The Rise of the Third Reich

In June 1928, Italian leader Mussolini agreed to Germany's request and announced that a European Economic Conference would be held in Rome, the capital of Italy. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss currency devaluation and capital outflows that are plaguing Europe.

Before this meeting, German Finance Minister Dr. Schacht announced to the outside world that Germany would support the "World Bank" and "World Currency" plans proposed by the United Kingdom. If Britain prepares to establish a "World Bank" or a "European Bank", Germany will join immediately.

But the real upper-class people in Europe know that although Britain and Germany's proposals are very good, they still face great difficulties when they are really put into practice.

Because Europe now does not have a real core! The overlord of the army is France, the overlord of the sea is Britain, and the overlord of industrial production is Germany. In terms of population, Germany also far surpassed Britain and France, ranking first among all European countries except the Soviet Union. Even if these three countries keep a low profile on the surface, privately they will not surrender to the other two countries.

In addition to Britain, France and Germany, Italy, whose national power has grown rapidly after the National Fascist Party came to power, is also gearing up to revive the glory of the Roman Empire. Mussolini's high-profile launch of this economic conference is just to show the improvement of Italy's international status, and does not really want to support the "European Bank" and "European Currency".

Now Italy's economic aggregate cannot be compared with that of Britain, Germany and France. It seems that there will be no benefit to Italy if it engages in European integration.

This time the Rome Conference was actually just a high-profile meeting, but high-profile also has a high-profile meaning, because high-profile will point the way for Europe's future.

And Hersman, who promoted this "high-profile meeting", now has more important things to do, so he has no time to attend this "high-profile meeting." After reaching an agreement to cooperate in the development of a new aircraft carrier, he and Karl Haushofer left Rome and returned to Berlin to prepare for a visit to the Far East.

"Ludwig, do you really want to go to the Far East with me?" Karl Haushofer, wearing a suitably tailored suit, sat in a Mercedes-Benz 6 sedan, smoking a pipe and chatting with Hess next to him. Man spoke.

"Of course," Hessman said, "I have to go. Japan is a very important country... As for the Rome Conference, I don't see what it will do. Because the British themselves are concerned about the issue of issuing world currency. Constantly shaking.”

"The British are wavering?" Karl Haushofer is an expert in regional politics, but he doesn't know much about economic issues. "Why? The pound is in crisis and now even the French don't trust it."

The Bank of France is selling off pounds (similar events have happened historically), and the French plan to exchange 150 million pounds for gold and ship it back to France, which is almost two-thirds of the gold the Bank of England now holds! As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused panic in the market. Just 24 hours after the news was announced, the Bank of England sold 12 million pounds of gold on the market to stabilize the pound exchange rate.

But anyone who knows a little bit about currency and finance will know that no currency in the world that is "linked to gold" can withstand a large-scale run - because these so-called "gold standard" currencies are all There is and cannot be enough gold as preparation, what supports them is people's confidence.

"The French stabbed the pound at the critical moment," Hessmann gloated, "and gave us a hard blow at the same time... but the final result will make the French regret it for the rest of their lives."

Historically, as the super-prosperity of the U.S. economy attracted the inflow of European funds, Britain and Germany suffered "currency crises" one after another, and Germany fell directly into hell because it did not have the right to issue currency.

In this time and space, although Germany's industrial strength is far stronger than in history due to Hessmann's butterfly effect, its currency issuance power still falls in the hands of the United Kingdom. Once there is a crisis in the pound, funds will definitely flow out of Germany, which will cause extreme deflation in Germany. Since Germany's productivity is stronger than in history, the pain caused by deflation will probably be more severe!

If Germany wants to defeat deflation, it can only tear up the Treaty of Versailles and the Keynesian Plan. Only in this way can the compensation be negated and the right to issue Marks recovered. But this will cause a sudden cooling of Anglo-German relations. From this perspective, the French have achieved their goal.

"The British might form an alliance with us..." Karl Haushofer seemed to have a different view than Hessmann, "This is the only way to save the pound!"

What determines the outcome of the currency war is definitely not the amount of gold, but the strength of the country! The reason why the pound is now being suppressed by the US dollar is not because Britain has insufficient gold, but because Britain has insufficient national strength. But Britain plus Germany are enough to fight the United States.

If this can be done, it can temporarily prevent the flow of funds to the United States. But in the end it will definitely trigger a world war between Britain and Germany VS the United States!

"The British will not ally with us," Hessman shook his head. "They will accept assistance from the United States... The United Kingdom and the United States are brothers in conflict, but the United Kingdom and Germany are always two families!"

"Accept aid from the United States? Will the Americans help the British stabilize the pound?" Karl Haushofer was doubtful.

Hersman said with certainty: "Yes! Americans, like the French, do not want Britain to ally with us. And by issuing more loans to Britain, the Americans have actually proven to the world that the dollar is A stronger pound... This will accelerate the flow of European funds to the United States, and this time even we in Germany will not be left alone.”

Although the German economy is performing strongly now, it still cannot compare with the United States. The U.S.'s financial situation is much better than that of Germany. Even with the "Keynesian Plan" and the enlarged version of Soviet-German cooperation, the United States lost some markets and boosted the German economy, but Germany's economy still cannot catch up with the United States.

If the mark can maintain stability along with the pound, then some funds will flow into Germany. But if this foundation is gone, funds will flow out of Germany in large quantities. Since the issuance of German marks is linked to the Reichsbank's pound reserves, when funds flow out of Germany, the Reichsbank must sell pounds to recover the marks. The circulation of marks will be significantly reduced, and domestic funds in Germany will become very tight.

The economic crisis is inevitable!

"Then...what can we do?"

Hessmann shrugged, "Tear up the Treaty of Versailles, and then begin to expand our armaments and prepare for war."

"fight?"

"Yes, let's fight a world war!" Hessman nodded and emphasized, "This time we will fight for the unity and unity of Europe!"

While the two were talking, the car had already stopped in front of the German Ministry of Defense building. They came to the Ministry of Defense today to attend an armaments meeting chaired by Major General Schleicher, Director of the Department of Ministry Affairs - this major general is theoretically the second-ranking figure in the German Army (referring to the second-ranked active-duty officer), second only to Lieutenant General Blomberg, Chief of the General Staff (since the General Staff is retained, the rank of Army No. 1 is naturally higher than in history).

However, his actual power as "Ministry Director" is superior to that of the Chief of General Staff. Not long ago, he turned the Industrial Promotion Committee and the Aviation Committee, two extremely powerful departments, into agencies under the Ministry of Defense. In fact, It is time to place them under the Department of Ministry Affairs.

"Gentlemen, I think the economic crisis is inevitable! Although we must still do our best to save the monetary hegemony of the British Empire, we must make it clear that the British Empire is the biggest obstacle to European unity, not the cause of unity. Leadership! The British are not even as enthusiastic as the French. The difference between us and France is only about who will lead a united Europe. The difference between us and the UK is whether Europe should be united!"

As usual, it was Hersman who spoke first at the meeting! Schleicher sidelined Chief of the General Staff Blomberg, but he himself was unknowingly sidelined by Hessmann - not because of Hessmann's machinations, but because Hessmann always left. Being at the forefront of the times can point the way for everyone, and this is precisely Schleicher's weakness.

"Ludwig, do you mean that we are going to prepare for war with Britain and France?" Lieutenant General Blomberg, Chief of the General Staff, also came to the meeting. He expressed his disapproval of Schleicher and Hessmann's "war policy." "Somewhat doubtful. "I think you know how weak we are, right?"

"Your Majesty Lieutenant General, we are actually very powerful!" Hessman replied with a smile. Strength and weakness are relative. If compared with Germany at the same time in history, Germany today is so much stronger!

Not only were the number of armies one and a half times greater (counting the Baltic Defense Forces), but industrial production, especially aircraft and automobiles, was several times greater than in history! And in the aircraft series using air-cooled engines, Germany currently has a large lead.

"Ludwig, I understand what you mean," Lieutenant General Blomberg was not ignorant of the success of German industry in these years. "We have indeed made great achievements in industry, but it will take a long time to convert such power into war capabilities, and it will also require a government that can unite everyone!"

Hessman laughed, "There will be time, and this crisis will give us time. Because the crisis will not only exist in Germany, Britain and France will also be unlucky. Even the United States itself will also be unlucky after attracting funds from all over the world. Into a crisis caused by the extreme expansion of the economic bubble. By then, governments will be busy dealing with domestic crises, and no one will launch a war against us. As for a government that unites the Germans, now I There is a good candidate for prime minister..."

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