The Rise of the Third Reich

Hersmann drove, and Hitler and the Jewish billionaire he hated most, Wal T. Rathenau, sat side by side in the back, talking and laughing along the way. Maybe he was pretending, maybe the head of state at this time didn't hate the Jews deeply - there were many people in Germany who didn't like the Jews, but in Hersman's view, at least before hyperinflation, the Germans who didn't like the Jews were definitely There are not many Germans who dislike the French, the British, the Italians and the Americans.

But after the super inflation, 59 million of the 60 million Germans became proletarians! And among the remaining people who still have some money, at least half are Jews!

How could these Jews be so rich? This is an issue that is difficult to explain and easily manipulated to deflect hatred.

As for the other half of relatively wealthy Germans, most of them are like Hersmann, who belong to the Junkers and aristocratic groups. Not only do they have money, but they also have guns and are very difficult to mess with...

The car was driven by Hirschmann to Siemensstadt, which is located in Berlin's industrial area and was the production base built by Siemens before the war. There are large-scale factories, office buildings that can be described as solemn and solemn, and very neat and clean workers' residential areas.

He parked his car on the side of the street in the workers' district of Siemens City. On both sides of the street were four- and five-story residential buildings, which looked a bit like a new workers' village in the Soviet style of later generations. The first floor downstairs facing the street is full of shops, but many of the doors are closed, and there are no signs indicating that they are closed. They have obviously closed down, and even the shops that are still open have a slow business. There are not many items on the shelves, and the prices are shockingly expensive.

Some women wearing old clothes and their children lingered in front of the food shops. Each of them held an oversized wallet filled with banknotes that were losing value every day. The men in their families are making more and more money, but prices are rising faster!

There are also some "rich people" here, men wearing well-made suits and carrying briefcases wandering the streets. If you look carefully at the expressions on their faces, they are just like women from poor families, they are all indescribably miserable. It's working time now, they should stay in the office...

"This used to be a very lively street market, and the people who lived here were Siemens workers and their families." Hersman told Val T. Rathenau, "Now many middle-class people who used to have decent jobs have moved. In the past, the economic downturn caused them to join the ranks of the unemployed, and inflation wiped out their savings over the years, so they could only live in working-class areas with relatively low rents.”

Then he turned to Hitler and said: "Adolf, this is good news for you."

Unemployment and inflation are flattening classes in Germany!

The middle class and the petty bourgeoisie are being reduced to the proletariat. And these new people who joined the proletariat will not support the Social Democratic Party or the Bolshevik Party just because they have become poor - in their view, these two parties must be responsible for Germany's current disaster - and the newly emerged Nazi Party happened to meet their requirements.

"Yes, the people are already missing the wartime!" Adolf Hitler said, "We fought for four years and three months, and the mark only depreciated by 50%. And in the past three weeks, the mark has dropped so much , and it continues to fall.”

"It will get better. What we want to discuss in Genoa is to save the German economy." Val T. Rathenau frowned. He wanted to go to the Kaiserhof Hotel to eat, not because he was used to a luxurious life. Instead, he felt a danger here - he was the general manager of a power company, and he used to come to Siemens City where power generation equipment was produced frequently, but he had never felt any danger.

But now, Val T. Rathenau always has a strange feeling: Everyone here hates me!

"Mr. Congressman, save Germany!"

"Mr. Congressman, think of a way!"

"Congressman, prices have gone up like crazy, what should I do?"

Rathenau heard these words and looked up quickly. No one spoke to him. It turned out that Congressman Hitler walked into a small alley. There were many people queuing in the alley. Rathenau didn’t know why those people were queuing. Hitler shook hands with those people one by one, looking very enthusiastic. network.

"Member Hitler lives here, and he is very familiar with those people." Hersmann said to Rathenau at this time, "He is one of their own."

"What? Mr. Hitler lives here?" Rathenau was startled. "By the way, what are they waiting in line to buy? There is no rationing material supply now..."

"Someone is distributing free food here." Hersman explained with a wry smile, "It is a Catholic charity."

Rathenau glanced at the people queuing up. Many of them were actually well-dressed, which was unimaginable in the past!

Congressman Hitler finally shook hands with his constituents, and the three of them entered a small restaurant that was deserted. Hersmann ordered grilled salmon and green salad, Rathenau ordered a large steak and soup, and Hitler was a vegetarian. The three of them started chatting while eating.

"Everything will be fine after the Genoa Conference, I promise!" Although Rathenau was a politician with a Jewish business background, he still really wanted to save the German economy. "Prime Minister Briand of France is a reasonable man, and the British and Americans are willing to help... Dr. Schacht will go to England and lobby his friends in the London financial community to help. I think there will be a satisfactory result."

"Surrender again?" Hitler shook his head, "This will not end well!"

"What should we do?" Rathenau looked at Hitler, "War?"

Hitler did not answer, but buried his head in his mashed potatoes.

"You can implement wartime policies, just like the Soviet Union," said Hersman, "implement foreign exchange and gold controls, import and export controls, capital flow controls, and rationing of necessities."

"That's impossible," said Rathenau, "Even the Soviet Union would find it difficult to implement such a system."

Hersman was stunned, "Why?"

"I have friends in London and Paris," Rathenau replied with a smile, "We Jews have some special channels, so we are well-informed."

He said: "The British have decided: to require the Soviet government to repay the debts of more than 18 billion gold rubles to the Tsar, the Provisional Government and local authorities, return or compensate for the nationalized foreign property in Russia, abolish the foreign trade monopoly, allow foreigners to enjoy extraterritoriality in the Soviet Union, and let the Allies supervise the Soviet Union's finances."

"What? What?" Hersman was amused by Rathenau's words, "Who do those British think they are dealing with? The Beijing government of China? That's the Bolsheviks of Russia!"

Rathenau shrugged, "That's it! If the Soviet Union does not agree, then it will not be accepted by the international community, and don't even think about entering the international trade system."

"Is there something wrong with the British?" Hersman commented.

"They are not sick!" Rathenau said, "Soviet Russia's oil, timber and wheat are a competition to Britain (including colonies). Moreover, Britain and the Soviet Union have signed a trade agreement, and British products can be re-exported to the Soviet Union through Riga. Why do they want the Soviet Union to join the international trade system?"

"They will regret it in the future!" Hersman shook his head.

The British policy after World War I seemed to be made by fools, while the French policy was schizophrenic.

"Maybe, their regret has nothing to do with us." Rathenau smiled, "Count, you have a channel to contact Lenin, right?"

"Yes." Hersman asked back, "You are going to meet with Soviet representatives in Genoa in secret?"

"Yes!" Rathenau said, "British policy gives us the opportunity to reach a favorable treaty with the Soviet Union, and I should not miss this opportunity."

"Are you not afraid that the British will be dissatisfied?" Hersman asked thoughtfully.

"Don't worry about Britain," Rathenau said, "the British will need us in the future."

"Need us?"

Rathenau lowered his voice: "Do you know the gold standard and gold exchange?"

"The gold exchange is that the currencies of European countries are linked to the pound, and the pound is linked to gold, with a fixed exchange rate."

This is the prequel to the Bretton Woods system, and the protagonist has changed from the US dollar to the pound!

There are two currency wars going on now, one is to defeat the mark; the other is the pound and the US dollar are fighting.

"And Germany's attitude is very critical!" Rathenau said, "As long as we support the pound and link the new mark to the pound, the pound can defeat the dollar! So Britain will not entangle with us on the Soviet issue."

He glanced at Hitler, who had finished lunch, and said in a somewhat proud tone; "This is why I agreed to join the cabinet and attend the Tropical Asia Conference."

Hitler looked at Hersmann, and Hersmann nodded: "Linking to the pound can stabilize the exchange rate and inflation, and cooperation with the Soviet Union can stimulate production and obtain cheap resources... In theory, the situation will be greatly improved."

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