The Rise of the Third Reich

September 12, 1939, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Dam Avenue Square, Royal Welcome Palace.

A few days later, Ribbentrop, the foreign minister of the German Empire, arrived in the Netherlands again and became a distinguished guest of the Dutch royal family. He stayed at the splendid Palace on Dam Avenue Square. At noon, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Princess Juliana, her husband Prince Bernhard, and Chairman of the Dutch Council of Ministers Hendrikus Klainen had a delicious meal together.

"The war is almost over, isn't it?" Dutch Princess Juliana asked Ribbentrop in German.

"Your Highness," Ribbentrop said with an elegant smile, "it depends on whether Britain and France can correctly view the unification and rise of Germany."

Unify and rise!

Princess Juliana is also a German by blood, and she certainly understands what the unification and rise of Germany means.

What the Franco-Prussian War caused was not the complete unification of Germany, but its split into two. The German Empire centered on Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Dual Empire. The Anschluss and the return of Bohemia (so the Germans think) mean the beginning of the true unification of Germany.

What the current German Third Reich flaunts is also the inheritance of the dual legal traditions of the German Empire and the Austrian Empire. This means that the German Third Reich was the rebirth of the Holy Roman Empire!

Although the German Third Reich did not propose to restore the entire territory of the Holy Roman Empire, it was pursuing the international status of the leader of all Europe during the period when the Holy Roman Empire was strong. From Germany’s propaganda of “building a European Union” that began in the 1920s, we can imagine Germany’s ambition to lead Europe.

Moreover, Germany now seems to have such strength.

After regaining the lost territories of Posen, West Prussia and Silesia, the area of ​​Germany's mainland (including the Baltics, Austria and Bohemia) has exceeded 800,000 square kilometers! If you include the "legally occupied" Lithuania and Western Ukraine (these two territories are very likely to eventually become part of Germany through referendum), Germany's territory is likely to be close to 1 million square kilometers in the future, surpassing Britain, France and Europe. The sum of the native.

After incorporating some Poles, Lithuanians and Ukrainians (referring to the population in Western Ukraine), Germany's population is estimated to be as many as 110 million, which is also more than the combined numbers of Britain and France.

In addition, after obtaining Western Ukraine (including Lviv, Zakarpattia, Volyn, Rivne, Tarnopol, Stanislav and other provinces, Volyn and Rovne are not Austrian (Part of Ukraine), Germany got another "Rhine Industrial Zone". Because it is rich in coal, iron and non-ferrous metal resources, it also has oil fields, and there are large areas of black land. Germany's economic strength will be even stronger!

"So, are there any specific conditions?" Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands asked. Neither she nor her people want a war, no matter which side they take. Therefore, after the news of the armistice negotiations between Poland and Germany came (there has been no final armistice agreement yet), Queen Wilhelmina wanted to mediate the war between Germany and Britain and France.

As long as Britain, France and Germany stop fighting, the Netherlands will naturally be safe. However, the "unification and rise of Germany" proposed by Ribbentrop disappointed Wilhelmina.

Because the rise of a hegemon will inevitably mean the decline of the old hegemon! And how could the old world hegemon be willing to watch the loss of hegemony?

"Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain; the return of Belgium to the reparation states; the return of stolen German overseas colonies by Britain and France; the annexation of Germany and 'all Luxembourg' - of course, the annexation must be approved by Luxembourg; the cession of part of Alsace The iron ore areas of Slovakia and Lorraine will be given to Germany; Britain, France and Belgium will return all the reparations they received from Germany!”

Ribbentrop stated impossible peace terms. But from the German side, such conditions are already very mild. Germany did not claim back all of Alsace and Lorraine, but only wanted some of the iron ore areas. As compensation, Luxembourg, which originally belonged to the German Confederation, returned to Germany - "all Luxembourg" instead of half Luxembourg!

Germany wants to return to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg before the Treaty of London in 1839, including half of the land that now belongs to Belgium!

"This is impossible!" Hendrikus Klein, Chairman of the Dutch Council of Ministers, frowned and said, "This is completely unrealistic..."

Ribbentrop smiled slightly and said: "Twelve days ago, it was unrealistic for Germany to take back the Free City of Danzig. But now, the second largest army in Europe has crawled at the feet of Germany and begged for forgiveness! Maybe by October When the time comes, France will also fall at the feet of Germany!”

In this time and space, because Germany did not attack the Warsaw Fort, Germany defeated Poland in 12 days. Now the front line has basically ceased fire. The Polish Poznan Army and the Prussian Army were surrounded, and the Marina Army, Lodz Army, and Krakow Army were destroyed. , the Carpathian Army and the Modlin Army lost more than two-thirds. The total number of Polish soldiers killed, captured, seriously wounded, and missing exceeded 400,000, and 200,000 people were besieged, while the German losses were less than 10,000 (because without the Battle of Warsaw and the Battle of the Buchula River, Germany's losses would not have been big).

"What about the Netherlands?" Queen Wilhelmina's voice deepened, "Am I going to crawl at the feet of Emperor William?"

If Hitler had full power now, Wilhelmina would not dare to say so, but Emperor Wilhelm was restored after all.

"No, no, no," Ribbentrop shook his head repeatedly, "Your Majesty, Germany will not forget the help the Netherlands gave in the most difficult time. We will never invade the Netherlands. We hope that the Netherlands can continue to remain neutral."

There is no major conflict between Germany and the Netherlands. Historically, the invasion during World War II was militarily just to facilitate the attack on Belgium. There is a province called Limburg in the south of the Netherlands. Part of this Limburg province is located exactly between Germany and Belgium. In the "Yellow Plan" and "Manstein Plan" formulated by Germany, the army had to pass through Limburg.

However, the current German Ministry of Defense and General Staff do not intend to occupy the Netherlands because of this - it is just an excuse. There is no need to occupy the whole country, and after occupying it, you have to take care of the food. What a hassle!

Therefore, Germany's current strategy is to maintain the neutrality of the Netherlands as much as possible.

"But how to solve the air combat incident on September 6?" Wilhelmina asked again, "Our neutral status has been destroyed!"

"This is a violation of International Law!" Ribbentrop said. "The Netherlands is a member of the League of Nations, and there is an International Court of Justice in The Hague. I think you should file a complaint with the League of Nations and ask the League of Nations to send an investigation team. Investigate the events of September 6 before passing a resolution ensuring Dutch neutrality."

The League of Nations has not ceased operations, and the belligerent countries Germany, the Soviet Union, France, the United Kingdom and Poland are all members of the League of Nations, and the Netherlands is of course also a member of the League of Nations.

"Use the League of Nations to ensure the neutrality of the Netherlands?" Wilhelmina and Princess Juliana looked at each other.

It seems that the Germans are still reasonable.

"But Britain and France have great influence in the League of Nations." Hendrikus Crane, chairman of the Dutch Council of Ministers, reminded.

"You can suggest that the investigation and arbitration of the September 6 incident should exclude the participation of the participating countries. The investigation should be conducted by representatives from neutral countries in the League of Nations. Moreover, you can also propose the establishment of a confirmation and guarantee mechanism for neutral countries. ”

"This is..." Queen Wilhelmina didn't seem to understand.

Ribbentrop explained: “Any European country that wants to remain neutral in this European war can submit a request to the League of Nations to confirm neutrality. If the participating countries agree in writing, their neutral status will be confirmed. Confirmed. If a participating country clearly violates the country's neutral status during the war, the country can file a complaint with the League of Nations, and the neutral countries in the League of Nations can immediately impose collective sanctions on it. "

There are many countries that have declared neutrality. The three low-lying countries of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg have all declared neutrality.

But declaring neutrality is of no use. If the belligerent countries don't recognize it, they will still treat you badly. Therefore, before the war, Hessmann came up with the principle of "confirming neutrality". Countries that wanted neutrality proposed it, and then the participating countries confirmed it. Some countries, such as Belgium, occupied German territory, took Germany's compensation, and returned In the 1920s, it occupied the Ruhr area. Can one "declare neutrality" avoid disaster now? This is unrealistic. How can such a good thing be possible? Therefore, Germany does not need to confirm its neutrality. Of course, it can also resolve disputes through negotiations and confirm Belgium's neutrality.

For example, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and oh, there is also Denmark. There is a Schleswig-Holstein issue between Denmark and Germany, but the German Ministry of Defense and the General Staff recommend not Therefore, the neutrality of these countries can be confirmed by Germany.

As for why Germany abandoned North Schleswig-Holstein, it was actually for the neutral status of Denmark's protectorate Iceland and its territory Greenland - this was actually an international political trap set specifically for Britain.

Because Articles 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the 1907 Convention on the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Time of Naval War stipulate that warships of belligerent countries can berth in the ports of neutral countries for 24 hours and refuel. and supplies. Of course, neutral countries can legislate to prohibit it, but Denmark certainly would not dare.

In other words, in the future, Germany's break-up fleet can send supply ships to dock and refuel at the ports of Iceland and Greenland, which will greatly extend their activity time in the North Atlantic!