alternatehistory.com

Here's my new timeline, charting the political career of everyone's favourite German general of the First World War - Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck.


Chapter One: Rise and Fall


“The disastrous 1928 Reichstag election saw the DNVP lose 30 seats, with their share of the vote falling to 14.3%. The Reichstag was now dominated by the left-wing Socialist (SPD) and Communist (KPD) parties, who held 153 and 54 seats respectively … Recriminations followed within the DNVP with Alfred Hugenberg, the chairman of the party, challenging Kuno Graf von Westarp for the party leadership. However, his attempt to move the party away from its traditional monarchist stance and towards an alliance with the NSDAP was frustrated when, on 29th May 1928, he was arrested for tax fraud. Although later released without charge the accusations dented his political integrity amongst the grassroots supporters of the party, and he withdrew his challenge two weeks later. Despite this, Westarp resigned from the party leadership, naming famed war-hero Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck as his temporary successor.

Lettow-Vorbeck’s first major action as leader of the party was to begin negotiations with the ‘Stalhelm’ (Steel Helmet – an ex-servicemen’s organisation) with regards to the formation of a popularly nationalist alliance against socialism and Nazism. In July 1928 Lettow-Vorbeck met with Hans-Jurgen von Blumenthal, editor of the Stalhelm journal, and an agreement was made whereby a united front would be formed to fight the next election. This Vorbeck-Blumenthal Pact was to be the first step towards re-establishing the DNVP as a force to be reckoned with in German politics.

A second, unanticipated success came with the collapse of the Catholic Centre Party in October of 1928. Divisions within the party had persisted, with the broad policy of support for the Catholic Church not enough to unite Christian trade-unionists on the left of the party and Christian nationalists on the right. Of the party’s 61 Reichstag deputies, 22 (including Franz von Papen) joined the DNVP, 9 the Bavarian People’s Party (BVP), and 6 the Christian-National Peasanst’s and Farmer’s Party (CNBL). The remaining 24 deputies formed a new party – known as the Christian Party (CP). The end of the Centre Party cemented the DNVP as the second biggest party in the Reichstag, and left them as the most obvious rival to the SPD.”

“The success that had accompanied Lettow-Vorbeck’s leadership thus far came to an end at the close of 1928. Franz von Papen, already well-known within the German political community as a schemer, declared that it was his intention to challenge for the leadership of the DNVP. Wishing to avoid what he saw as pointless division, Lettow-Vorbeck considered giving Papen the deputy leadership of the Party, but was convinced by his inner clique that defeating the challenger would be the best way to ensure continued unity and loyalty. The Party member ship voted on the 19th December 1928. The results were announced two days later, with Von Papen gaining 41% of the vote, Lettow-Vorbeck 49%, and 10% of the party membership choosing to abstain. Successful but lacking an absolute majority, Lettow-Vorbeck stood down from the party leadership, choosing Oskar von Hohenzollern as his caretaker successor.”
Lettow-Vorbeck: An Extraordinary Life by Cecil P. Liddle


“I was never elected to this position, and feel unable to continue without the absolute support of the party behind me. I have served the party, as I served my country, to the best of my ability, and I offer my successor the following advice; do not seek an ultimate victory before the foundations of success are ready, instead chip away at the enemy – for the radical elements within this country are our enemies – and seek to attack his policies and harmony at every opportunity.”
- Lettow-Vorbeck’s parting speech to the membership of the DNVP.


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