บท 51: 51
fake war (1)
Poland is dead.
Not anymore.
I publicly proposed a cease-fire to Youngf, saying that since the 'culprit of the war' has disappeared, there is no reason to fight anymore.
"Poland, which started the war, has now disappeared into history. Now that the war over the Danzig issue has been resolved, I propose peace negotiations to Britain and France. "It is time to end the pointless fighting and return to an era of peace."
Youngf's answer was "NO."
I knew that the British would reject the truce proposal anyway, so I wasn't disappointed with their answer.
Why did you propose a truce when you clearly knew the other side would reject it? That's because of the cause.
In human history, there will be no case that requires more justification than war.
At the very least, individual gangsters must have a cause to attack the other side, but wouldn't a real war thousands of times larger than that be terrifying?
The reason why Gleibitz created a self-made drama was because of a justification.
I made up a justification to use the excuse that Poland had struck first and had no choice but to retaliate.
And I proposed a ceasefire to show the people of England that I wanted peace.
The ceasefire proposal was rejected, but I no longer need to be asked if I should continue the war.
I wanted a truce, but Youngf refused, so I had no choice but to continue the war (which was also true).
Above all, my ceasefire proposal was enough to stimulate anti-war public opinion in Youngf.
"Why should we die for Danzig?"
"War is boring! "We want peace!"
"How much more blood will it take for you to come to your senses!"
Although the majority of citizens say they support the government's decision to continue the war, there are voices opposing it in every country. This is especially true for citizens of countries that suffered enormous damage in World War I.
"A large-scale anti-war demonstration was held in Paris. It is said that even in London, anti-war forces and the BUF held a demonstration in solidarity."
"Hmm, Heydrich? "Is this also SD's work?"
"no. Our SD was not involved in this protest at all. "These are all spontaneous protests."
"Good. "They fight among themselves without us having to step in and instigate them."
Hardliners who support the war have also held counter-rallies, but it is difficult to win against parents who are crying after losing their sons on the battlefield.
The anti-war protests that took place in Britain and France were intensively reported by media outlets around the world.
The biggest variable, public opinion in the United States, is also divided in half.
The anti-war faction, which said that we should help the Germans to crush Germany's invasion ambitions, and the anti-war faction, which said that we should maintain neutrality as usual.
Because France has not yet been conquered, the voices of anti-war activists are louder than those of war veterans.
In particular, Germans (including Austrians) who immigrated to the United States and Irish people who would grind their teeth in the UK actively called for an anti-war movement.
In addition, fascist, black, Jewish groups, and even the American Communist Party supported the anti-war movement.
Pro-German fascist groups such as the American Silver Legion and the German-American League were originally friendly to Germany, so there is no need to explain them, but even the Communist Party of the United States, which had previously criticized Germany, changed its position and declared complete neutrality when the German-German Non-Aggression Treaty was signed. did.
"The United States should not be interested in other countries' wars, but should be interested in efforts to resolve America's own contradictions! "European affairs are European affairs, not American affairs!"
This was what Jesse Owens said in front of the audience while participating in an anti-war demonstration in New York.
Owens revealed that he had been completely ignored by the government despite being an Olympic gold medalist, and appealed to the public that eliminating the racial discrimination prevalent in American society was a more important issue than war.
"Look. Was I right? "I'm sure it will help."
"Uh, um..."
When we showed Jesse Owens' speech on the front page of the New York Times, Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, and Heydrich all just rolled their eyes with a puzzled look on their faces.
They probably never dreamed that the black people they ignored as Untermensch would actually be helpful to Germany.
Owens told an anecdote about having a meal with a black man during the Olympics and added the following.
-I know that Hitler was a dictator. But even the dictator treated me like an equal, not a lowly nigger. He sincerely congratulated me on my win. But our country's president was not like that. I wonder what the White House's excuse will be.
"Owens, man. I thought he was only good at sports, but he's also really good at speaking. "I like this friend very much, hahaha."
The White House's response to Owens' interview was 'silence'.
Since it was true that they had openly discriminated against Owens in the first place, they decided that it was better to remain silent since whatever they said would be taken as an excuse.
It may have been a solution that took some brains to come up with, but in terms of the result, it was more like a handshake.
Now that Roosevelt himself had admitted that it was true that he had discriminated against Owens, the public opinion of black people, who were usually dissatisfied with the government, inflamed even more.
When black people supported the anti-war movement, the KKK, which had an extreme hatred for black people, actively advocated participation in the war.
It even got to the point where they reported Owens to the FBI, saying he was a traitor who was acting under Nazi orders.
A black and Jewish group that supports Germany, and the KKK that advocates participation in the war to defeat the Nazis. I'm losing my mind.
At this point, I realized even more that I had twisted history very well.
Although the cease-fire proposal was rejected, the British Empire had no intention of moving until next summer, and the United States was also troubled by internal problems, so we took it easy and focused on putting our affairs in order.
"Release the German prisoners, the wounded soldiers, and those over the age of 50 among the soldiers. All prisoners of war who wanted to go to the Soviet Union were also investigated and handed over to the Soviet Union."
"I will do it immediately."
Among German-Polish prisoners of war, those who wished to enlist in the German army were enlisted in the same rank through individual interviews.
Although they were not of German origin, prisoners of war who voluntarily expressed their intention to cooperate with Germany were separately recruited to create an auxiliary unit.
They were mainly scheduled to serve as interpreters for the German army or to be deployed to various parts of the protectorate and mobilized to maintain public order.
Among the remaining prisoners, a lucky few were released and returned home, but only a very small number were sent to factories in Germany and the Czech Republic to produce war supplies.
Even though a large number of female workers were sent to industrial sites to replace the men conscripted into the military, the presence of Polish prisoners of war was of great help as there was a shortage of workers.
The allowances paid to the prisoners were only 60% of the allowances received by German workers, but their treatment, including meals and sleeping, was much better than in the POW camps, so there were surprisingly few complaints.
Prisoners of war who were released and returned to their hometowns were put to work rebuilding their cities and villages that had been destroyed by battles and air raids.
Even if we destroyed it, they won't be dissatisfied with letting them build it with their own hands since it's their place to live anyway.
***
"As you can see, we, Germany, are treating prisoners humanely in strict accordance with the Geneva Conventions."
These were the words of an SS lieutenant in charge of guiding reporters from neutral countries such as the United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, and Japan.
The place where they are now is the 451st POW Camp near Łódź, where about 3,000 Polish prisoners of war were living under the surveillance of the German army.
"The buildings you see over there are the barracks where prisoners usually live. The barracks on the right are for soldiers, and the barracks on the left are for officers. "Non-commissioned prisoners mainly stay in enlisted barracks, while prisoners with the rank of sergeant or higher stay in officer barracks."
"What is that building? "Is that also a barracks for prisoners?"
"Oh, that's the gym."
"gym?"
"It was built for the entertainment of prisoners. There, prisoners spend their time playing table tennis and billiards. "It is only available for three hours a day, but it is very popular."
As the SS lieutenant said, there was indeed a ping pong table and a billiards table inside the building. Because it was work time, I couldn't see the prisoners using the gym.
"This is the rough explanation. "Do you have any questions?"
New York Times correspondent Gus Harrison wasted no time raising his hand as soon as he was allowed to ask a question.
"Please tell me."
"Is it possible to interview the prisoners directly? Even one minute is fine."
He became a reporter with the belief that he would only convey the truth, and he did not immediately believe anything the SS lieutenant said.
I felt like I could learn one more thing that the Germans had not explained by talking directly with the prisoners.
This would only be possible with permission from the German military.
"great. "I allow it."
Contrary to expectations, the SS lieutenant surprisingly gave his permission.
"It's only for 3 minutes. And to prevent any possible leak of military secrets, please do this in front of this friend."
"All right."
Harrison interviewed a Polish prisoner under the watchful eye of an SS sergeant with the square jaw of a mythical giant. He was a prisoner of the rank of sergeant with a fairly long beard.
The Czapka (Polish military cap) he wore on his head was almost a rag, with its wool frayed and torn in places, but the eagle mark in the center of the front was still shiny.
"According to the German military's explanation, they are treating prisoners humanely. Is this true?"
"Well, it's not a lie. "We feed them three meals a day and allow them to sleep for eight hours a day."
"What do you usually do in the camp?"
"My friends who don't have skills like me mainly do things like logging or building camp barracks. "Friends with skills work at a nearby factory making truck parts or repairing military boots for German friends."
"okay."
Harrison wrote down every word the prisoner said in his notebook.
"Has there ever been any abuse by German soldiers inside the camp, or any degrading treatment of prisoners?"
The expression of the SS sergeant in charge of surveillance was slightly distorted, but the water had already been spilled.
Although it was a somewhat risky act, Harrison wanted to know the truth more than his own safety.
"Nothing in particular. If you have any complaints, would it be that the bread contains more turnips instead of flour, or that sausages are served only once every three days? German soldiers eat sausage once a day, but prisoners like us have a hard time eating meat. "Other than that, I have no complaints."
"Is that so?"
Harrison was disappointed by the answer that was different from what he expected, but keeping his expression was easy for him.
No matter what answer the other person gave, a true reporter could only be considered a reporter if he or she maintained his composure until the end without showing his emotions on his face.
"Three minutes are up. "Please leave."
At the words of the SS sergeant, Harrison had no choice but to leave his regret behind and take a step back.
After completing the interview, the prisoner left for the construction site with the materials he had put down.
Although he was a selected prisoner of war by the Germans, what he said was largely true.
Although it is true that the quality of meals was lower than that of the German soldiers, they were provided with all three meals a day and there was no insulting or inhumane treatment such as assault or verbal abuse.
This was strictly under Hitler's instructions, and Hitler tried to treat the Poles humanely.
It was not for the sake of the Poles, but only to prevent Germany's enemies from increasing, but in the end, it was a blessing in disguise for the Poles.
At least you won't be dragged out in the middle of the night and shot dead without knowing what happened.
***
While Germany was tearing up Poland's corpse and modifying it to suit its taste, Britain and France were busy maintaining their positions.
The French army's policy was to remain confined to the mainland and focus on defense until the German army attacked first, and the German army was also instructed not to make any response unless the French army attacked first.
For this reason, even though the war was officially underway on the Western Front, not even the usual artillery battles took place.
It was a strange peace that would later be called the Phoney War.
The armies of both sides fought through psychological warfare instead of full-scale combat.
At night, British and French bombers flew into German territory and distributed leaflets, and the Germans responded by broadcasting propaganda and singing toward the French border.
-French soldiers! We, Germany, have no intention of attacking France unless you attack us first! So, I hope you have a good night's sleep!
-While you are wasting your time here, back home, thugs are targeting your wives and lovers! If you want to protect your love, I recommend that you return to your hometown quickly.
-The German people want peace. This war is nothing more than an accidental incident that started with Poland's preemptive attack. There is no reason for France and Germany to fight.
"Now, did you hear? "I'm going to sleep, so wake me up when you come next time."
"Sergeant, do you really believe that?"
A new recruit who had just moved in was confused and asked a veteran who was going to sleep only believing in the enemy's propaganda broadcasts.
"The Germans won't invade anyway. At least while we are on duty. "It's already been two months since the war broke out, and the Germans haven't done anything."
"B-but-"
"But what? Are you saying they won't attack? If the Germans were planning on attacking, they would have done so a long time ago. is not it?"
After listening to it, I thought that was true. If Germany had really intended to invade France, there was no explanation for its silence until now, already a month after the fall of Poland.
As the night deepened, a song came out of the speakers.
-In front of the barracks
in front of the front door
There is a streetlight standing
She's still standing in front of him
That's how we want to meet again
I want to stand by the streetlight
Like Lily Marlene did
Like Lily Marlene did -
"The song is good."
"For a German song, is it worth listening to?"
"What is the title of this song?"
It was the moment when the most popular song of World War II, 'Lili Marleen', was performed for the first time on the Western Front.
Although it was a shabby stage with no singers, no band, and no lights, it succeeded in captivating the hearts of the audience.
Every night, the German army released Lily Marlene through a loudspeaker, and the song with its monotonous melody instantly captured the hearts of all French soldiers.
It didn't take long for the British soldiers, who arrived at the border later than the French, to fall in love with Lily Marlene.
The German song Lily Marlene captured the hearts of British and French soldiers in less than a month.
"I know about streetlights.
your beautiful steps
The street lights come on every evening, but
She's long since forgotten me
And if it causes me pain
Who is standing by the streetlight?
With Lily Marlene
With Lily Marlene…"
The soldiers hummed the song even when Lily Marlene wasn't playing on the speakers.
On the Western Front again today, Lily Marlene dominated the quiet moonlit night.
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