Rosa’s Reich
(Democratic Communism in 1919)
By GlobalHumanism
Welcome to the official Redux of the
Turtledove Nominated TL “The 4th International”!
Questions:
•
"Communism is Evil!" Why are you writing this?
I'm not an apologist. Certain nations that have practiced communism have done horrendous things in the name of Marxist doctrine(s). However, to believe that Stalin, Lenin, Mao, etc, are the end all be all to such a vast ideology ignores a vast amount of competing interpretations within the discourse.
This timeline will therefore explore competing ideologies within Marxist doctine that existed at the time of post WW1 Europe, and see what might happen if one of them gained power.
•
What's the central What if?
In 1919, Rosa Luxemburg, an ardent communist but firm believer in worker democracy over centrist dictatorship, was assassinated by a band of Freikorps reactionaries on the outskirts of Berlin.
But what if this didn't happen?
What if Rosa survived to lead a
Democratic Communist Revolution within the midst of the German Revolution at large?
•
Why are you are doing this Redux now?
For several reasons with the main being that I wanted to go back and expand on several diversions that occur in the timeline to enrich both the narrative and world created by this POD.
•
Yeah, but you haven’t even finished the other one…
True, but what sense does it make continuing on with inadequate structure that neither satisfies the scope that I want to obtain nor satisfies the awesome readers that become fans of the timeline.
•
Will readers still have a chance at voting during key junctions?
Yes! Reader participation is awesome for the storyline, with the added benefit of keeping things interesting for me as the writer.
•
Well I read through the other one already, so there’s nothing to see until you catch up to where you left off?
Wrong! Expect
far more detail, starting from the initial PoD, all the way to where the first draft of this timeline left off. This includes more
accurate pictures, custom maps, flags, charts, newsclippings, videos, etc. When I read timelines, I like to pretend I'm there; my readers deserve nothing less
•
Anything else I should expect?
Other than a slight change in the prose of the narrative and a small title change, not really. Just get ready to have even more fun this go around!
With that being said, let’s dive in!