41

Road to (5)

Erich Maria Remarque.

I wonder if he remembers that I met him in the past.

In 1918, when I was hospitalized near the end of the war, I happened to meet him and had a brief conversation.

That was our first and last meeting.

As you know, Remarque went on to become a novelist, and I became the Fuhrer.

After coming to power, my associates asked me to ban Remarque's works.

The reason was that Remarque's works had a negative impact on the emotions of the people.

But I refused and instructed that no harm be done to Remarque.

There was no need to arrest him and attract foreign aggression, but it was also because of the bond we had met in the past.

Before he was the Fuhrer, I was a fan of him as a human being.

His representative work, is still on the bookshelf in my office.

In the original history that people know, Remarque, who was an anti-war activist, had frequent conflicts with the Nazi Party and went into exile in Switzerland in 1931.

But here, thanks to me suppressing the Nazi madness as much as possible, he still lives in Germany.

However, he was arrested by the Gestapo yesterday.

It is said that the reason for the arrest was because he made inappropriate remarks in a public place that denied the order of the country.

If it were an ordinary person, he would have been the judge right away, but because Remarque was a major writer whose name was widely known both domestically and internationally, even Himmler did not know what to do with him, so he came to me to ask for my opinion.

I shook off the dissuasion from those around me and immediately went to see Remarque. He was currently in Osnabrück.

Even though 21 years have passed, he has not changed much compared to when I first met him in the hospital room.

Except for the wrinkles on his forehead and a little thinning of his hair, he looked just like I remembered.

As I entered the room, his eyes, which had been staring at the ceiling, turned to me.

"Oh, it's been a while since we met."

I greeted him quietly.

Remarque looked surprised by my appearance, but did not shout. He just responded softly to my greeting.

"······It's been a while for me too, Mr. Hitler."

He called me Mr. Hitler instead of Mr. Führer, but I didn't find it offensive.

But Krause seemed to be different, immediately distorting his face and speaking fiercely.

"What are you doing to your Excellency the President?"

"That's it. Krause, please leave for a moment."

"But Mr. President."

"I said I'm fine. "I want to talk alone with my old comrade."

Although Krause hesitated, he eventually obeyed the command. At the very least, I suggested that he be handcuffed just in case, but he declined.

"It seems like you don't really know what's going on in the world. "I never imagined we would meet again like this."

"That's right."

"There's nothing wrong with the Western Front you wrote, I really enjoyed reading it. I was shocked when I found out that you wrote that book. "If I had known this would happen, I would have gotten an autograph in advance, and I regretted it."

Remarque only laughed lightly at my words and remained silent. Embarrassed, I scratched my head.

"I was surprised to hear that you were arrested. Let's make sure this doesn't happen again in the future. "I'm sorry."

"it's okay."

I couldn't think of anything more to say, so I was thinking about just standing up, but Remarque quietly opened his mouth.

"I'll be honest too. I don't know if you already know, but I criticized you. So I was arrested."

"I know."

"Aren't you curious why? "Why did I say that?"

"Um...a little...?"

"I have no intention of denying your accomplishments. "You did what no one else could."

"That's too much praise."

"But at the cost of taking away freedom from the people. "Isn't that right?"

"It's true."

"Uh... I guess you know?"

This time Remarque was surprised. Did he not think that I would readily admit to the charges?

"What are you hiding? I enacted the Enabling Act for myself and have been ruling as a dictator ever since. "This is a fact that everyone in the country knows."

No matter how much I have become milder than the original Hitler, the fact that I am a dictator remains the same.

I have no intention of denying that either.

"Why does someone who knows that still remain a dictator?"

"That is to bring victory to Germany."

Actually, it's to escape this horrible regression.

Remarque nodded as if he had expected that to happen.

"Past leaders also said the same thing. In 1914. Mr. Hitler, you know very well what the result was, right? But why do you want to walk the same path as them?"

"It may sound funny, but I am different from them. really. It may look the same to you. But just know this. "Unlike them, I intend to lead Germany to victory."

"The Kaiser probably also intended to lead Germany to victory."

"I know."

"Are you sure you don't want to stop?"

"Now that I've come this far, there is no other way for me. "I have to go to the end."

I'm not doing this because I want to either.

In the first place, I had no intention of becoming the Fuhrer or starting a war.

But all my attempts so far have ended in failure.

There is only one way left.

All you have to do is win the war and make Germany a great power.

I think that is the only way to return me to my original world.

"I will give you my final advice. No one knows what future war will bring to this country, but do not forget that it will bring tragedy to all those caught up in it."

"You don't have to worry about that. "Because I've never forgotten it."

I know.

If you start a war, there will inevitably be people who suffer from the war.

It is also contradictory to destroy someone else's future for the sake of my own future.

However, this is also something that everyone has prepared for.

No matter what sacrifice I make, I will definitely escape this return and return to where I belong.

I have no intention of living my whole life trapped in the treadmill of time.

I released Remarque.

And I told him to let me know at any time if anything happens.

"I'm not saying this to appease you. "Please do not reject it as it is simply a pure favor from comrades who fought on the same battlefield."

"······Good luck, Mr. President."

Good luck, good luck.

I sent Remarque off, pondering the hidden meaning of those words.

He quietly returned home without looking back.

***

Schacht's case was similar to that of Remarque.

With less than a week left until the start of the invasion of Poland, he requested a meeting with me.

"Mr. President, I truly regret having to tell you this, but the economy cannot sustain itself any longer. The side effects of excessive military spending are starting to appear, and gold reserves will also run out within two years. "Even if you hold on as long as you can, it will only last three years."

"Isn't there some gold obtained from annexing the Czech Republic?"

"This is what I said, including all of that. If this continues, the German economy will begin to collapse within three years."

"Huh..."

Despite the fact that they collected as much foreign currency as possible through active trade and arms sales with China and Japan, and even robbed the Czech Republic of its gold, the German economy was slowly reaching its limits.

Compared to the original history, which was just before the economic collapse, can we say that the present is a little better?

······Even so, it doesn't change the fact that the economy is ruined.

But this was also expected. The answer was fixed.

"The minister did nothing wrong. "This is entirely my fault."

"We must reduce military spending and invest in the civilian economy even now. So... please reconsider the war."

"That sounds like it would be difficult. If we stop the war now, the military will protest. And a decisive battle with Poland is inevitable. Even if it's not now, it's bound to happen someday. The non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union was signed for the purpose of conquering Poland.

But if we back down from here, Germany will never have the opportunity to punish Poland again. "It means it's over forever."

"Mr. Fuhrer, the moment they invade Poland, Britain and France will strangle the German economy. Even though I can barely breathe, the air disappears. If that happens, the issue will not be the conquest of Poland, but the survival and fate of Germany."

Schacht spent two hours explaining the problems facing the current German economy and the issues that need to be urgently addressed.

Although I already knew everything from books and the internet, I listened to it until the end. Shacht thinks I'm trying to start a war because I don't know the problem.

"So, please reconsider the war. "It is not too late for Poland to fix its economy after it has been resolved."

"I'm sorry, Minister. No matter how much I think about it, it seems difficult."

"······Is that so."

After confirming that my position had not changed despite my earnest persuasion, Shacht sighed and stood up.

"Excuse me, Mr. President."

Two days later, Schacht announced that he would resign as Minister of Economy as a final warning to me.

In history, Hitler dismissed Schacht and appointed Walter Funck, who was compliant with him. But I kept Schacht in office.

If Funk was capable, he would be a capable friend, but still, finding someone as capable and versatile as Shacht was a challenge, so he had to capture Shacht somehow.

He will be very useful after the war is over.

"It may not be now, but the minister is absolutely necessary for Germany. So, please be patient and wait a little while."

Shacht seemed to have secretly wanted to capture him, so I sent Göring to persuade him, and he reluctantly accepted.

Although a large burden of economic problems remained, Germany's war preparations were near perfect.

Unlike the history when the 1st and 2nd tanks were the main force of armored forces, the main force of the German army's armored forces is currently the 4th tank, which is much more powerful than the 1st and 2nd tanks.

There was even a long-barreled 75mm main gun that appeared in 1942 (although it was in the prototype stage).

Tank No. 1 is only used by training centers and police in the rear, and Tank No. 2 is only used by second- and third-class units, and all front-line units are already heavily armed with Tank No. 4 and the Czech-made 38(t).

It can easily tear down the Polish army, which mainly uses tankettes.

What made me particularly happy was the news that the new rifle, which had received as much attention as the development of the tank, had finally been completed.

The StG44, the first assault rifle in human history to be named, was in front of me.

The moment I saw it, an exclamation came out of my mouth without me knowing.

"I was looking forward to when it would come out, and it has finally come out."

Performance is performance, but look at this cool exterior. From the body that shines brightly even without oil to the stock and magazine with smooth curves, nothing is missing.

It's not for nothing that gun collectors around the world are drooling over it.

"Thank you for your hard work, doctor! This is exactly what I wanted! "What a hardship!"

"It is an honor, Mr. President."

When I spoke with excitement and sincerity, the corners of Schmeiser's mouth were torn up to his ears.

Not only the army generals, but even Göring and Raeder, who were far from the army, were fascinated by the beautiful appearance of the new rifle and could not take their eyes off it.

"How much does this new rifle cost, doctor?"

"70 Reichsmarks, Your Excellency Marshal of the Reich."

"Hmm, it's a bit pricey."

Considering that the unit price of the Wehrmacht's standard firearm, the Kar98k, was 55 Reichsmarks, and the unit price of the MP38 was 57 Reichsmarks, it was not cheap at all. Schmeiser, who noticed a subtle change in the generals' expressions, hastily added:

"But if we go into mass production, we will be able to lower the price to 60 Reichsmarks."

"It's a reasonable price. Considering the performance of this gun, it is rather a waste of money. "We need to mass-produce it quickly and distribute it to the entire army."

I was planning on hiring the gun as soon as it was completed, no matter the price, so I decided to hire it on the spot.

The only downside to this gun was that it wasn't finished sooner.

Schmeiser asked me, who was full of thoughts of supplying supplies to the entire army as soon as possible.

"What should the new rifle be called? "Do you have a name in mind?"

I wondered when that question would come up. Of course I have something in mind!

"Assault rifle of the '39 model, abbreviated as StG39 (Sturmgewehr 39)."