The Rise of the Third Reich

On August 2, 1934, German President Hindenburg passed away, leaving the country he loved and fought for. But in the remaining months of 1934, Hindenburg's name was mentioned again and again, and people paid more attention to him than even when he was alive and in power.

It’s not that people around the world miss the German president so much, but a will bearing Hindenburg’s name—the will was of course written by Hersmann—caused a political earthquake throughout Europe!

In this will, the president who was supposed to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease said this:

"...The Congress passed the "Transformational Justice Ordinance" and legally banned the Social Democratic Party on July 1, as well as the earlier actions to ban the Bolshevik Party, which made me see the possibility of justice once again flourishing in Germany. The sinners in November are or will be They should pay the due price for their treasonous crimes in 1918. But I also noticed that the justice before November 1918 has not been fully restored.

If the people and parliament of the German Empire have fully realized that what happened in November 1918 was a huge mistake, then can I think that the social order before the November Revolution was truly correct and in line with public opinion? If those who overthrow the empire are sinners, then are those who lead the empire and fight to the end against powerful enemies heroes?

As an old man who is about to die and has finished his life, at the last moment of my life, I decided to stand up and say something from my heart for Germany's past and Germany's future: without the Hohenzollern dynasty's continuous struggle and efforts for hundreds of years , there will never be a united, strong Germany that stands among the world's great powers!

Therefore, the Hohenzollerns were heroes of Germany rather than sinners. We cannot completely deny the dynasty's hundreds of years of hard work just because of one failure. That would chill the hearts of all those who shed their blood and sacrificed their lives for Germany.

If the people of Germany really want to restore their motherland to its pre-World War glory and international status, then they should respect their heroes.

Please let the emperor and the Hohenzollern dynasty return, please let the Hohenzollern dynasty, which has many heroes, restore its glory, and please let the German emperor become a symbol of the country's strength and development! "

The legendary president with dementia actually has such keen judgment that he can find theoretical research on restoring the monarchy from the "Transformational Justice Regulations" - since the Social Democrats and Spartacists (Bolsheviks) who brought down the monarchy are treason Sinner, then isn’t the monarchy itself just?

Even Hitler, who was eloquent, found it difficult to refute Field Marshal Hindenburg's will. Moreover, Adolf Hitler knew very well that this will was not dictated by Hindenburg at all. It came from the Juncker Group, which jointly ruled Germany with the Nazi Party!

The real purpose of this so-called "Hindenburg Testament" is to prevent Hitler from using legal means to obtain the throne of the President of the German Empire. And, once and for all!

"Ludwig, do you have any dissatisfaction with me leading the country?" In the Prime Minister's Office at 77 Wilhelm Street, Hitler looked at Hersmann and asked in a gentle and sincere tone.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you are leading very well, really well!" Hersman replied with a smile, "You let me know what an economic miracle is."

It is now December 1934, almost four years since Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. The "First Four-Year Plan", formulated and implemented under the leadership of Hermann Goering, is also coming to an end (starting in 1932). In history, Goering obviously had great shortcomings as an air force commander and an imperial marshal. But his level of economic management is impressive.

In less than four years, Hitler's rule brought Germany economic growth that can only be described as miraculous.

The Nazi Party's approach to economic management was similar to that of the Soviet Union, which focused on planned management rather than market regulation. After Hitler came to power in 1931, the German Parliament successively passed a series of regulations to shift the economy from freedom to planning, and established the highest organ to manage the German economy, the German Economic Council. Unlike the Soviet State Planning Commission, the German General Economic Council is not a purely government agency, but a "General Economic Staff for War Preparation" that involves managers of large German companies, big bankers, economists and senior military officials. .

Under this "General Staff of Economic Preparation", according to the "Regulations on the Organic Structure of the German Economy" passed in 1932, based on the original federations of business owners and various monopoly organizations (that is, various cartels), re-established departments and organizations The two types of economic regulation institutions by region are placed under the direct control of the monopolists and their cronies.

The organizational form of the sectoral regulatory agency is the economic group, which has four levels. The highest level is the 6 highest groups of industry, commerce, banking, insurance, power and handicrafts; 44 subordinate economic groups; below them are divided into 350 departmental groups; the lowest level is 640 professional groups.

The local agency that regulates the economy is the "Provincial Department of Economic Affairs" (subordinate municipal and district branches).

In actual operation, economic groups represent more capital (the proportion of state-owned capital accounts for about 25%). The Provincial Department of Economic Affairs represents the government. The two types of economic regulation agencies operated under the joint coordination of the German Economic Council and the Ministry of Economic Affairs - it seemed extremely complicated, but Hitler's administration managed everything in an orderly manner. Basically, a win-win situation for capital, government, and workers has been achieved.

According to Hirschmann's understanding, Germany currently implements a system that combines a triple combination of "planned economy", "managed enterprises" and "competitive market".

The planned economy existed at the macro level, similar to later economic development under the guidance of the China National Development and Reform Commission.

At the micro level, since there did not exist a large number of state-owned enterprises in Germany's history, it is impossible to completely control enterprise production by government instructions like the Soviet Union. Capital still plays a role in enterprises, private and foreign investment are still active, and whether products can be sold depends on the market. Even national procurement is determined through bidding rather than planning.

Under this planning and management model, the government's role in promoting economic growth is maximized, while at the same time maintaining the vitality of the economy. This is the biggest difference between the state socialist planned economy and the Soviet-style planned economy.

As a result, the German economy has achieved considerable growth in the past nearly four years. The speed of industrial development not only exceeds that of Britain, France, and the United States, but is even comparable to that of the Soviet Union. Pig iron production increased from 6.6 million tons in 1931 to 16.2 million tons, and steel production increased from 9.1 million tons to 21.8 million tons. The output of automobiles, aircraft, ships, aluminum and various chemical products has also achieved substantial growth.

While German industry is growing rapidly, the construction of German public projects and foreign exports are also very gratifying.

In the first four-year plan, the German government spent more than 12 billion marks on public works. Among them, the largest expenditure is the construction of roads, mainly expressways, followed by the construction of public buildings and residences, and thirdly by reclaiming wasteland, improving soil, regulating rivers, digging canals, erecting bridges, repairing and updating railway equipment, etc. These large-scale construction projects not only improved Germany's investment environment, but also absorbed a large number of unemployed people. By 1934, while much of the world had not yet emerged from the Depression, unemployment in Germany had long since become a forgotten memory.

Although Germany's national strength is not yet strong enough to support a war, it is also time to consider the issue of war - the second four-year plan being drafted will further increase investment in war preparations!

"So, you don't believe that I can become the leader of a war?" Hitler looked at Hersmann, his eyes were dark and very sharp, as if he could see through Hersmann.

Hitler, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, was less interested in fighting a world war, but he was still prepared to fight.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you are a very good prime minister, but you are not the commander-in-chief!" Hersman said in a very affirmative tone, "You do not understand the future war."

"General, I have been in the trenches for four full years. I know what war is!" Hitler glared at Hersmann. "I know this better than you. You barely spent a day in the trenches during the World War!"

Hessmann shrugged and looked at the somewhat violent Hitler, "You know how to squat in trenches, but future wars won't require squatting in trenches."

"Don't need trenches?" Hitler was stunned. "Why? Use planes to bomb?"

"Of course, airplanes are important!"

Hessmann smiled and said to Hitler in a very serious tone: "There are also tanks! Thousands of tanks. They will be protected by the enemy's strong defense under the cover of dive bombers that can drop bombs accurately and self-propelled artillery that can move quickly. A fatal gap will be opened on the front. Then the army that conducts static warfare in the traditional way will be crushed by such a torrent of steel if they cannot adapt to this. The trend may be overthrown by us in two to three weeks or a month. Mr. Prime Minister, do you know how such a war should be conducted?"

"What? Defeat Poland in about a month?" Hitler's opportunities to engage in military issues were greatly reduced in this time and space, so his understanding of war still remained in World War I.

"Defeat France in about a month!" Herschmann looked at Hitler quietly. "After France is defeated, it will take up to two years to disintegrate the British Empire, and then the United States of America!"