German Red Prince

Page 210

After Maurice finished speaking, Thälmann also spoke on behalf of Germany at the conference. Because of the return of the Alsace-Lorraine region, the German Democratic Republic is now a member state of the Communist International Congress, and in the future, East Germany will assume more responsibilities for the cause of liberation in Europe and the world.

Representatives from various countries all spoke, first congratulating Germany, and then describing some problems and situations in their regions. The struggles in some countries were indeed very difficult, with the reactionary forces within their countries being too powerful to be resolved, and they hoped to receive help from the Comintern.

With Germany no longer their biggest enemy, the Comintern no longer needs to spend huge sums on border defenses; now, the borders between Germany and France are guarded by scarecrows.

Both governments are discussing visa-free travel. We are good partners, so there's no need to be so wary. This would allow the Comintern to have more funds to help the world revolution.

Previously, the majority of the Comintern's funding came from the French Commune. Britain and Italy, one was just an island and the other was not yet unified. The British situation had been poor since the Revolution and they still needed the French to provide financial support. They only had one island. In the past, Great Britain was so powerful because it sucked blood from the world. Now that it only had a small island, it didn't have as much profit.

They were on a single island and were blockaded by the Germans, so life was tough. Now that Germany has turned red, the blockade has been lifted, and their connections with the European continent have become much closer. Their hard times are finally over.

Germany's entry also relieved some of the burden of the world revolution. Germany had the strength to help France complete the world revolution together. Its foundation was more solid than France's, and its fighting power would be even stronger once it recovered.

At the conference, all the countries raised questions. With so many political parties and countries, France alone certainly couldn't provide enough aid, and even with Germany's help, it might not be enough. So the conference began to discuss the plan proposed by Adolf, which was to establish a branch of the Communist International to first provide aid to countries with potential in the region, and then let those countries continue to aid other countries, in a relay-style development.

One advantage of this is that it saves a lot of energy and time. It's better to cut off one finger than to injure all ten. France's aid to the world is spreading its resources too thin. It would be better for them to concentrate their efforts on aiding a particular country first, and then let that country break through regional hegemony and cut off one of the imperialist powers' fingers. This would be more effective.

Otherwise, if the forces are dispersed, each region will not receive much help and will be easily crushed by the reactionaries.

This proposal has received support from some countries, suggesting that regional powers should drive the development of a world revolution. The goal is to identify those powerful nations with potential, with the first tier consisting of countries that have already succeeded or are about to succeed in their revolutions.

Chairman Mao was very excited when this was mentioned. If the plan were approved, then China would indeed be a very suitable candidate in East Asia.

It has a large population, a large area, and great potential. Asia was once dominated by Germany and Japan. Now that Germany has fallen, Japan's ambitions will soon be exposed. East Asia needs a strong and powerful force to curb the development of Japanese imperialism.

Communism is now essentially fighting imperialism for territory worldwide; it's a battle of time and speed. These days, time truly is life, and it's all about who has the greater influence. Communism and imperialism, these two theories, were sworn enemies from their inception; the other must be completely eradicated.

The Communist International will later establish branches, and the Communist International Congress will also undergo some changes, divided into a world congress and regional congresses. Regional congresses will deal with local issues, while world congresses will deal with international issues. When regional conferences are unable to resolve local conflicts or contradictions, proposals will be submitted to the international congress for unified handling.

The strongest branch at present is undoubtedly the European branch, since the powerful countries are all in Europe. Their task is naturally very difficult, which is to liberate Europe. However, this is not the only task. Because the power of European communism is the strongest, they are also temporarily in charge of the affairs of the African branch.

Africa has long suffered from colonialism, and they have to clean up the mess there. Moreover, it is another stronghold of imperialism, and there are many old scores to settle.

Both the German and French governments in exile are in Africa. The French Republic is disgusted with the French Commune. After dealing with the affairs of Europe, the Commune will definitely settle accounts with them. Germany also needs to go there to completely dismantle the Reich Pact. Wilhelm won't have many days of peace in Africa.

The vote to establish the Communist International branches passed by a vote of three to one. Based on the distribution and characteristics of socialist forces across the continents, the conference announced the headquarters countries of several branches even before it ended.

North America is dominated by the Communist Party of the United States, South America by Patagonia and Chile, Europe and Africa by France and Germany, and East Asia by China.

Russia is still observing the situation. After the collapse of German hegemony, Russia's politics began to become turbulent, and President Kerensky has been unable to stabilize the domestic situation.

Ukraine is likely to be the catalyst for future conflicts in Central Europe. Both the Red Army and the Black Army in Ukraine are constantly expanding, and Ludendorff must expand into Ukraine if he wants to strengthen his power.

Expansion into Ukraine would inevitably lead to conflict with the Black Army and the Red Army, and since Ukraine is Russia's "inherent territory," Ludendorff is very likely to clash with Russia.

Russian revanchism is also growing, and they dream of reclaiming the former Tsarist territories. These members of the Imperial Pact in Central Europe are no longer out of reach after the collapse of the empire.

Conflict presents the best opportunity. If a hot war breaks out between China and Europe, it will be the best time for revolution. If the Russian Revolution succeeds, the entire world island will be connected, and the success of a world revolution will be a foregone conclusion.

478. Unify as soon as possible

The revolutionary situation throughout the world was so favorable that many delegates at the conference shouted, "The revolution has reached the moment of complete victory."

The proletariat is conquering cities and towns all over the world, destroying the world capitalist system. All the attendees were very optimistic and estimated that they would see the complete victory of the world revolution in their lifetime.

Germany is gradually recovering from the trauma of the civil war, and at present, there is only one country in the world undergoing a large-scale war of liberation: China. Helping China achieve revolutionary victory is the most important task of the Comintern in the next stage.

The Comintern did indeed need a branch in Asia to compete with the Japanese for territory. There were only two candidates in East Asia: Japan and China. If Japan took over Asia, it was something the Comintern really didn't want to see, because it would mean that they would have to pay a much higher price to overthrow the Japanese Empire's hegemony in the region.

Before deciding to formally assist the Republic of China government in unifying China against Japan, the conference needed to understand the specific situation in Asia and the progress of China's war of unification. After all, it was necessary to conduct preliminary research before providing formal assistance.

Thorne wasn't too worried about the situation in China, especially in this timeline. Chiang Kai-shek was long dead, and without his scourge, the revolution could have continued. Chairman Mao became the government leader decades earlier. Although he lacked the decades of experience Thorne had in his original timeline, and his abilities might be somewhat inferior, it wasn't a bad choice for China as a whole. Electing Chairman Mao was hundreds of times better than someone like Chiang Kai-shek.

"At the beginning, the National Revolutionary Government only had one base area in Guangdong, occupying only one province out of dozens of provinces in China. After the death of Premier Sun, Sun Chuanfang betrayed the revolution. The National Revolutionary Army launched the First Northern Expedition to fulfill Premier Sun's last wishes and ultimately achieved a complete victory."

"In the first Northern Expedition, we successfully liberated the other seven provinces controlled by Sun Chuanfang and liberated the southeastern half of the country. Later, we resolved the internal disputes and were able to unite to fight against imperialism and its lackeys. After liberating the southeastern half of the country, the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the National Revolutionary Army continued to advance."

"We have successfully liberated Guangxi and Yunnan to the south, and the Red Army has liberated Sichuan to the west. We are now advancing towards Qinghai and Tibet. Now that German imperialism has collapsed, the National Revolutionary Army has immediately launched the Northern Expedition to defeat the Qing government and liberate the three northeastern provinces. This is our next goal. Our government will completely complete the great historical task of unifying China before 1933!"

Today, the National Revolutionary Army is strong and well-equipped. The Changsha National Government is far stronger than Chiang Kai-shek's Nanjing National Government in history. It has no compradors, has thoroughly integrated the southern provinces, and has even reached as far west as Qinghai and Tibet.

The unification of the South was a complete unification. There were no warlords or military leaders within the Changsha Nationalist Government. There was no recruitment of any warlord into the government to serve as a provincial governor, nor were there any nepotistic relationships like those of the principal. If there had been no external interference, the Nationalist Government could have indeed completed the complete unification of China before 1933.

"In 1933, the form of the international proletarian struggle did not allow us to prolong this war. In East Asia, we needed a strong and powerful force, and the time for the unification of China had to be brought forward."

After Chairman Mao gave his report, some representatives from Asia at the Comintern conference seemed very anxious. 1933? Three more years? If the Chinese can win in three years, how much longer will it take them? Japanese imperialism will not be foolish enough to wait and see China unify, especially since there is still so much work to be done after unification. They wish China could be unified tomorrow.

"If China really did complete its unification in 1933, it would still need at least five more years to complete the post-war reconstruction and recovery. In other words, China would not be able to play a real role in East Asia until after 1938. Time waits for no one. Japanese imperialism would not just wait there for eight years. Moreover, the three northeastern provinces were one of the core areas of the Japanese. They would not watch China complete its unification, even if it was only in form."

Unification was to be completed by 1933. Not only other Asian countries, but the Comintern could not afford to wait. A great deal of things could happen in such a long period of time. If any link in the chain were to fail, it would be a devastating blow to the entire international communist movement. China had to complete unification ahead of schedule.

"China's unification must be brought forward, preferably to be completed by 1931, even if it is only in form. This is the task of the Comintern. During this period, the Comintern will give the highest priority support to the Chinese revolution."

Previously, due to the German blockade, the Nationalist government had very few trading partners. Its largest trading relationship was probably with the Rhineland. Many of the Nationalist government's construction projects were assisted by the Rhineland government, and those Nationalist government students are still studying in Frankfurt today.

The Comintern was to provide China with top-priority aid, which meant that for a long period of time to come, the Nationalist government would directly receive full assistance from the French Commune, the British Commonwealth, the Italian People's Republic, and the German Democratic Republic.

This included experts, funds, technology, trade, and aid and reconstruction efforts, aiming to complete the first round of national reconstruction when China was unified.

"We will assist the Nationalist government in providing weapons and will also initiate corresponding industrial plans for the Nationalist government. At the same time, in order to help the Nationalist government reduce external pressure, we will also increase our support for Japanese communist forces. In the north, the Comintern will also increase its assistance to Russia to help them rebuild socialist Russia as soon as possible."

Historically, China achieved formal unification in 1928. However, by 1930, China was not yet fully unified. Although the entire south had been thoroughly integrated into the new Nationalist government, it was slower than the historical process. Incomplete unification was tantamount to complete disagreement. Although it took a long time, it was better than problems arising later.

The Comintern's desire to help Russia rebuild socialism would also put strong pressure on Japan in the north, forcing Japan to divert its attention. As a result, Japan was preoccupied with three directions.

Should they contentedly continue to occupy the German Empire's territory in Southeast Asia, or send troops to intervene in China's revolution to protect their interests in China, or should they be careful and guard against the resurgence of this northern bear?

The Japanese can only have one strategic goal. If they choose one, they will definitely have to give up the other two. If they are stubborn and want all three, that's fine, but in the end they will only get nothing.

"Completing unification by 1933 is the worst-case scenario, and we've included the Japanese in that calculation. With the help of the Comintern, we are confident that we can achieve complete unification by 1931 and confront Japanese imperialism in the East!"

Chairman Mao answered firmly that the Red Army had not been preoccupied with confronting the north, but had been advancing westward, capturing cities and strongholds, and had already liberated most of China's territory.

With the full support of the Comintern, the war against the North will not take long. Chairman Mao of the Qing government did not take it seriously at all. Without Germany behind them, and with the Marshal in the North also thinking about them, the revolutionary army will surely complete the unification with the speed of an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

The battles against the Qing government will not take long; the only battles that will take longer are the major wars in the north and the three northeastern provinces.

Liberating Northeast China might require some effort from the Nationalist government. There was no way around it; they had a solid foundation. As long as Zhang Zuolin was in power in Northeast China, there was no possibility of peace talks. But if he hadn't been in power, the National Revolutionary Army might have been dealing with the Japanese, not the Northeast Army.

"Distinguished delegates, regarding the Japanese side, I hope the Comintern can extend a helping hand to the Japanese Communist Party and provide some assistance."

"I have met some leaders of the Japanese Communist Party before. They are just as enthusiastic about the revolution and are quite powerful. Japan is also full of contradictions. If the Comintern can support the Japanese Communist Party, it can also relieve some of the pressure on the East Asian battlefield."

After returning to Japan to expand its influence, the Japanese Communist Party has indeed wielded considerable influence and has become the Japanese government's primary target.

These members of the Japanese Communist Party, having absorbed the experience of Asia, are also planning an armed uprising to establish a base. If the Comintern can provide guidance and assistance, and the Japanese Communist Party's uprising succeeds, Japanese imperialism will have to bear pressure from within the country.

"We will consider this and discuss it with our Japanese representatives. If the revolution in East Asia is to succeed, we must overthrow Japanese imperialism."

The socialist camp is now stronger than ever, and the good days for the current empires are numbered.

479. Socialist Art

What does it mean to be "in the right field"? Speer felt that his current job was very much in line with his major, placing him at the very top of the civil engineering pyramid.

Speer studied architecture and met Thorne by chance. He didn't know how he had aroused the interest of this Rhine prince, but as soon as he finished his university studies, he was pulled into a government job.

After the German Revolution, Speer went on to work in the revolutionary government.

Speer is now the Minister of the National Construction Committee. He is only 25 years old this year. This is not a meteoric rise, but a meteoric rise. He is about the same age as Thorne, or even a little younger than Thorne. He is the youngest cadre in the entire revolutionary government.

At the age of 25, he became the Minister of the Construction Committee. There was no other genius like him in all of Germany. It is undeniable that luck played a large part in Speer becoming a minister, but luck alone is not enough. Without ability, sitting in this position when the democratic republic was just established would not have lasted long. He would either step down on his own or be asked to step down by others.

Speer did a good job when he was in office at the Rhine. Thorne hoped that he could build houses that were cheap and quick to build to provide housing for the vast majority of people. After only briefly talking to Speer about the Khrushchev House and the Brezhnev House, he was able to build the "Speer House" that belonged to Germany at this time.

From an aesthetic point of view, the Speer Building is much more attractive than the Khrushchev Building. Each country has its own national conditions, and Thorne did not want socialism to become synonymous with cheap and shoddy workmanship in the future.

German buildings must reflect German characteristics. After the revolution, Germany's reconstruction work proceeded as scheduled, and Thorne also became the client, hoping that Speer would preserve German characteristics as much as possible while rebuilding Germany.

The housing plan in East Germany was spearheaded by several departments, with Speer's construction committee playing a crucial role. Speer frequently drew blueprints in his office and then presented them at meetings. After several rounds of design elimination, a plan that satisfied everyone was finally presented.

Thorne remembered that in their timeline, Speer wasn't an architect; he was the Minister of Armaments. Later, when Germany unleashed its full firepower, it was thanks to Speer's planning. Thorne wondered if Speer could utilize his organizational skills in this world, perhaps by serving as the Minister of Planning first to gain experience and mentor Himmler and the others.

Speer was only in his twenties, while Adolf was already over forty. The two had an exceptionally good relationship. No matter how busy Adolf was, he would always find time to chat with Speer. Once, they happened to run into each other at a meeting. The meeting lasted for more than two hours, and after it ended, the two chatted for more than three hours.

Perhaps because Adolf was admitted to art school in this timeline, he and Speer had a lot in common. Speer would sometimes come to Adolf to discuss his designs, and Adolf could give him a lot of advice.

Such friendships are rare even within the revolutionary government. Although Speer is young, his artistic talent far surpasses that of Adolf. If Adolf were given another chance, he would probably give up his government post and go to the art academy for two more years of further study.

Germany has many areas that need development in the future. Adolf, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was in charge of foreign affairs, propaganda, and politics. He had a lot of contact with Speer's department in his daily work. As a representative, he visited the French Commune and saw a lot of French-style socialist architecture.

Adolf took many photos in Paris, but as a painter, he preferred painting to taking pictures. During his time in Paris, Adolf painted a lot. After discussing the Alsace-Lorraine issue, the French specially invited Adolf to stay in Paris for several days to visit many places. Adolf also painted a lot and gave them to many people when he returned.

Thorne kept a painting of the Eiffel Tower and the Palais des Internationales by Adolf. This painting was very valuable, as Thorne had loved collecting such things in his previous life.

If he had managed to get his hands on a painting of a mustache in his previous life, he would have been incredibly wealthy. So when Adolf gave it to him, Thorne made a point of having him sign it so he could keep it as a family heirloom.

The trip to Paris gave Adolf a lot of inspiration, and he shared his experiences in Paris with Speer, hoping it would also inspire him.

Socialist culture should flourish in all its forms. The German character is very different from that of the French. Adolf hopes that future socialist cultures around the world will each have their own characteristics, so that when he retires, he will have something interesting to see as he travels around the world.

After looking at the photos Adolf had taken in Paris, Speer realized that building houses was not his only task. He carefully observed the architecture of the French and believed that art should be popularized in the future, that literature and art should be accessible to all, and that people's appreciation of art should be improved. He also believed that future architecture in Germany should be artistic, and that this was Speer's primary task.

"We have overthrown imperialism, so in art we also need to overthrow imperialism and build a new art that belongs to socialism."

Speer visited the Palais Internationale and the Place de l'Universelle in Paris. These buildings were very beautiful and full of artistry. Germany also needed such buildings to meet the comprehensive development needs of the German people.

"Art is an indispensable part of socialism. We want people who visit Germany in the future to feel the futuristic and avant-garde nature of German socialist art as soon as they arrive."

Speer looked at many of the photos taken by Adolf. The socialist buildings of the French Commune were quite retro, with marble statues and temple-like structures, which had a strong ancient feel. Socialism is forward-looking, so Speer did not want to follow the ancient architectural style. He hoped that future German socialism would be full of futuristic feel.

"Berlin needs a new landmark to showcase the spirit of our great nation. We must move beyond the classical and into the future."

Berlin was built with Wilhelm II's money, and the city truly resembles the capital of an empire, exuding a classical atmosphere. It could be said that Berlin reached the pinnacle of classicism under Wilhelm II's construction, which is why Speer sought a different path, aiming for the new Germany to conquer another peak in the field of art.

"Socialism should serve art, not art become a tool of socialism. We should draw nourishment from socialism to develop socialism. Socialism is a tool, not an end. Otherwise, we will fall into the trap of dogmatism and formalism."

Speer had his own understanding of socialism, although it may sound somewhat reactionary: socialism is not the goal, but the beginning of everything.

Like one end of a ray, extending infinitely outward from this end, we must start from socialism, not run towards socialism, otherwise the future will surely fall into stagnation.

The model on the table is Speer's design for a future German landmark, the New Berlin Cinema, a futuristic and technologically advanced movie theater.

480. Bauhaus School

Thorne doesn't actually have much to do in the government now. Compared to Talman and others, he has much less work, which makes Thorne feel guilty. For the first time, he feels ashamed for slacking off.

He was mainly in charge of military matters. During the Rhine period, Thorne was mainly in charge of military research. After the war, he continued to be in charge of this area. The research on new fighter jets and tanks, which began before the war, made some progress. Thorne was going there every day.

Göring was very interested in the new aircraft, and would go over to check on the progress every few days. Their air wing was even already using the new fighter jets to study combat techniques. Thorne often saw Göring and several fighter pilots holding the new small planes and discussing how to shoot down enemy aircraft.

Germany is currently undergoing a full economic recovery, but it has many unresolved issues. Even with the help of the French, it will likely take some time for Germany to sort out its domestic problems.

People need jobs, housing, and bread. The first thing the East German government did after coming to power was to fully revitalize the German economy. People will only avoid trouble if they are in motion.

During the Imperial German era, there was a saying that the German economy depended on the Rhine. The Rhine was so wealthy at the time that Bavaria's economy couldn't compete with it at all. Even though Prussia had the Silesia industrial region, it was still far behind the Ruhr. It is undeniable that the Rhine was the industrial center of Germany at that time.

After the establishment of East Germany, Thorne showed no mercy to his former homeland and almost immediately began restructuring the Rhine economy.

During the revolution, the economy of the Rhineland actually improved. If the government hadn't forcefully intervened and dismantled these businesses, then probably more than half of East Germany's GDP would have come from West Germany.

If there are too many differences in regional economies, it is not good for the unity of the whole of Germany. Therefore, after the establishment of the German Democratic Republic, Thorne immediately began to transform the Rhine enterprises, using state coercion and policy advantages to force West German enterprises to relocate to the eastern region.

It's too close to France here. Moving eastward is also a strategic consideration. France's electoral system means that a policy won't last long. Who knows if the next government will suddenly decide to fight with Germany? In the East German plan, the government wanted to move about 40 percent of West Germany's industry to East Germany to balance the distribution of Germany's industry as much as possible.

The East German government transformed most of the enterprises into state-owned enterprises through public-private partnerships and buyouts, completing the socialist transformation of these enterprises as soon as possible. It must be said that, thanks to the "wisdom of our ancestors," the socialist transformation of most of the Rhine enterprises proceeded smoothly, with the predecessors planting trees for the successors to enjoy the shade.

Germany has many car companies, and Rheinland has even more. Audi, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz are all headquartered in Rheinland. After the liberation of Bavaria, BMW, which Thorne had longed for, finally became state-owned. However, the mainstay of the German automotive industry is not these four car companies. BMW is famous not for its cars but for its aircraft engines.

Volkswagen will be the true leader of German car manufacturers in the future. Now that the German Democratic Republic has been established, Germany will also start to manufacture a car that truly belongs to the people. Led by technicians from several car companies, the German Democratic Republic has recently established the Volkswagen People's Car Factory. In the future, every household in Germany will have a car. Germany will produce its own "people's car".

Adolf was very interested in the project, and he even personally attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Volkswagen People's Automobile Plant. Dr. Ferdinand Porsche was the chief designer of the Volkswagen People's Automobile Plant. Germany was one of the leaders of the Second Industrial Revolution, and it must be said that its foundation was truly solid.

In this era, there are practically countless masters, and with the current East German government able to allocate the nation's resources, producing a high-performance car shouldn't be a problem.

Volkswagen was founded even earlier than the Third German period. Thorne hoped that in this timeline, the car brand could truly live up to its name and become a mass-market car that everyone could afford, rather than like the Nazis, where cars were built but mostly used on the battlefield.

Having just finished attending this event, Thorne was still chatting with Adolf when Speer invited Adolf to attend the National Construction Committee ceremony.

I heard that a new art academy had been established in Berlin. It was the first new university in East Germany after its founding, and it was in the field of art. Speer, as Adolf's close friend despite the age difference, invited him to visit it first.

"The first university in East Germany sounds impressive, but it also reminds us that the German university education model needs to be reformed and our education needs to be more inclusive."

It's unclear whether Adolf listened to what Thorne said. This was the first art university in East Germany, and Adolf was concerned about it. Although he wasn't the Minister of Education, he could still manage this aspect.

Adolf excitedly ran over to see the first art academy in East Germany, but when he arrived, he didn't find any art university there. Wasn't this Humboldt University?

"Albert, where is this art university you mentioned?"

“Mr. Adolf, our university is right here.”

Speer pointed to a building behind him, which was the "Art University" he mentioned, an empty building inside Humboldt University.