Unholy Alliance

Lets say Hitler drops dead in 1938/1939ish after the Munich conference. Goering at the time was his de facto second in command and since his Luftwaffe hasn't screwed up yet it will remain thay way. Lets assume he takes power. Remember that Himmler's SS powerbase wasn't as powerful yet. He gets rid of Himmler, Goebbels and other possible threats either by giving them a post were they are harmless or by killing them.

Goering always struck me as a pragmatist instead of a true believer in nazi-ideology. IMO he wouldn't have stuck with nazism all the time. I don't believe he would have started a holocaust nor a destructive war that would lead to Germany's defeat. He would have paid lip service to nazism.

So would he have made an alliance with the USSR and divide Poland with Stalin? Being a pragmatist that would seem logical. The Soviet Union is the strongest ally Germany can get. France and England don't want an alliance at this point and Italy is useless. What would WW2 look like if Germany and the USSR are full allies? Who would win?
 
The Axis would win. But in the longer term, Germany might be in trouble, as the Soviets build up their military over a couple of years...
 
So would he have made an alliance with the USSR and divide Poland with Stalin? Being a pragmatist that would seem logical.

Being a pragmatist, he wouldn't have seen the need to conquer Lebensraum, so it's unlikely he would have seen the need to make a deal with Stalin in the first place.

Also, you don't ask whether _Stalin_ would have been interested in a deal with Goering and a much weakened Germany.

Basically, before considering anything else, you'd need to assess whether Goering goes ahead with turning what remained of Czechoslovakia into a Protectorate plus a satellite statelet. That's what really opened eyes in the West, for sure, and very likely helped Stalin decide, too.
 
Goering had friends in the British aristocracy who felt they could deal with him as the acceptable face of Naziism, and that's going to change...well, something !

I think he is going to need allies to rule Germany, and Hess isn't much of a one when the going gets tough. In fact, Goering would probably see him as a rival

Since Goering also saw Himmler as a rival (for example Himmler was always conniving to steal the police off him) a Goering-Goebbels alliance of necessity looks a short term idea

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Although not a Prussian, Göring was a scion of the old elite. He could perhaps find support in this corner, Reichswehr, former DNVP, former Stahlhelm. That would give him a good position to counter Himmler and Goebbels. Also, the industry should like him, he was the guy for the four-years-plan. He should have some old acquaintances with the Gestapo as well, as he founded them.
 

General Zod

Banned
My recent TL is going to explore just this kind of historical path, albeit here Goering will strike a strategic alliance with Britain and not the URSS.

I also agree that Goering is going to seek a borader power base by appealing to moderate conservatives and nationalists, the economic elite, and the Wehrmacht against the SS and Hiterite hardliners.
 
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