A Man and a Plane: An Alternate Germany

by Joseph T Major

  "How could this alleged atrocity come to pass in any event? You should know that our treatment of prisoners of war has always been of the highest standard; many of the Russian prisoners from our war with them did not wish to return, and all spoke favorably of their treatment in our prisoner of war camps. So such mistreatment would not happen. Our army obeys orders and would never break order, lose discipline, in the fashion described in this work of fiction.

  "The numbers of survivors are increasing daily, I am told. The Western press offers money and they get what they have paid for. By way of contrast, our journalists are reporting the gladsome welcome the people of Nanking are giving the Japanese army, their protectors from the Communist bandits and the near-bandits of the Chiang regime. You should learn to use more reliable sources before you embarrass yourself by such exaggerations.

  "I believe you should consider whether your Minister of War, who is notorious even as far away as Japan for his harsh reprisals against the Communist bandits of Berlin a few years ago, has commissioned this merchant to compose a story, in order to damage the image of Japan before the world. Perhaps some of these alleged events have their source in the events here in this city in 1919. No doubt your Minister of War and his party are afraid of workers who have wa, who are not at odds with their employers, and wish to blacken the reputation of Japan by this fabrication."

  "Not according to what we hear from the Americans and British," Papen said afterwards. "You know the British have many interests there, and -- according to an organization that officially does not exist -- the Japanese did run out of control after the capture of Nanking, even if they have not yet completely confirmed Herr von Rabe's report. There are many American commercial interests there, as well as missionaries, and they are reporting the events that took place there to their press in similar terms.

  "Our General von Falkenhausen, there in China, is having reports collected. He is not particularly hopeful about the survival of the Chiang government, and the corruption there is making harder the collection of information, but he has informed us he will spare no effort. We had had a problem with the rather abrupt dismissal of General von Seeckt and the lapse until a replacement could be found, which has hampered our relations and efforts to build up our presence in China."

  "His superior was concerned that Seeckt would defend the interests of the Chinese central government with as much care as he took in defending the interests of his own central government," Manfred said, sarcastically. Noske was one to hold a grudge, and Seeckt had led the Reichswehr into doing nothing during the Kapp Putsch, when Noske had been driven from office as Reichswehr Minister. Now Noske was back in control, and Seeckt was one of those names in his little black book of those who would go nowhere.

  "It is . . . unprofessional . . . to hold on to a grudge, in my experience. Today's enemy may be tomorrow's vital ally."

  Some memory came to Manfred then. "You didn't seem surprised by Rabe's comments. Disgusted, but not surprised. You haven't been out East, just to Turkey."

  "That was it. Turkey." Papen was suddenly weary, the man of the world slipping. "I had thought the stories about Armenia were made up, Allied war propaganda. But some of the Turkish officers we worked with were boasting of how many Armenians they had killed, men, women, children." He shrugged. "I didn't believe them then. It looks like now . . . I never thought I'd see such a thing twice in my life."

  "We must, then, be prepared to present this evidence to the League," Neurath said.

  "No doubt with as much effect as when Haile Selassie protested the actions of the Italians in Abyssinia," Papen said.

  "But what can one do? We have to make a stand somewhere," Manfred said.

  And Papen turned out, much to Manfred's displeasure, to be right. Rabe spoke before the Assembly, describing in toned-down detail what he had seen in Nanking. Some of the hideous pictures he had smuggled out of the country were presented to them. They listened in silence, debated a resolution calling for sanctions against Japan, gradually let the sanctions erode to a nebulous statement of displeasure, and finally had the resolution die in committee without ever coming to a vote.

  On Monday, Papen reported with some repressed glee about the message Ambassador Oshima had sent home, and the instructions he had been given. "But we had best keep this secret, Herr Reichskanzler. No, not an agent -- the Japanese cypher messages, which we can sometimes read. You will recall the trouble the British went to cover their tracks when Herr Zimmerman made his idiotic offer to the Mexicans. We must keep this ability in reserve."

  In England, Churchill spoke at some length about the horrors of Japanese militarism to an empty chamber, while his son set off to make a flying visit to the front in China. Nobody else seemed to care; in a speech he made in Chicago in May, Lindbergh said that having seen both countries, he was far more likely to believe the Japanese version of events than the Chinese one.

  Manfred went hunting that weekend.

  CHAPTER 28

  Palaissanssouci, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, Tuesday, May 3, 1938

  Black masses were marching down the Unter den Linden, down in the center of the city, and then past the Prussian Stadtschloss. Göring, looking like a gigantic sausage stuffed into a too-small black and silver skin, tried to keep from goose-stepping as he led his men down the street. He looked rather overwhelmed next to the new Reichsführer-SS, Heydrich, who wore the Spanish Military Merit Medal he had been awarded by General Franco for his aerial victories.

  Behind them marched a company of veterans of the Spanish War, wearing proudly the cuff titles that said "Götz von Berlichingen". Their steel-shod boots beat out a counterpoint to their marching song, "The Black Bandera of Aragon". Behind them were the Ersatzverband which would depart for Spain at the end of the week to bring the army of Aryan racial heroes in Spain back up to strength, and behind them were the regular SS men.

  Crowds turned out to see the splendid array, the bright colors of the Swastika flags floating over the serried black ranks, marching in perfect step. But not as many as there should have been. In keeping with niggling legality, they had applied for and received a marching permit, posted bond, and submitted to a police presence. Nevertheless the march-past the Brandenburg Gate was impressive. Herr Doktor Goebbels was proud; he stood among the spectators, a wry grin on his wry face, saluting the storm troop.

  "A few hundred, Herr Königlichelandeskanzler," the Berlin Polizeipräsident Admiral von Levetzow said to Braun. "Amazingly, they did not even do anything to get arrested. Unlike the news from Munich . .. "

  Braun shifted governmental position from Prussian to Reich minister and shifted personal position to speak to the Rittmeister of the Kabinettgeschwader. "It looks as if your ex-friend is trying not to make a scene."

  Manfred said, "He had better not."

  Around them, royalty and nobility from within and without the Reich hobnobbed with the representatives of republics at the Imperial wedding eve reception. The subordinate kings and princes of the Reich, from Rupprecht of Bavaria (looking much disturbed by the news from his capital, where Röhm had cut loose, sending a dozen policemen to the hospital) to the newly-installed Grand Duke Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Thuringia (Carl, his father, had been offered the position but said, "I have passed such things on.") were present, as were monarchs from without the Reich.

  Among the unemployed rulers, the groom's father lurked in corners, apparently relieved not to have to wear uniform. The groom's grandfather had given a blessing to the wedding. No one wanted to have anyone reminded of the former Kaiser, or his son, the former Kronprinz, and so the one kept his greetings low-keyed, the other his presence. Because of concerns about the French, the government thought it politic to have the bride given away not by her father (who, coincidentally, was in France) but her brother, Grand Duke Vladimir. No one cared what Stalin thought.

  Come up from the turbulent Balkans, King, or Czar, Boris of Bulgaria clinked glasses with his neighbor, King Carol of Rumania. Queen Ioan
na of Bulgaria was due in about a month, with they hoped a boy, and Carol was likewise unaccompanied. He had arrived early, saying to Manfred as he disembarked from the train, "Oh to be in Berlin, now that April's here!" To which Manfred had said, "Whatever will Fraulein Lupescu say?" For his notorious mistress was back in Bucharest, while the German head of government had to greet the de facto Rumanian head of government, their king who styled himself "Royal Dictator". The alternative was worse, understand; a cabal of Mussolini-admirers who styled themselves "The Legion of St. Michael" and carried out some very unsaintly deeds.

  From the north, the King of Denmark had arrived, Christian offering Christian forgiveness for the transgressions of 1866, and with him was his Queen Alexandrine, come to see her Mecklenburger relatives, and a cheery gentleman who everyone gentlemanly pretended not to recognize as King Haakon VII of Norway.

  The newly-married Crown Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands were present, and Bernhard proudly said "A new young Orange is on the way!" to all and sundry. "Already?" people responded.

  Representing his royal brother of England -- oh, if you insist, the United Kingdom -- was their Prince George, Duke of Kent, and his wife Princess Mariana, Duchess of Kent. As the Duke told people, "Germany has not had an easy time of it, you are fortunate you have such a good governor." Manfred had already invited him to go flying that weekend, and had great gratitude for his not saying the "F" word.

  But republican leaders were not unrepresented. At the dinner on Monday, President Beneš of Czechoslovakia had made a cheery toast, the Slavic lilt in his speech brightening the words, "To our friends and associates in Germany -- may our peace be as eternal as the bonds of matrimony we shall witness soon!"

  Privately he was more somber. "I would be less than honest, Herr Chancellor, if I did not admit to concerns about democracy in Germany, but last year's election showed it was still working here. Now France --" And he gave a liquid shrug. "I hope we have made the right choice, though I think we have."

  The chief American representative was no less than Mrs. Roosevelt. "The Emperor and Empress will be coming to America!" she had said, astounded. "I hope -- well, Franklin and I will welcome him and we shall certainly stress the new strength of democracy in Germany."

  Manfred arranged for her to tour some of the Social Democratic meetings to see how "Kaiserist" Germany was, and hoped the various flavors of Nazis would not do anything rash. He did ask her, "Now how is Amelia Earhart doing?"

  The President's wife was, it seemed, very friendly with Earhart and she was also forthcoming about her friend's condition. "George took her back home to New York and she's been convalescing ever since. Fred Noonan's death hit her hard, you know."

  "I'm sorry to hear that."

  "She has no reason to be, she did everything for the man, but he was just too weak . . George was watching her every moment like a hen with one chick."

  Later that afternoon, he found some other members of the American delegation wandering along the terrace. "I give up, where's he buried?" Rickenbacker said. "Adelaide and I looked over every inch of this place and there's no trace of a grave."

  "Where's who buried?" Manfred had said, puzzled.

  "Frederick the Great. I read how he wanted to be buried here." Rickenbacker swung an arm at the palace. "Hell of a good memorial."

  "Oh Rick!" Adelaide said.

  Manfred shook his head. "No, King Friedrich is buried in the Garrison Church, next to his father. You can go and see if you like."

  Rickenbacker looked melancholy. "I never knew he had taste like this. Why would anyone who could build such a grand home want to go to war? Never mind. Have you heard anything new about Amelia?"

  The British delegation included a notorious yellow journalist. "Christ, where's the loo?" Randolph was saying when Manfred encountered him. "Oh, sorry, Manfred. But where is it. That damn water in China --"

  Manfred wordlessly pointed, and the younger Churchill fled thence, leaving him with the older. "He was very disturbed about Nanking," Winston said. "A frightful event. Like the Italians and the Soviets, the Japanese are a danger to the peace of the world."

  "Do you think they will join forces?" Manfred said. "Their interests are common, even if their ideologies are divergent. We had the Nazis and Bolsheviks working together to foment a transit strike here a few years ago. They could do it too, and it wouldn't be anything as trivial as the S-Bahn shutting down."

  "An axis of evil empires spurring a world war. God spare us that."

  Manfred realized that Randolph would probably head down to Schweidnitz this weekend and asked about him. "Is he all right? I don't mean this problem with the water, but I worry about malaria. And he looks a bit off; sallow."

  Winston drew on his cigar before replying. "Advance of technology. You should know about that. He has been taking this new anti-malaria drug, 'atabrine' they call it . . ."

  Later on, Manfred found himself blocked by an obstacle of a different sort. "I should have invited Herr Gernsback," he said to himself, looking at the gargantuan apparatus that occupied a grossly disproportionate area of the terrace.

  Its proprietor appeared. "Ah, Herr Reichskanzler!" Hugenberg said, from his world where all was right with it. "I see you are inspecting our new device. Your brother and I have been working on a method of making this magnificent development more available."

  "What are you going to do?"

  Hugenberg smiled. "We will sell advertising! The regular transmission will be paused, as in breaks between scenes for a play, and advertising for various products will be displayed. It will cover the costs of production and make a wider, more diverse range of shows available for the viewing public. The pause will not be bothersome.."

  "Will this advertising include political advertising?" Manfred asked, images of Nazi rallies being seen far across the Reich disheartening him. This was something Gernsback hadn't imagined when he invented the word. Beside them, the television camera hummed and squealed and made strange noises as the UFA team prepared to broadcast tomorrow's wedding.

  He survived it. Everyone else did, even those they'd rather not have (thus, Goebbels and Münzenberg did not have a procedural debate over how to report the Imperial Wedding at five paces with dynamite sticks, for all that such a consummation was greatly to be desired). The guests scattered afterwards, not without leaving traces of their passage.

  The English paper lay on his desk, and while the Reichstag was in recess, the Reichskanzler was indulging himself in a country vacation, riding, flying, and hunting. But this morning he was marking up the interview.

  GERMAN CHANCELLOR TALKS PEACE, SCIENCE

  By Our Special Correspondent

  SCHWEIDNITZ, PRUSSIA, May 7 -- I had a unique opportunity to speak with the German Chancellor, Germany's World War hero Manfred, Baron von Richthofen, in the aftermath of Wednesday's imperial wedding in Potsdam. He granted me the hospitality of his home here in Schweidnitz, near Breslau, the capital of Silesia, and allowed me to ask him questions covering a broad range of topics.

  [And he went flying with Carmen in her Stork afterwards, she pointed out that he wouldn't do anything untoward to the pilot so Doris and Mother were satisfied. -- MvR]

  Q. Herr von Richthofen, it is a pleasure to be your guest here at your home in Silesia.

  A. Mr Churchill, it is my pleasure to entertain you.

  Q. My first question may be thought a bit harsh. There is a lot of comment in England about the "never-ending Red Baron Governments." Some people see it as a sign of failure of German democracy, that Germans have to have one father-figure after another; first Field Marshal von Hindenburg, now you. Do you consider yourself the "permanent Chancellor"?

  A. Not in the slightest. I took this job thinking it would only be temporary. But the alternative was worse. Some people around the then President von Hindenburg were proposing that Herr Hitler and the Nazi party be brought into the government! That would have been an utter disaster.

  No, I cons
idered it my duty as a servant of Germany -- some of my ministers would say "of the German People", some would say, "of the German State" -- to guide it through troubled times. I will not stay when I am not wanted, when I am not needed.

  Q. Do you really think that a Hitler government would have lasted for very long? I mean, after what has happened with the National Socialist factions in the past few years, even before Hitler's death, it doesn't seem like they would have been very well organized.

  A. I would like to think so. But remember, people could have said the same thing about the Bolsheviks in 1916; having the power of government on your side can do a lot to smooth out your internal problems. And like the Bolsheviks in 1917, they were, those people, a kind of solution to a problem that seemed bigger than could be handled by the ordinary processes of government. The government was less stable then back in 1933, less stable than it appears in retrospect. People were looking for order amid chaos. That comment you made about "father figures" is not without some justification. Hindenburg really should not have run for President in 1932, but the alternative was worse.

  [And the parties disliked each other too much and the Nazis and Bolsheviks too little to stick together. They still may do so. -- MvR]

  Q. But you don't like democracy, they say. "Richthofen is just another Prussian autocrat, a military man running his government like an army."

  A. It's a funny thing. I do not care for the electioneering. I am not any good at that. Back during the War I would address every kind of meeting, women, children, war workers, and I was pretty much always well received. Back then I was the Hero, you see, and I was being used to boost morale. Sometimes the deception was disheartening. Particularly in the last year when all we could really hope for was a negotiated peace, and everyone was seeing through the official story of never-ending victories. I didn't like being used and I felt I was hurting more than I was helping. But it was my duty as an officer to continue to resist as long as I had the ability. I am in a different position now, one where I have the responsibility. I have to consider the give and take of government -- but now that I am actually the one responsible, I find it fascinating. You feel -- I feel that what I do can make a difference.