WI: Lockheed and Der Spiegel Scandals Break during the Cuban Missile Crisis

Delta Force

Banned
On October 8, 1962, the German magazine Der Spiegel published an article about the West German military's poor state of readiness. On October 28 the magazine was raided by police and shut down after being accused of treason. Additionally, Minister of Defense Franz Josef Strauß illegally called the military attache in Madrid to have the magazine's editor arrested while he was on vacation.

What if during the buildup to the crisis, Der Spiegel somehow acquired and published evidence of Strauß's involvement in the Lockheed bribery scandal? Apparently the documents were destroyed sometime in 1962, so they might still exist at the time of the Spiegel scandal. What kind of impact might there be for Strauß, German politics, and the Lockheed Corporation (especially the F-104)? What kind of impact would this even larger scandal have had it broken during the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 10-28)?
 
very Explosive during the Cuban Missile Crisis ! but i explain this later on

first, Minister of defense Franz Joseph Strauß start to act he was Minister of Justice !
allot of journalist ask who is german Minister of Justice: Wolfgang Stammberger or Franz Joseph Strauß ? (both of them had to resign)
especial that Franz Joseph Strauß direct intervene for arrested the magazine's journalist Conrad Ahlers in fascistic Spain, a scandal in post nazi Germany.
and that Minister of Justice Wolfgang Stammberger was not informed about Strauß machination

the Spiegel affair was braking point in young Republic, Adenauer Government respectability was damage
and Freedom of press became a precious value of German Democracy.

So what if Starfighter bribery scandal became public ?,
Fact is that Lockheed pay $10 million to Franz Joseph Strauß political party the Christian Social Union of Bavaria
although there never a piece of evidence that Franz Joseph Strauß took also money from Lockheed !
Strauß wanted to give the Luftwaffe new effective Air strike capacity also nuclear one ! (i explain this later on.)
He try several companies but British were closing down there Aircraft industry, Marcel Dassault refuse to sell Mirage III to Germany, because he was in concentration camps in WW2
in end Strauß had Lockheed sell him a High altitude supersonic interceptor as supersonic Low level Bomber/Fighter/ground support/reconnaissance plane F-104G

had the Starfighter bribery scandal hit Adenauer Government in 1962 it respectability would be wreck.
The contract for 900 F-104G Starfighters would be canceled, lockheed in deep problems (face bankruptcy ?) and Luftwaffe need new Aircraft
Could that Douglas (A4 Skyhawk) or Saab (35 Draken) could get the new Contract for Luftwaffe
This would be end of Franz Joseph Strauß political carrier in Germany and Bavaria, with drastic consequence for last one.
after the Spiegel affair, Strauß became Minster President of Bavaria and transform the agricultural state into aerospace high tech industry.

But there another dossier, had the Der Spiegel got there hands on that, it had rip the young Republic into pieces !
under Minister of defense Franz Joseph Strauß, the Bundeswehr made a Study on use of nuclear Weapon
Strauß had play for a while with idea of a German ATOMIC Bomb, but the Bundeswehr strategists came up with low cost proposal.
in case of crisis the Bundeswehr has to take by assault, a US Nuke stockpile in German soil and use nuclear weapons and delivering system.
for uprise attack the Soviets forces in East Germany.

this no joke during the Cuba Crisis the US force secure there nuclear Depots with extra men against germans, after Henry Kissinger warn the President about this Plan!

had Der Spiegel publish that during Cuba Crisis the impact in Germany would just like Atomic bomb
would Franz Joseph Strauß face high treason charge by ministry of Justice and Parliament, the Adenauer Government had to resign.
while Socialist of SPD would win the election with large majority..
 

Archibald

Banned
Sorry for the necro, but this is damn interesting. I touched the Lockheed bribery scandal in my space TL and Michel provided very interesting information.
I was stricken by the fact that the Spiegel scandal happened right in the middle of the Cuban missile crisis - it looks as if Spiegel events were tied to happen the same days as the Cuban crisis escalation.

And now this

Strauss was one hell of a whacky politician !
 
"DER SPIEGEL has attempted to verify information in Sanford Washington archives - without tangible result. William Burr, nuclear weapons expert at the National Security Archive has, although anecdotal part of the mobilization against Strauss, but never found evidence. Is Sanford's description So rather baseless? Perhaps not: the strongest document is a note from Henry Kissinger, who later became US Secretary of State".


"So Henry Kissinger wrote after a meeting with Strauss on 10 May 1961 in an unprecedented memorandum to the US government, this must urgently ensure secure American nuclear weapons and their storage in the Federal Republic so that it is "physically impossible" will, "take or use without our consent" nuclear weapons".

So Kissinger met Strauß and got the idea, that "the germans" might robb the nuclear weapons...

Mr. Kissinger is a controversial figure himself, at least as much as Strauß.

Do not get me wrong, I don't like Strauß, but the evidence for an actual plan to robb nuclear weapons is... slim.
 
Top