Chapter 176 The Future Commander 1

On August 2, 1934, German President Hindenburg passed away, leaving the country he loved and fought for. But in the remaining months of 1934, Hindenburg's name was mentioned again and again, and people paid more attention to him than when he was in power.

It was not that people in the world missed this German president so much, but a will named Hindenburg - the will was of course written by Hirschmann - caused a political earthquake throughout Europe!

In this will, the president, who was supposed to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease, said:

"...The passage of the Transitional Justice Ordinance by the Congress and the legal banning of the Social Democratic Party on July 1, as well as the earlier banning of the Bolshevik Party, have allowed me to see the possibility of justice being restored in Germany. The criminals of November are or will pay the price for their treasonous crimes in 1918. But I also noticed that justice before November 1918 has not been fully restored.

If the people and Congress of the German Empire have fully realized that what happened in November 1918 was a huge mistake, then can I think that the social order before the November Revolution was truly correct and in line with public opinion? If those who overthrew the empire are criminals, then are those who led the empire to fight the powerful enemy to the end heroes?

As an old man who is about to die and has completed his life, I decided to stand up and speak for Germany's past and future at the last moment of my life. A sincere word: Without the continuous struggle and efforts of the Hohenzollern dynasty for hundreds of years, there would never be a united, strong Germany standing among the world's powers!

Therefore, the Hohenzollern dynasty is a hero of Germany, not a sinner. We cannot completely deny the dynasty's efforts for hundreds of years because of a failure. That will chill the hearts of all those who shed blood and sacrificed for Germany.

If the German people really want their motherland to restore its pre-World War glory and international status, then they should respect their heroes.

Please let the emperor and the Hohenzollern dynasty return, please let the Hohenzollern dynasty, which produced many heroes, restore its glory, and please let the German emperor become a symbol of national strength and development! ”

The president with Alzheimer's disease in the legend actually has such a keen judgment that he can find theoretical research on the restoration of the monarchy in the "Transitional Justice Ordinance" - since the Social Democratic Party and the Spartacists (Bolsheviks) who brought down the monarchy are both traitors, then isn't the monarchy itself just?

Even Hitler, who was eloquent, found it difficult to refute Marshal Hindenburg's will for a while. And Adolf Hitler was also very clear that this will was not dictated by Hindenburg at all, it came from the Junker Group that jointly ruled Germany with the Nazi Party!

The real purpose of this so-called "Hindenburg Will" was to prevent Hitler from obtaining the throne of the President of the German Empire by legal means. And, once and for all!

"Ludwig, are you dissatisfied with my leadership of the country?" In the Chancellery at 77 Wilhelm Street, Hitler looked at Hersmann and asked in a gentle and sincere tone.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you lead very well, really well!" Hersmann replied with a smile, "You let me know what an economic miracle is."

It is now December 1934, and Adolf Hitler has been the Chancellor of Germany for almost 4 years. The "First Four-Year Plan" formulated and led by Hermann Goering is also coming to an end (starting in 1932). As an air force commander and imperial marshal in history, Goering obviously had great shortcomings. But his level of economic management is impressive.

In just less than four years, Hitler's rule brought Germany economic growth that can only be described as a miracle.

The Nazi Party's economic management method was similar to that of the Soviet Union, focusing on planned management rather than market regulation. After Hitler came to power in 1931, the German Parliament successively passed a series of regulations to shift the economy from freedom to planning, and established the highest authority to manage the German economy - the German Economic Committee. Unlike the Soviet State Planning Commission, this German Economic Committee is not a pure government agency, but a "General Staff of War Economy" jointly participated by managers of large German companies, big bankers, economists and senior military officials.

Under this "General Staff of War Economy", according to the "Regulations on the Organic Structure of the German Economy" passed in 1932, on the basis of the original Federation of Business Owners and various monopoly organizations (that is, various cartels), two types of economic regulation agencies were re-established by department and region, and handed over to the direct control of monopoly oligarchs and their cronies.

The organizational form of departmental regulation agencies is economic groups, with a total of four levels. At the top are six highest groups, including industry, commerce, banking, insurance, power and handicrafts; 44 economic groups are subordinate to them; 350 departmental groups are under them; and the lowest level is 640 professional groups.

The local economic regulation agency is the "Provincial Economic Department" (under which are the city and district branches).

In actual operation, economic groups represent capital more (of which state-owned capital accounts for about 25%). The provincial economic department represents the government. The two types of economic regulation agencies operate under the joint coordination of the German Economic Committee and the Ministry of Economy - it looks extremely complicated, but the Hitler authorities managed everything in an orderly manner. Basically, a win-win situation for capital, government and workers was achieved.

According to Hirschmann's understanding, Germany currently implements a system that combines a triple combination of "planned economy", "managed enterprises" and "competitive market".

The planned economy existed at the macro level, similar to later economic development under the guidance of the China National Development and Reform Commission.

At the micro level, since there did not exist a large number of state-owned enterprises in Germany's history, it is impossible to completely control enterprise production by government instructions like the Soviet Union. Capital still plays a role in enterprises, private and foreign investment are still active, and whether products can be sold depends on the market. Even national procurement is determined through bidding rather than planning.

Under this planning and management model, the government's role in promoting economic growth is maximized, while at the same time maintaining the vitality of the economy. This is the biggest difference between the state socialist planned economy and the Soviet-style planned economy.

As a result, the German economy has achieved considerable growth in the past nearly four years. The speed of industrial development not only exceeds that of Britain, France, and the United States, but is even comparable to that of the Soviet Union. Pig iron production increased from 6.6 million tons in 1931 to 16.2 million tons, and steel production increased from 9.1 million tons to 21.8 million tons. The output of automobiles, aircraft, ships, aluminum and various chemical products has also achieved substantial growth.

While German industry is growing rapidly, the construction of German public projects and foreign exports are also very gratifying.

In the first four-year plan, the German government spent more than 12 billion marks on public works. The largest expenditure is the construction of roads, mainly expressways, followed by the construction of public buildings and residences, and thirdly the reclamation of wasteland, improvement of soil, regulation of rivers, digging canals, erecting bridges, repairing and updating railway equipment, etc. These large-scale construction projects not only improved Germany's investment environment, but also absorbed a large number of unemployed people. By 1934, while much of the world had not yet emerged from the Depression, unemployment in Germany had long since become a forgotten memory.

Although Germany's national strength is not yet strong enough to support a war, it is also time to consider the issue of war - the second four-year plan being drafted will further increase investment in war preparations!

"So, you don't believe that I can become the leader of a war?" Hitler looked at Hersmann, his eyes were dark and very sharp, as if he could see through Hersmann.

Hitler, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, did not want to fight a world war, but he was still prepared to fight.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you are a very good prime minister, but you are not the commander-in-chief!" Hersman said in a very affirmative tone, "You do not understand the future war."

"General, I have been in the trenches for four full years. I know what war is!" Hitler glared at Hersmann. "I know this better than you. You barely spent a day in the trenches during the World War!"

Hessmann shrugged and looked at the somewhat violent Hitler, "You know how to squat in the trenches, but in future wars there is no need to squat in the trenches."

"Don't need trenches?" Hitler was stunned. "Why? Use planes to bomb?"

"Of course, airplanes are important!"

Hessmann smiled and said to Hitler in a very serious tone: "There are also tanks! Thousands of tanks. They will be protected by the enemy's strong defense under the cover of dive bombers that can drop bombs accurately and self-propelled artillery that can move quickly. A fatal gap will be opened on the front. Then the army that conducts static warfare in the traditional way will be crushed by such a torrent of steel if they cannot adapt to this. The trend may be overthrown by us within two to three weeks or a month. Mr. Prime Minister, do you know how such a war should be conducted?"

"What? Defeat Poland in about a month?" Hitler's opportunities to engage in military issues were greatly reduced in this time and space, so his understanding of war still remained in World War I.

"Defeat France in about a month!" Herschmann looked at Hitler quietly. "After France is defeated, it will take up to two years to disintegrate the British Empire, and then the United States of America!"