before Barbarossa, say significant numbers of Soviet designed and built aircraft taking part in the Battle of Britain for example, something that poison's the well so to speak.

To be honest, I think this late in the war, the Germans don't have anything, (bar the troops in Norway), that I'm aware of, that would temp the Americans, British and the French to accept it.

That's looking at it from a position where the W/Allies actively work with the Germans, which to be fair, you've stated that's the Germans want, not what the Allies accept.

Alternatively the Germans could just try something unilaterally, shifting everyone east to slow the Soviets while not opposing the W/Allies as they take as much of Germany as possible, forcing the AFB troops to go further than the stop lines agreed previously which would also significantly poison the well.
 
Well the Americans were only two months away from successfully developing the bomb, the Allied air force was truly supreme and Britain is not going to fall to pre-nuke Soviets. The Wehrmacht and SS are just addenda to make "Operation Unthinkable" a bit more plausible in the eyes of those like Churchill and Patton who already wanted to do it. I like the idea of all remaining German troops being pulled east to fight the Soviets, they would still be outnumbered but I feel the Soviets would be caught off-guard by the sudden influx of enemy troops and wonder where they came from. Of course the new government wouldn't really be a Nazi state as that would be a deal-breaker for sure, having Hitler gone would improve what chance this idea ever had of happening as Churchill wanted nothing to do with Hitler. Speer is divorced enough from the fanaticism Himmler and the like would've had to leave full-blown Nazism behind to protect the German people from the Russians. Also the Russians would be severely behind the Americans when it came to the bomb and they wouldn't get it by 1949 as I doubt the couple that spilled the beans would do so during the war. A B-29 Superfortress can reach Moscow from Paris (that would be a one-way trip however and it's unlikely they would be able to easily get passed the Soviet airforce early on) so one can expect when, or if to be more accurate, they push them out of Germany they could drop a couple on Moscow, Lenin and Stalingrad, etc, etc

Maybe the Allies double-cross the Soviets and discretely inform the Japanese of the Soviet weakness in Manchuria once the war in Europe breaks out so as to split their attention while simultaneously easing up on the Japanese themselves, effectively letting a rabid animal loose in a closed chamber and closing the door.
 
The Crucible of Absolution
Chapter 2: A Flight to Flensburg


May 8, 1945
Hamburg, Germany

Speer is in his home. It's 1 am, he can't sleep. He still feels that this is all too surreal, as if something's not right. He is anxious, waiting for the news of Berlin's fall and Hitler's death. He remembers the way Hitler reacted when he told him he had defied the Nero decree, never had he thought he would see the man he remembered as being so invigorating and energetic be so defeated and bitter. It broke him as he was still loyal to him as he had said, but there was no way he could willingly allow such a devastating order to be carried out, the German people must come before any ideology, no matter how much he agreed with it. He's surprised Hitler didn't have him killed on the spot, remembering what happened with Rommel. Suddenly, there is a knock at the door and he is brought back to reality. He goes to the door and asks who it is, a man answers, "Herr Speer? I need you to come with me immediately.", Speer asks the man what is the reason, the man responds, "It is highly classified, I can tell you everything once we are in a more classified area". Speer is confused, but also relieved. He honestly had thought for a moment that his time had come and Hitler had ordered him executed but he is certain that isn't the case.

He gets dressed and only brings a small amount of essentials and they make their way to a nearby airstrip where they board a Ha 142 plane and head towards Flensburg. They land near Flensburg and drive the rest the way, filling Speer on the situation. When told Hitler was dead, he was not surprised but somewhat saddened that his friend was now dead. When told he was the Führer he is so shocked by it he stays silent for a few minutes before asking further questions. They arrive at the main headquarters and enter the building. Upon entry, a thundering shout of "Heil Mein Führer!" blasts him at full force, he almost instinctively said "Heil Hitler" but corrects himself and instead just does the salute, it's going to take him some time to get adjusted to being the Führer. He wonders why they chose him of all people and not someone like Dönitz instead. He wonders what they expect him to do. He enters the main planning room, everyone stops what they are doing and do the proper salute, Speer once again almost says "Heil Hitler" but stops himself in time. He approaches the table, he asks everyone what the situation is. Once he is fully briefed on the military situation he is already beginning to grow pale, he already knows the sad state the German industry is in, when informed of what Himmler has done, he is shocked that he would betray Hitler, he is even more surprised that the plan was for Speer and couple of others to meet Eisenhower and Churchill to negotiate a surrender to the Allies and work together against the Soviets. At first Speer objected to this, saying further warfare would only hurt the German people, but when reminded that almost half of Germany and millions of citizens were under Soviet occupation and that the Soviets would treat them horribly he quickly came around to their idea.

They ask him what are his orders, he says that he needs an accurate report from all major commanders, he needs a survey of whatever industry Germany still controls, he wants an official meeting with Eisenhower scheduled as quickly as possible and a plethora of orders to combine, expand or eliminate various ministries and other bureaus that restricted potential industrial growth that he had been unable to remove when Hitler was in power as well as giving greater authority to his generals due to the communication system beginning to break down. The orders are carried however, there are even more issues that need to be resolved, he stays for hours, constantly reviewing the military situation, preparing himself for how to negotiate with the Allies and various other issues. He continued non-stop until 7 am. The sun was rising and the morning of the 9th of May was here and Speer was exhausted since he had not slept since the 6th. He retired to his personal quarters after he was assured his wife and his children would arrive safely in Flensburg tomorrow. Although much work had been done, little progress in the field had been made and everything hinged on the Allies accepting the olive branch he would extend to them.

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Hmm. I think May 8th might be too late. May 1st, perhaps. On May 3rd Hamburg had already surrendered.
Correct, that's why the man sent to get Speer came in the dead of night and didn't tell him why he was there. Besides, the Allied delegation that came to pick up Speer didn't come until the 15th, 7 days after. Besides, if we're being completely honest, this whole story is a bit ridiculous. The actual chances of the Allies ever accepting this offer is very little. I wouldn't call it ASB, but it's one of the less likely scenarios out there
 

ReenX

Banned
Interesting premise. Would be more awesome to have Goebbels, since he, like Beria, rarely appear in any TL's.
 
The Crucible of Absolution
Chapter 3: A Sea of Troubles


May 9, 1945
Flensburg, Germany

Speer awakes, he feels well rested. He goes through his morning routine and when he goes to dress he finds he his given an outfit similar to what Hitler wore including the Eagle of Sovereignty pin and a replica of the Golden Party Badge Hitler had worn. At first he felt it was wrong to wear a uniform in the likeness of his now deceased friend, but decides he needs to show his authority and proudly dons it in memory of him. He heads to planning room and continues to try and salvage anything out this situation. The question on what to do with Göring comes up. It seems pretty obvious, he wasn't very efficient and Von Greim would most likely would be better. Himmler comes in, asking for a place in the new government. Speer inwardly grimaced, remembering how Himmler had ignored his plea to talk about the Nero Decree less then two weeks ago. However, Speer knew he needed the loyalty of the SS as well as the contacts Himmler managed to establish through Count Bernadotte if he wanted to have a chance at pulling this off and so he accepts Himmler into the new government.

Later on in the day, several reports from generals in the North come through, but the majority of them have yet to report in, the information mostly just states what they already knew. Some preliminary industrial files come through a bit later and once again, all they do is state what they already know. There's not much he can do at the moment, he is informed that a major breakthrough has come. One of Himmler's contacts had managed to reach Patton and strategically leaked the info about Hitler's death and their plan to fight the Soviets and he was enthused. He had encouraged Eisenhower to meet with Speer and he amazingly accepted. A meeting had been scheduled for the 15th in Switzerland. Speer and the high command were ecstatic, would their gambit pay off? Speer penned a note to Eisenhower to initiate a ceasefire until negotiations have ended, it is sent at 7pm and is estimated to reach him around the 12th. Speer is constantly haunted by the horrifying horde of Soviet troops to the east, he has heard stories of the hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, raped, tortured and killed by them.

He decides that no matter what, the Soviets must be pushed out of Germany and, if possible, Europe. He orders a slow but consistent transfer of troops from the west to head east and for all offensive operations that might fail to be canceled and allows for western forces to retreat to more favorable defensive terrain. He also orders forces engaged in the east to take any steps they felt necessary, save for implementing scorched-earth policies on civilian centers, to gain an advantage and divides the command of the Volkssturm to the nearest commander of each unit. He notifies Weidling that he is the supreme authority on military matters and Speer would only be there to stay informed and would provide advice. He is visibly relieved, he had thought that now that Hitler was gone he would lose the operational freedom his predecessors acted with. Speer asks where Wenck, Busse and Holste are in the field and Weidling says Wenck is engaged with the Soviets between Rathenow and Wittestock, Holste is near Wenck and is attempting to break through the Soviet line at Neustadt and Busse was in the midst of a tactical withdrawal to buy the other two time to get into a better position. Speer thanks him and leaves him to his devices. He makes sure to let Weidling know that he wants to be informed the moment Kesselring reports in.

It is 11pm, he is only somewhat tired. He goes to see his family only to see all of them asleep. He sighs, at least they will be safe. He sits next to his wife and caresses her hair, then he carries her to their bed before leaving to shower, eat for the first time since morning and lays in his bed. He feels like Sisyphus. Hopefully when the time came, he could get past the hill.
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Orders are issued to "divisions" that don't exist any more, and never reach the remnants of those units. When they do, they are ignored. Soldiers move West in small groups and surrender to the preferable enemy; officers trying to stop them end up like Doenitz. The Western Allies know very well how tired of the war their public opinions are, and utterly ignore the proposal of continuing the war against their ally, Stalin. And that's the end of it.
 
We really need to ongoing display of Nazi propaganda posters?

I'm not a Nazi, would you have a problem with displaying Soviet or Imperial Japanese posters? I bet not despite them causing more death destruction. I'm not promoting any ideology, even if I was, I'm not breaking any rules. I'm not inciting hate or trying to start a political discussion of any kind. This is just me writing a story I've wanted to write about for a week.

The posters add a little flair which I think compliments the series. It isn't just random posters, all of them are either ambiguous in the context of who they are fighting or are specifically targeted against the Soviets, which ties into the theme.
 
The Western Allies know very well how tired of the war their public opinions are, and utterly ignore the proposal of continuing the war against their ally, Stalin. And that's the end of it.

That's reality, this is an alternative history. Not once have I claimed I'm telling a realistic or even likely story, this is just a little fun project. I'm not some university professor and I'm not getting paid to do this so this is just for fun. Now if you don't like that, that's fine.
 
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