The Fuhrer in 1965

Fuhrer in 1965?

  • Adolf Hitler

    Votes: 3 3.0%
  • Hermann Goering

    Votes: 7 7.0%
  • Martin Bormann

    Votes: 13 13.0%
  • Heinrich Himmler

    Votes: 22 22.0%
  • Reinhard Heydrich

    Votes: 32 32.0%
  • Karl Donitz

    Votes: 8 8.0%
  • Other (please specify)

    Votes: 15 15.0%

  • Total voters
    100

Wolfpaw

Banned
But Hilter will most likely be dead by 1954. Or at least mentally unable to lead the Reich. Someone will be the leader of Nazi Germany, but not the Furer.

Oh, I agree. But Hitler's vanity may very well be strong enough for him to not step down. He'd probably just be insulated in some delusional wonderland sequestered away in the Bergdorf (he never liked Berlin), giving orders now and then and being told they were carried out when in reality they were being ignored.

With Hitler incapacitated, you'll see Bormann becoming stronger what with his control over the Parteikanzlei and access to the Fuehrer. But Hitler always considered Himmler his most loyal follower, the one who most shared his Nazi vision (unlike Speer, who shared his artistic vision). Again, I see turf war between Bormann and Himmler (assuming Heydrich's dead) once old Adolf kicks the bucket.
 

The Vulture

Banned
I should mention I have yet to decide on a specific POD or anything, right now I'm just playing with different ideas.
 
I remember a very interesting solution after Hitler died which was a Finnish AH. ITTL Hitler decides to leave the role of Fuhrer after the war to focus on his pleasures in art and architecture. After he leaves a political alliance forms between Goebbels and Speer, which effectively boots out Himmler. After Hitler dies in 1951 a triumvirate is established between Goebbels, Speer and Hans Lammer, and they install Rudolf Hess as the new Fuhrer of the Reich, since he could be very easily be used by the triumvirate.
 
Martin Boorman, if he's not otherwise occupied at this point in time. (sry, but I had to post that after the thread reminded me of it). Overall, he's alot more enigmatic than the others, adthat could work lots of ways.

That could be interesting, given there is evidence he may have been a Soviet agent (I saw a recent documentary on Soviet spy rings inside the Third Reich which said Bormann may have been the source of a lot of the really high-level intelligence the Soviets seemed always able to get their hands on, and the reason he "disappeared" at the the end of the war may have been that he turned himself over to the Soviets, who then spirited him away to the USSR. Indeed, there is even speculation that he died in Russia in the 1960s or 1970s). Having a Soviet mole take over as Fuhrer would be hilarious.
 

Eurofed

Banned
It never fails to amuse me how much people massively overestimate Bormann's place in the Nazi pecking order. He was a widely-despised sycophant, who only held power because of Hitler's personal patronage, and was hated by the rest of the ruling circle. Differently from other top dogs, like Goring, Heydrich, Goebbels, the generals, or Himmler, who had their own independent power base, or other Hitler's proteges, who at least got respect, Bormann (or Hess for that matter) were nobodies without Adolf propping them up. When he dies, Bormann would have to resign very quickly, or get a bullet in the head.

As for the Amry's chances of taking part in the succession, one ought not to draw too close an analogy with the USSR, since the Wehrmacht always got rather more autonomy, standing, and independent prestige vs. the Party and the secret police than the Red Army, and it would be the tool that won Germany an empire. It would not be the absolute hegemony, but in the Party/Army/SS/economic elites diamond, it would be the most powerful faction in the end.
 
Provided he's not offed per OTL I think Heydrich would be the most likely candidate; Himmler would be a close second, but IMO comes no where near close to Heydrich in sheer drive and ruthlessness/lust for power. Lots of people I think point to Himmler as the 'natural' sucessor (Head of SS, Police, etc) but if they hadn't taken out Heydrich in '42 like they did...well, I shudder to think what could be. :eek:(though I have read Man With The Iron Heart)
 
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