Festung Europa
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The Volkshalle (People's Hall) and Reichstag (Parliament) buildings in Germania, c. 1956.
From "The Second World War: 1939-1977", by Michael Fairfield
"During the “white peace” period, Germany was allowed to pursue its own designs in Europe. Most horrific was the Holocaust, the targeted extermination of nearly nine million Jews, which was pursued with a fanatical dedication. Almost sixteen million non-Jewish enemies of the state were exterminated as well. Most commonly, this was carried out through forced labor, first on the Atlantic Wall defenses and later during the construction of Germania and the other “führer cities”. This period also saw the near-complete depopulation of Poland as its population was exterminated or relocated for forced labor.
Eliminating dissent was one of Germany’s immediate peacetime objectives. Troublesome neighborhoods in Berlin were cleared out and bulldozed during Germania’s construction. The Heer was dismantled and integrated into the Waffen-SS, a move that marginalized any opposition within the military. The Luftwaffe under Hermann Goring was also purged of dissenting staff. The only significant opposition remaining was contained in the Kriegsmarine, which was spared from the ideological purification the other branches were subjected to.
By 1949, Hitler was bedridden and reduced to a rarely-seen figurehead. Factions had coalesced around Armaments and Production Minister Albert Speer, Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, and SS leader Heinrich Himmler, and factional violence reached levels unprecedented since the Reich’s creation. Ultimately, by the time of Hitler’s 1951 death, Himmler’s faction had discredited Speer and Goebbels, and secured Himmler’s position as the second Fuhrer of the German Reich. However, as Himmler’s victory seemed imminent, the true second ruler of Germany emerged.
Reinhard Heydrich, the man with the iron heart."
The Volkshalle (People's Hall) and Reichstag (Parliament) buildings in Germania, c. 1956.
From "The Second World War: 1939-1977", by Michael Fairfield
"During the “white peace” period, Germany was allowed to pursue its own designs in Europe. Most horrific was the Holocaust, the targeted extermination of nearly nine million Jews, which was pursued with a fanatical dedication. Almost sixteen million non-Jewish enemies of the state were exterminated as well. Most commonly, this was carried out through forced labor, first on the Atlantic Wall defenses and later during the construction of Germania and the other “führer cities”. This period also saw the near-complete depopulation of Poland as its population was exterminated or relocated for forced labor.
Eliminating dissent was one of Germany’s immediate peacetime objectives. Troublesome neighborhoods in Berlin were cleared out and bulldozed during Germania’s construction. The Heer was dismantled and integrated into the Waffen-SS, a move that marginalized any opposition within the military. The Luftwaffe under Hermann Goring was also purged of dissenting staff. The only significant opposition remaining was contained in the Kriegsmarine, which was spared from the ideological purification the other branches were subjected to.
By 1949, Hitler was bedridden and reduced to a rarely-seen figurehead. Factions had coalesced around Armaments and Production Minister Albert Speer, Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, and SS leader Heinrich Himmler, and factional violence reached levels unprecedented since the Reich’s creation. Ultimately, by the time of Hitler’s 1951 death, Himmler’s faction had discredited Speer and Goebbels, and secured Himmler’s position as the second Fuhrer of the German Reich. However, as Himmler’s victory seemed imminent, the true second ruler of Germany emerged.
Reinhard Heydrich, the man with the iron heart."