The Rise of the Third Reich

"Captain, the core issue of the Kurland Plan is the land issue and the ethnic issue."

"Land? Nation?" Captain Falkenhorst looked at Hersman, "Major, do you want to gather all the Germans in the Baltic region to Courland?"

"There is also Livland." Hersman added, "About 65,000 square kilometers of land, centered on Riga, more than half of which is arable land, and the rest is hills, lakes and swamps."

He is talking about the Latvia of later generations! Before the end of World War I, there was no concept of a Latvian state, only Latvians. This is a small nation with a population of only 7 to 8 million people. It does not have a country of its own. Historically, it was either ruled by the Germans or the Russians.

Hersman continued: “According to statistics from the Baltic Provisional Government, there are approximately more than 1 million non-Germans in Courland and Livland, of which 60% are Latvians (not all Latvians were in Kurland at this time. Ireland and Livland), Russians account for 20%, and the rest are Estonians, Lithuanians, Poles, Ukrainians and Jews. In addition, there are Austrian Poland and Austrian Ukraine in the Baltic region and Lithuania. There were approximately 800,000 Germans, most of them around Riga, that is in the regions of Courland and Livland, and the Courland Plan proposed reorganizing the population of Courland and the entire Baltic region. The Germans were concentrated in Courland and Livland, and the Latvians in Courland and Livland were moved away as much as possible to ensure that the Germans could become the largest ethnic group in the Courland Autonomous State. The German Autonomous State must also be prepared to accept Germans from Poznan and West Prussia if necessary.”

Hirschman's "Courland Plan" is not complicated. The core idea is to use population and uterus to occupy Courland and Livland! The first goal is to bring the German population of the Courland Autonomous State to 1 million. Taking into account the agricultural conditions of Courland and Livland and the diligence of the German people, 65,000 square kilometers of land can definitely enable 1 million Germans to live well, so that it can continue to attract immigrants from Germany. By the eve of the Second World War, the Kurland Autonomous State might have a population of 3 million (including non-Germans), surpassing Latvia in later generations.

No matter how unreasonable the Allies are, there is nothing they can do to take away 1 million Kurlander Germans - this is Europe after all! Moreover, the Germans in the Courland Autonomous State will not be without force.

"If the future Courland Autonomous State can have 1 million Germans, then after full mobilization, the Courland Defense Force will have 100,000 soldiers. Relying on the hilly, swamp and densely forested terrain, it can withstand 200,000 soldiers To the 300,000 Allied troops who came from afar..."

Of course, you still have to prepare for the fight! In the "Courland Plan", Hessmann proposed the establishment of a standing army of about 50,000 people - the Courland Defense Force. The backbone will be volunteers recruited from the German Army on the Eastern Front. They will have dual nationality of the Courland Autonomous State and Germans, and will also be allocated land in the Courland Autonomous State.

"What's going on with land distribution?" Captain Nicholas von Falkenhorst had a copy of the "Courland Plan" in his hand. While listening to Hirschmann's explanation, he was also flipping through the copy and using a pen. Write notes on the copy. He found that the copy contained a lot of content about "land distribution".

“Each Baltic German who wants to live in the countryside must be allocated enough land to sustain a middle-class life,” Hersmann said. “This is the key to uniting all Kurland Germans. The Kurland Autonomous State has A lot of land, right? If we don't give the land there to our fellow Germans, how can we convince them that Courland is a home worth their lives to defend if some German landowners are harmed in the land distribution? , we can provide compensation in other aspects, such as bonds in the Courland Autonomous State, civil service positions in the Autonomous State, or properties in the city of Riga.”

Captain Nicholas von Falkenhorst glanced at Hindenburg, who nodded. The Courland Autonomous State can be said to be the only fruit of victory that the German Empire may retain after this world war. This was obtained with the blood of 2 million people! The interests of the German landlords in Kurland cannot be compared with the blood of 2 million people. Moreover, if the Kurland Germans lose power, their land will be confiscated sooner or later.

"In addition, we should also resettle the relocated Latvians as much as possible... We can resettle them in Poland and Lithuania, and give them some land belonging to the Russian nobility. It is best to form a few or a dozen people in Poland and Lithuania Latvian settlement.”

Hirschman also mentioned the resettlement of Latvians in the Plan. He did not want hundreds of thousands of Latvians to hate Germany... If he could be generous to others, why not? It would also be nice to create a Latvian problem for Piłsudski!

"Major, you also mentioned in your plan the possibility of Courland joining the Polish Federation or forming a federation with Estonia." Captain Falkenhorst frowned slightly, "Can't we consider making Courland independent?"

"It is obviously more advantageous to form a federal state," Hersman explained. "The first choice is of course the Courland Autonomous State and the Estonian Autonomous State to form a United Baltic State... It can be a grand duchy or a republic."

In Hirschman's "Curland Plan", the fate of Estonians and Latvians is completely different. The latter will be relocated from their homeland, while the former will have an autonomous state and become the former Estonian Province (former Tsarist Russia) and The dominant ethnic group on the land of Livonia Province. These two autonomous states will be merged into the United Baltic State, and the capital of the country will be located in Riga... The benefits of this are obvious, because the Estonian nation is very weak and the population is not large, even smaller than the Latvian population. . If a federation is formed with the powerful German nation, then the power of the federal country will be manipulated by the Germans. In addition, the Germans have always been the upper class of the two Russian provinces of Estonia and Livonia, controlling many lands and industries. If Estonia and Courland form a federation, then the Estonians cannot confiscate German property.

"So who is the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy?" Captain Falkenhorst asked again.

"Currently a German monarch... This is something His Majesty considers, not something we can decide." Hessmann said. In his "Courland Plan" there was no mention of a candidate for the monarch of the United Baltic Principalities - it would be disrespectful to discuss this issue now that Kaiser Wilhelm II was still on stage.

But in Hersman's mind, there was a perfect candidate.

"Let's talk," Hindenburg waved his hand, "The Gray Plan was originally formulated to deal with extraordinary times. I don't think that by then, a Duke of the German Empire can still be the monarch of the United Baltic Principalities."

This is obviously impossible! The Allies are not that easy to talk to, unless the Kurlander Germans are ready to fight! Although you may not necessarily lose, you should still avoid war as much as possible. After all, the huge German Empire was defeated...

"The ideal candidate is Grand Duchess Olga Nikolayevna."

"The Tsar's daughter?" Hindenburg frowned, "That's a good idea! She is indeed qualified to be the monarch of the United Baltic Principalities. Neither Britain nor France can say anything."

The land of the United Baltic Principalities originally belonged to the Romanov dynasty. Nicholas II's titles included "Prince of Estonia", "Prince of Livonia", "Prince of Courland and Semigalia" "These three princes refer to the monarchs of the United Baltic Principality. This is recognized by Britain, France and the United States, so there is no legal problem in the Tsar passing these three princes to Olga. And considering the Allied Powers' stance against Soviet Russia, they would not oppose this arrangement.

"But what about the Soviet Union?" Hindenburg frowned even more tightly. "Would they accept the Romanovs coming to power in the Polo?"

"It shouldn't be possible, right?" Hessmann smiled, "But it doesn't matter. When the Allied Powers' intervention in Soviet Russia fails, we will ask her to step down! By then it will be the Baltic Republic."

——

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