The Rise of the Third Reich

Tombia Palace, Tallinn.

Goltz, who had just changed from President of the Baltic Republic to Prime Minister of the Baltic Kingdom, and Hersmann, who had come from Berlin, walked into Wilhelm II's office together. The purpose of their coming here is to invite the elderly German emperor back to his palace in Berlin.

As soon as the two of them entered the office, they saw a desk that could be described as "giant" and filled with spread newspapers from various countries.

Hessman glanced at the corner of his eye and found a copy of the Times, which read in thick and black fonts: The war criminal William is back! He will become emperor again!

In another French newspaper, similar fonts said: Choose William, choose war! The French people will win again!

In a Polish newspaper, Hersman saw this statement: Two million Polish soldiers have taken up arms and they will defeat Germany!

A German-language newspaper expressed concerns about war in quite cautious words: Britain, France, Poland and Belgium have united, and Germany will be attacked on both sides.

"The whole of Europe is against me?" The elderly Emperor William sat behind his desk, with a sad expression on his rather imposing face. "They are still blaming me for the war. In fact, I regret it deeply. I have been praying for the lost lives for more than ten years. Maybe I am really not suitable to return to Berlin..."

"My Majesty," Hessman said in his heart. The old emperor was a little retreating, but he had to go to Berlin to sit on that throne - this was also for the sake of the European people. "Not all of Europe expressed opposition to your return. The Kingdom of Italy, Hungary and Romania all sent congratulatory messages, while the Soviet Union and Turkey did not make any statement."

The congratulatory message from the Kingdom of Italy was sent by Mussolini in return for Germany's support for Italy's intervention in the Spanish Civil War.

The Hungarians gained a small piece of territory from the Germans not long ago - the Filvidek State that originally belonged to Czechoslovakia (the Filvidek State held the first referendum after the establishment of the Kingdom of Bohemia). independence, and then joined Hungary), so the whole country was very grateful to Germany, and regarded Emperor Wilhelm and Hitler as relatives.

The Kingdom of Romania's congratulatory message was purely out of necessity, because Romania's King Carol II and Emperor William were both members of the Hohenzollern dynasty. Emperor William was of Franconian descent, and Carol II was of Swabian descent—the same family eight hundred years ago! Although the relationship between the two parties is not close at all, they still need to work hard to save face.

As for the "non-statement" of the Soviet Union and Turkey, it is not just that their governments have not made any statement, and even the newspapers of these two countries have not made any comments. This was actually support for William's restoration. After all, the Soviet Union was constrained by its political line and was inconvenient to openly support an emperor.

Turkey has always been the focus of the military intelligence agency and the National Socialist Party's international operations, and the pro-German faction is relatively strong. The reason why we did not express support this time was entirely because we were concerned about the British position.

"But there are still many people who oppose me..." Emperor William hesitated, "If I return now, is it possible that Germany will be plunged into crisis?"

"Your Majesty, are you worried about war?" Hessman shook his head, "How dare they? In the era when the German Empire was weak, they could have easily destroyed us... At most, they would only have to pay hundreds of thousands of casualties, but Because of the fear of war, they did nothing. Now that Germany has become stronger, what else is there to be afraid of? "

He smiled sarcastically: "I can guarantee that as long as His Majesty officially leaves Tallinn, the voices of opposition and protest will be reduced by half. When His Majesty sets foot on the territory of the German Empire, no one will dare to make irresponsible remarks. When His Majesty enters the Imperial Palace in Berlin, telegrams of congratulations will be sent from capitals around the world. Only congratulatory missions will be sent from Britain, France and Poland!”

"Is this really going to happen?" William II was obviously confused, and he didn't understand such a simple truth.

"Your Majesty, the attitude of all countries must be like this," Goltz immediately agreed, "all Europe will cheer for you."

William II, who was actually very worried about the war, finally smiled and said, "Okay, in that case, I will return to Berlin immediately!"

…

"Mr. Chaudan, Mr. Baker, Wilhelm II has left Tallinn and will take the armored ship Deutschland to Wilhelmshaven."

British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin looked heavy, with slumped shoulders and sluggish eyes. In a hoarse old voice, he told French Defense Minister Chaudan and Polish Foreign Minister Beck, who were visiting No. 10 Downing Street, the bad news they had just received.

In the past few days, he has met with Chaudan and Baker every day to discuss countermeasures, issued a joint statement against the restoration of William II, and also roped in many European governments to oppose it. Now it seems that all his efforts have been in vain. .

"Mr. Prime Minister, I think William II's restoration does not mean launching a war, right?" French Defense Minister Camille Chaudan said hesitantly.

"Doesn't that mean launching a war right away!" Joseph Baker, the Polish Foreign Minister with a big "French" nose, corrected the French Defense Minister.

He glanced at this "intellectually deficient" French politician with some helplessness. In 1934, Chaudan was involved in the "Vitaski Incident", a fraud case that shocked France. The case was widely involved, and it also caused an earthquake in the French political arena because it involved bribery, and also caused the collapse of the ruling left-wing government. And Camille Chaudan was also involved. It's not that the fraudster Vitalsky "committed suicide" and died. I'm afraid he has to go to jail.

Although he escaped from prison and made a comeback. However, many people in the European political arena still look down upon Xiaodang, thinking that he is an out-and-out fool who would be involved in the biggest fraud of the century while making a small amount of money!

"But why does William II want to fight? He has already lost once..." Camille Chaudan shrugged and said, "What good will fighting do to him?"

"It's not William II who wants to fight," Baker frowned, looking very worried. "It's the Junkers who support his restoration who want to fight... He's just a dying old man who has been out of politics for so many years. How can he have real power? They brought him out just to take the power of command away from the democratically elected government so that they could launch a war of aggression!"

"Then what should we do?" the French Defense Minister asked, "Now that the Germans are determined to have their own way, we can't go to war because of this, right?"

"Of course there is no need to start a war," British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin winked at the French Defense Minister, "but we should conclude a collective defense treaty and provide Poland with sufficient military assistance, because Poland has enough strength to curb Germany's expansion ambitions. A powerful country. As long as the three of us join forces, we will definitely defeat Germany again!"

Stanley Baldwin's words were of course not random talk, but the result of a discussion at the British Cabinet meeting: The British Empire could no longer lose Poland as an ally, otherwise Germany would be free from the threat of a two-front war and be able to concentrate its forces against Britain and France!

"Yes, we should unite," French Foreign Minister Chaudan nodded heavily. "France can provide security guarantees to Poland, give Poland more cannons, and send engineers to help Poland build defense fortifications... I think in the end The Suski line of defense still needs to be reinforced. As long as Poland's eastern front is safe, we can concentrate our efforts on Germany."

"Britain will support Poland as much as France!" Stanley Baldwin promised.

"Thank you so much. On behalf of the 53 million Polish people, I would like to thank France and the United Kingdom for their help." Joseph Baker let out a sigh of relief. Didn't he go all the way to the United Kingdom just to seek assistance?

"Then Wilhelm II is about to return to Germany. How should we express our stance?" Joseph Baker thought for a while and asked, "Should we continue to protest?"

"No, there is no need to protest." The British Prime Minister shook his head. "Since the Germans do not pay any attention to international public opinion, it means that the restoration of Wilhelm II is inevitable. Then we should admit the reality... Although the whole of Europe does not like him, But after all, he is going to be the monarch of a major European country. At this time, we should show some courtesy. Let's wait until William holds the coronation ceremony and then send someone to congratulate him."

…

"Haha, Ludwig, you guessed it again. Sure enough, they sent a congratulatory message."

The armored ship "Deutschland" on which Wilhelm II was aboard had just arrived at the heavily guarded Wilhelm Harbor, but telegrams congratulating him on his return to Germany had already arrived like a snowflake.

Not only the governments of Britain, France and Poland have changed their stance. Even the mainstream public opinion in these countries has made a 180-degree turn and no longer calls William II a "war criminal."

"Your Majesty, this is determined by the strength of the German Empire," Hessmann said in a serious tone. "With the unremitting efforts of the German Wehrmacht and the National Socialist Workers' Party for more than ten years, Germany has not only regained its strength, but also Better than ever.

And what His Majesty is about to rule is no longer the Second German Empire that developed from the Kingdom of Prussia... but a brand new German Third Reich that was born in the difficult years after November 1918! This is a new Germany, a new empire! His Majesty's status and power will be conferred by the "Third Reich Constitution" which is being formulated. "

Hessmann was reminding Wilhelm II that although he was an old emperor, Germany was new, and it was no longer the empire he inherited from his father and grandfather. Therefore, he will no longer have the supreme authority of the past.