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When the U.S. economic sanctions began, the Cuban economy quickly began to dry up.
Although they did not say it out loud, the United States sent warnings in all directions, saying that countries interacting with Cuba would not be fun, and South American countries, sensing that the United States was very uncomfortable, did not even come near Cuba.
Europe did not have much exchange with Cuba to begin with, and Asian countries also had very rare exchanges with distant Cuba.
As the economy plummeted, people's lives naturally turned into a mess.
Cubans, who were happy that the dictator had stepped down and a world of true people had arrived, had no choice but to tighten their belts to make ends meet when the economy turned into a mess.
However, no matter how much I tightened my belt, life became more difficult.
First, currency became trash and daily necessities became scarce.
Although the government encouraged agricultural production by operating collective farms, people always had to worry about their meals due to strong economic sanctions from the United States.
A piece of bread or a potato was sold at an exorbitant price, and it became difficult to even find meat or fruit.
Not only food but also medicine was a problem. People cannot stay healthy their entire lives, and they end up visiting the hospital for various reasons, such as getting sick or getting injured at work.
And hospitals always stock medicine to treat people. But what if the medicine is not available?
Economic sanctions were a problem, but Cuba's internal enemies were no less problematic.
The majority of Cubans supported the Castro regime, but anti-communist figures and the landowners, who were classified as a 'hostile class' by the Castro regime, waged a guerrilla struggle against the Castro regime.
Of course, the country that supports them is the United States.
Relations between the United States and Cuba deteriorated, and the two countries severed diplomatic relations.
Even if diplomatic relations were severed, the situation did not change. When Cuba announced the severance of diplomatic relations, the United States further strengthened sanctions as if it had been waiting, and the Cuban economy could not breathe, so its limbs began to rot and crumble.
"It shouldn't be like this!"
"If we continue like this, the entire nation will starve to death!"
"We must take action!"
"So what is the solution? "I want to hear it too!"
It was already assumed that the United States would naturally be uncomfortable if the assets of American-owned companies operating in Cuba were nationalized.
But I never thought the US economic sanctions would be this harsh.
Cuba criticized the United States every day and tried to find a way to survive in its own way, but no matter how much it thought and complained, it could not find a way out.
The lives of Cubans did not improve even with a much stricter rationing system than before, a crackdown on black markets, stronger punishments for corruption, and the death penalty.
"We must pray to America even now."
"It's better to hurry up and negotiate before everyone starves to death."
"Are you out of your mind? "Let's negotiate with American imperialists?"
"If we bow our heads now, we will go back to being their slaves!"
"Think about it! Are you satisfied that the Yankees simply bowed their heads? "We will try to undo everything the people have achieved!"
"Damn it, then what are we going to do! "Are we all going to starve to death like this?"
"You have to live for now, you bastards!"
As sanctions continued, voices within the Castro regime began to grow louder saying that this could not continue.
"What now, Fidel?"
"… … ."
In response to his best friend Che Guevara's question, Castro just smoked his cigar in silence. Every time the tip of the cigar burned, his cigar became black as well.
It was naturally expected that the United States would protest. But reform could not proceed without touching American companies.
If he had left American companies as is, reform would have been sluggish and the people would have been disappointed with their unchanging lives and doubted the revolution.
Therefore, Castro carried out reforms at the risk of direct confrontation with the United States.
But the wall of reality was too high.
The economy is worse than before the revolution, the people's lives are becoming more impoverished day by day, and the US sanctions show no signs of ending. What about the reactionary elements who run rampant with US support?
"… … "I hate to admit it, but I think we'll have to negotiate with the Yankees."
As Castro forced out the words, Che Guevara sighed as well. However, he did not deny Castro's words.
"I guess so. "I never thought Yankees would move this quickly."
"You damn pigs."
The mere fact of having to sit at the same table with the arrogant Yankees who were openly strangling Cuba made Castro sick.
However, there was nothing we could do. If things continued like this, Cuba would not be able to endure and was destined to collapse.
I had to put my pride aside for a moment and find a way to live first.
But the United States was adamant.
"Please return every penny of the assets of the confiscated companies."
"Release all arrested right-wing figures and guarantee political freedom."
"Castro, who ruined U.S.-Cuba relations, must take responsibility and resign from office."
Although Cuba responded to its request for negotiations, the United States had no intention of condoning Cuba's wrongdoing.
If we don't take the right steps now, Cuba will try to match the United States again.
In this case, you need to let them know their subject. If you put it off until later, you may end up in a situation where you can't even block with a hoe what you can block with a hoe.
"Isn't this actually interference in internal affairs?"
"Damn Yankees, they plan to use this opportunity to turn Cuba into a colony!"
From Cuba's perspective, America's demands were difficult to accept.
"But realistically, there is no alternative, is there?"
"First of all, accept the Yankees' demands and think about it later-"
"What did you say just now? "Let's hand this country over to the Yankees?"
"Cuba belongs to the Cuban people, not a country of arrogant Yankees!"
There was an argument to consider the reality and accept America's demands, but they disappeared in the face of much stronger opposition.
As the possibility of negotiation was blocked, Castro decided to appeal to the international community. Since the difference in power was too clear for Cuba to stand up to the United States alone, his opinion was to at least borrow the voice of the international community.
"Cuba has requested support."
"Are you kidding me?"
And no country in the world responded to Cuba's earnest plea.
The Soviet Union, the communist suzerain state, resolutely rejected Cuba's request for support. At the very least, its request to mediate with the United States was also rejected.
In actual history, the Soviet Union was a great help to Cuba, which was in crisis due to U.S. economic sanctions, but now that Europe has fallen to Germany and U.S. aid has become desperate, Cuba has no value to the Soviet Union.
What if I sided with Cuba for no reason and incur the wrath of the United States?
There was no way the United States would give up on the Soviet Union, the only country that could block Germany's advance into the Far East, but the Soviet Union also had no intention of going against the will of the United States.
If you stay quiet, you'll get halfway there, so I wonder why you messed with America... … .
The positions of Mongolia and Vietnam, which are also communist countries, were no different from the Soviet Union.
Vietnam, which had even received a warning letter from the United States for massacring right-wingers, went beyond ignoring Cuba's request and even informed the United States about it.
It was to prove to the United States that the same communist country did not have the same views as Cuba.
"Ho Chi Minh, this guy is very intelligent. "He's a communist, but he's very special."
Eisenhower with a flushed face rushed into the office while the communists, who had no parents or patriotism, were satisfied with the sight of their fellow 'comrades' snitching for their own survival.
"dismissal."
"What's going on, Ike?"
"A U-2 was shot down over Europe. by Jerry."
-Tung!
The pipe in MacArthur's hand made a dull sound as it fell on the office table.
The smile on my face had long since disappeared.
***
May 4, 1960
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
The U.S. Air Force U-2 was shot down near Orenburg, Free Russia.
The shot down U-2 had a NASA mark, not a U.S. Air Force mark.
This may be to claim that it is a NASA weather observation airplane, not a U.S. Air Force product.
Sure enough, a day later, the United States issued a brief statement saying that NASA's weather observation plane had gone missing near the Ural Mountains.
If the pilot had died, America's excuse might at least have gained credibility.
But what should I do about this? When an X-24 surface-to-air missile launched from the ground tore apart the U-2's body, the pilot, Lt. Gary Powers, succeeded in an emergency escape and was captured.
Powers was provided with an ampoule of poison to use for suicide in case of emergency, but the pilot did not use it.
That said, I have no intention of criticizing Powers. Even though poison ampoules were provided, using them was at the user's individual discretion and did not violate the order.
"How can wanting to live in the first place be a sin? Wanting to live is a basic instinct built into all living things. "You can't go against your instincts."
"What should I tell the Yankees?"
Goering's tone sounded like, 'Shouldn't we take this opportunity to have a fight?' His expression was exactly like that.
"Why not announce it to the whole country and use this opportunity to embarrass the Yankees?"
As Göring glanced around the conference room as if seeking consent, all attendees who made eye contact with him nodded in unison. Even Goebbels and Ribbentrop, who did not get along well with Göring.
"This is a golden opportunity to deliver the first serious blow to the arrogant MacArthur."
"hmm… … ."
As Goering said, if this fact is made public to the world, it could deeply upset the United States and bring shame to it.
Since this is a serious issue, we cannot just ignore it this time. We need to at least properly protest and get the United States to prevent a recurrence. In fact, we plan to do so.
Naturally, the Cold War will intensify further, and the atmosphere of cooperation and thawing with the United States will fade.
This is going in the opposite direction of the future plan currently being planned.
"Of course I have to protest. I'll make sure you never pull a prank like this again. Still, I want to leave room for conversation."
"yes?"
"Think about it. What benefit would there be if relations with the United States became worse than they are now? America will never forget this humiliation and will try to pay us back one day. "Am I wrong?"
"Well, that's not it… … ."
"So, I want to at least leave room for conversation. We cannot allow our people to live in fear of war forever. Goering, how would you feel if your daughter Eda were to live in the same world for the rest of her life?"
"I feel uncomfortable… … ."
"Times have changed. The German people have experienced countless wars and crises so far, so they deserve to live comfortably in a world without worrying about war from now on. How long must we continue swearing at each other and growling as if we are going to launch a rocket at any moment?"
Even in real history, the United States and the Soviet Union, which were roaring as if they were going to start a nuclear war at any moment, had a common opinion that war was not an option at all, so they later made various efforts to coexist.
In real history, the Soviet Union also made its own efforts to coexist, but there's nothing we can't do.
Of course, I also do not expect that two countries that are struggling to get along with each other after a few meetings will become best friends. Reality is different from boys' cartoons.
However, at least there is a need to share the consensus that war should not occur and to establish safety measures to prevent war from occurring.
This is to avoid the worst and vain ending in human history.
"And one more thing. If Germany, whose economic power is inferior to that of the United States, continues to invest in military spending as it does now, the German economy will never progress further than it is now. Do you know how much money we spend on defense each year? "If we could save some of this enormous amount of money and invest it in other areas, wouldn't Germany be able to develop that much more?"
Schacht nodded vigorously at my words, and Manstein, who as Minister of Defense did not know the total amount of defense spending each year, agreed with him. When the topic of money came up, Goering also secretly looked at his surroundings as if he was annoyed.
"but… … I don't know if MacArthur also has the same consensus as His Excellency the President. I wonder if he is being captured by the United States for no reason."
"So, rather than just making concessions, you have to be sure to get what you need. It just so happens that the pilot is also in our hands. I can guarantee that MacArthur will want to handle this situation as quietly as possible. "We're already having a hard time with the Cuban issue, so we don't want our work to overlap."
***
May 6, 1960
Washington DC White House, USA
MacArthur, who was full of plans to drum up public support by beating communist-controlled Cuba and show off the might of the United States to the world, was restless after the U-2 was shot down over free Russia.
First, it was announced to the press that a NASA weather observation aircraft was missing, and the public's reaction was quiet, but MacArthur could not be at ease.
I couldn't put my mind at ease thinking about what the Germans would say about this.
"dismissal."
"Something."
"Germany has the U-2 pilot."
"… … Alive or dead?"
"It's the former."
"… … "Thank goodness for the pilot's family."
MacArthur groaned and put the pipe in his mouth.
Since the pilot was captured, there is no way to know how much of their plan was leaked to Germany. The pilot may have kept quiet until the end, but for now, the worst-case scenario had to be kept in mind.
As expected, Germany has been protesting quite fiercely to the United States over the U-2 issue. With the saying, "There is already all the evidence, so don't think about denying it."
But what he said next was enough to surprise MacArthur and the White House family.
"I would like to hold a summit to quickly resolve the issue and prevent military conflict between the two countries… … Called? "Do you mean sincerely?"
"First of all, the meeting proposal itself appears to be sincere… … ."
MacArthur, who was worried about what kind of ridicule and criticism Germany would throw at him, widened his eyes at the unexpected offer. Eisenhower and Dulles, who delivered the news to him, also found it hard to believe it.
Of course, the pilot didn't forget to say that he was with them.
"Was that offer from before really sincere? … ?"
MacArthur recalled a proposal Hitler had made to Dulles earlier: Hitler's proposal to bring peace to mankind.
I ignored it at first because I thought it wasn't something that would come from the mouth of someone who started a war.
But what if the offer was sincere?
MacArthur had a feeling that was difficult to describe. A complex and mysterious feeling that was difficult to define in one word.
The other person is Hitler, so you can't 100% trust what he says, but what if it's true that there is at least room for dialogue?
After pondering for a while, MacArthur finally opened his mouth.
"Tell them that you accept that offer."