Keeping the British Liberal Party flag flying high

[pipisme]

Prime Minister Isaac Foot wanted the First Lord of the Admiralty to be a man with wartime naval experience. So on 15 March 1939 he replaced Senator Reginald Gorrell Barnes with Joseph Kenworthy, Liberal MP for Hull South-west and a junior minister at the Admiralty. Barnes was not given another job in his government.

Kenworthy was a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy during the Great War. He was elected as Liberal MP for Hull Central in a by-election on 29 March 1919. In February 1934 he succeeded his father as Baron Strabolgi. All this was as in OTL. When the House of Lords was replaced by the Senate he was elected as a Liberal Senator for the Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire constituency. Upon the enactment of the Renounciation of Peerage Act 1937, he renounced his hereditary peerage. In the October 1938 general election he gained Hull South-West from the Tories, having resigned from the Senate. He was on the left-wing of the Liberal Party. The Tories thought that a man with his class background and war service should be one of them, not a lefty Liberal. [1]

Harold Nicolson, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was promoted to the cabinet to head the newly created Ministry of Information. Lady Violet Bonham Carter, Liberal MP for Camborne, was appointed his Parliamentary Secretary. Nicolson's replacement at the Foreign Office was Robert Bernays, the 36-year-old Liberal MP for Bristol North. [2]

The cabinet met at midday. The Prime Minister said that he decided to form a war cabinet with the following nine members:
Prime Minister: Isaac Foot
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the Senate: Senator Wentworth Henry Canning Beaumont
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Ernest Simon
Foreign Secretary: Sir Archibald Sinclair
Home Secretary: Leslie Hore-Belisha
First Lord of the Admiralty: Joseph Kenworthy
Secretary of State for Air: Hugh Seely
Minister for Co-ordination of Defence: Louis Spears
Secretary of State for War: Geoffrey Mander.

On the same day Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany. That was expected, but the decision taken by Poland would be much more important. The German-Polish Agreement of January 26, 1934 was still in force. [3] That ruled out war between Poland and Germany. So Poland had two options: to join with Germany against Czechoslovakia, or to be neutral.

As regards the first option relations between the two countries were very cool. At the end of September 1938 Poland had grabbed bits of Czechoslovakia. [4] But Poland declaring war on Czechoslovakia would be like a hen allying with a fox against another hen. Jozef Beck, the Foreign Minister of Poland, knew that Germany wanted to take over his country. German annexation of Czechoslovakia would make the long southern border of Poland vulnerable to a German invasion.

A Happy New Year to all readers of this TL.

[1] Here is the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for Kenworthy: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/59302. In OTL he crossed over from Liberal to Labour in 1926. In this TL he stayed in the Liberal Party.

[2] Here is the Oxford DNB entry for Bernays: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/58686.

[3] Here is the text of the Agreement: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/blbk01.asp.

[4] See this map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Territorial_changes_of_Poland_1938c.jpg.

 

[idumea]

And a very happy new year to its author!

A thousand butterflies to you sir.

 

[pipisme]

Events in Berlin on 15 March 1939.

In Berlin the plan for a coup by the anti-Nazi Resistance was put into action by General Erwin von Witleben and one of his divisional commanders, Walter von Brockdorff-Ahlefeld, whose troops were based in Potsdam on the outskirts of the city. Potsdam was the home of Number 9 Infantry Regiment, which had a higher percentage of officers opposed to Hitler than any other unit in the German Army. Wolf Heinrich Graf von Helldorf, the President of Berlin Police, guaranteed police neutrality. Colonel-General Ludwig Beck was proclaimed Head of State of a free Germany.

The plan provided for the Reich Chancellery to be isolated and for a small unit of hand-picked officers, led by Colonel Friedrich Wilhelm Heinz, to enter the building and arrest Hitler. However Major-General Hans Oster had given secret instructions to Heinz to arranging a fight in which the Fuhrer would be 'accidentally' killed. Hitler was protected by a bodyguard of about forty men who belonged to the fanatical SS unit 'Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler'. [1]

[1] This information is taken from the book An Honourable Defeat: The Fight against National Socialism in Germany, 1933-1945 by Anton Gill, London: Heinemann, 1994. It is from the account of the plan for a coup by the German Resistance in the event of Britain and France going to war with Germany over the Sudetenland in September 1938.

 

[pipisme]

About 2.15 pm in the afternoon of 15 March 1939 a middle-aged woman rushed into New Books, the left-wing bookshop and cafe on Red Lion Square in Holborn, London, where Rosa Bancroft was working. [1] The woman said excitedly "the army have taken over in Germany. On Radio Berlin they have declared a free and democratic Germany. General Beck is President and Carl Goerdeler is Chancellor. They have said that the SS and Gestapo have been abolished and the concentration camps will be closed. Goebbels has been captured and Himmler has been killed. I am so happy."

Rosa hugs her. "That is wonderful news, Mrs Fischer. Your son, Philipp , has friends in the Social Democratic underground in Germany, hasn't he?"

Mrs Fischer replied that he had.

Rosa asked about Hitler and Goring. Mrs Fischer said there was no news about them. But there was a radio station broadcasting from Hamburg which called itself the voice of the Social Democratic Resistance.

But while they were speaking, in the Reich Chancellery in Berlin there was heavy fighting between the army unit, led by Colonel Freidrich Wilhelm Heinz, charged with capturing the Chancellery and killing Hitler, and the SS unit 'Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler'. The army prevailed and by 2.35 pm most of the SS had been killed and the rest captured. Hitler was dead. He had been killed by Colonel Heinz, though officially he was killed accidentally in cross-fire. The Chancellery was now under the control of the army.

[1] If any readers have forgotten about Rosa Bancroft go back to post #631 on page 32 and onwards.

 

[Cylon_Number_14]

Well now... did you just abort WW2? If the information given by Rosa's friend is reliable, the German military and the underground could stop the war essentially before it starts and lead Europe into a shiny-happy 1940s (unless/until Stalin comes knocking)... or they could begin a war of revenge against the Western Allies with much more sustainable strategic goals than what Hitler had, and who knows where that could lead!

 

[pipisme]

Originally posted by Cylon_Number_14
Well now....did you just abort WW2?

That depends if the German Resistance are sucessful.

Continuation of events in Germany on 15 March 1939. The Resistance have captured the Foreign Ministry and the Interior Ministry. Ribbentrop, the Foreign Minister, and Wilhelm Frick, the Interior Minister are their prisoners.

Goering is his private train which has been fitted out as mobile headquarters and is in a siding near the Luftwaffe H.Q. at Potsdam. That is where he was in OTL on 3 September 1939. See the book Goering by Willi Frischauer.

 

[Archangel]

Hope the German Resistance succeeds.

 

[stevep]

pipisme

Well, well, the storm has finally descended.

I'm not sure if Hungary would leap into the fray at this point? With Britain and France supporting the Czechs and also a Russian alliance that should be coming into play the German position would look pretty grim. [Albeit that without Polish - extremely unlikely - or Romanian permission the Soviets can't reach Germany or Czechoslovakia].

I think this is another good reason why Poland is likely to remain neutral. If they join the Axis then not only do they alienate the western powers but it gives an excuse for Stalin to move in. While the Red Army had serious problems this wouldn't be clear at the time and it is still pretty damned large.

Even presuming that the western allies are as inactive as they were in OTL Sept 39 things look bad for the Nazis. With no alliance with Russia the economic blockade will be a hell of a lot tighter. Also hard fighting to overrun Bohemia means the Germans take losses, don't get the Czech military equipment and also the industry of Bohemia is likely to be knocked about a bit, especially with the mass bombing you mentioned. This is all before the German army is split by an attempted coup.

Hence, even if the western powers sit on their hands while the Czechs are crushed and the German resistance is defeated, they will be a lot better off materially than OTL. [Hopefully this will not happen as the much weaker Germany and hopefully a more active British government means they will move. If so there could be some heavy fighting but the Nazis are likely to go down. This will save a huge number of lives as much of WWII will be aborted. [Presuming we don't see a later, larger conventional war say v the USSR.

When you mentioned the desire for an experienced hand at the Admiralty I had a sinking feeling but made a great change to see it wasn't Winston.

Steve

 

[pipisme]

Originally posted by stevep
I'm not sure if Hungary would leap into the fray at this point?

Well in OTL there was the Slovak-Hungarian War from 23-31 March 1939: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak–Hungarian_War.

In this TL Winston Churchill has been British ambassador to the United States since the end of October 1938.

Back to events in Germany on 15 March 1939. In Berlin the Resistance took over the Rotes Rauhaus [red city hall] as the headquarters of the government. Julius Lippert, the fanatical Nazi mayor of Berlin, had been taken prisoner. Members of the cabinet were as follows:
President: Colonel-General Ludwig Beck
Chancellor: Dr. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler
Minister of Defence: Major-General Hans Oster
Minister of Education: Professor Adolf Reichwein
Minister of Finance: Hans von Dohnanyi
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Ulrich von Hassell
Minister of the Interior: Dr. Julius Leber
Minister of Justice: Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
Minister of Labour: Wilhem Leuschner.
Reichwein, Leber and Leuschner were Social Democrats. Other members would be appointed later. The ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda was abolished.

|n his radio broadcast at 1pm, Goerdeler said that the Resistance had taken power to rid Germany of an evil regime, and to restore freedom and democracy to Germany. The invasion of Czechoslovakia was an act of criminal aggression. There would be free and fair elections for the President and to the Reichstag as soon as was practicable. Germany would be a federal state. He said that the persecution of the Jews was a moral evil. All anti-semitic laws would be repealed and Jews compensated for their property taken by the Nazi regime. The SS was abolished and the concentration camps declared to be open. He said that Defence Minister Oster had ordered German troops in Czechoslovakia to withdraw back across the German border, and the rest of the armed forces to go no purely defensive mode. He proposed that a conference of European countries be held in a neutral country to discuss issues of mutual concern. He ended by saying that the new cabinet would hold a press conference at 3pm.

In their apartment in the city of Ulm the Scholl family listened intently and with fervent agreement to the radio broadcast. [1] They were Robert Scholl, his wife [I have not been able to find her first name], and their children Inge, Elisabeth, Sophie and Werner. Their other child Hans had been conscripted into the army. There will be more about the Scholls in this TL.

[1] This was the Scholl family in OTL. Hans and Sophie were prominent in the White Rose resistance movement.

 

[stevep]

Well in OTL there was the Slovak-Hungarian War from 23-31 March 1939: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak–Hungarian_War.

pipisme

That was after the OTL Munich agreement, which meant that the Czechs have been basically hung out to die.

TTL such intervention will automatically mean war with Britain and France as well as the Czechs and possibly also the Soviets. Not saying they won't jump in but think that, like the Italians in 1940, they will wait until their pretty certain they will be on the winning side.

Steve

 

[pipisme]

Steve

I have edited the relevant post [#760] to add that Miklos Horthy decided to wait until Germany had annexed Czechoslovakia before grabbing Slovak territory.

In this TL as in OTL Hungary joined the Anti-Comintern Pact on 24 February 1939. It was regarded as a client state of Germany.

pipisme

 

[Fletch]

[1] They were Robert Scholl, his wife [I have not been able to find her first name]

Magdalena.

 

[pipisme]

Thank you Fletcher of Saltoun.

I had been undecided as to whether or not the German resistance would be successful in this TL. After several days of indecision, this afternoon I finally decided that they will be. I have edited post #764 on page 38 to say that the army get the better of Hitler's SS bodyguard in the fighting in the Reich Chancellery and that Hitler is killed by Colonel Friedrich Heinz. The army have won control of the Chancellery.

In my opinion a world without World War II has scope to be much more interesting than one in which such a war happens, even if it is say six months to two years shorter than in OTL.

 

[stevep]

Thank you Fletcher of Saltoun.

I had been undecided as to whether or not the German resistance would be successful in this TL. After several days of indecision, this afternoon I finally decided that they will be. I have edited post #764 on page 38 to say that the army get the better of Hitler's SS bodyguard in the fighting in the Reich Chancellery and that Hitler is killed by Colonel Friedrich Heinz. The army have won control of the Chancellery.

In my opinion a world without World War II has scope to be much more interesting than one in which such a war happens, even if it is say six months to two years shorter than in OTL.

pipisme

BIG butterfly. As you say makes for an interesting world. Although we do have an on-going war and a Germany that will still be dominated by nationalistic groups desiring further border changes. [Although without further quick conquests they will have to face up to the Nazi economic 'miracle'. That should be fascinating.] Not to mention there are bound to be Nazi 'loyalist' seeking to oppose the new government, whatever they try and do other than continued military expansion.

Looking forward to seeing where you take this from here.

Steve

 

[Julius Vogel]

Well, this is quite a turn!

I imagine by this point in time the Nazi cadres will be thoroughly enconsed in the various levels or parts of the German government and so either there is a low level war and purge, or some sort of accomodation with an acceptable Nazi figure. I imagine Goering could be that guy

 

[Archangel]

Thank you Fletcher of Saltoun.

I had been undecided as to whether or not the German resistance would be successful in this TL. After several days of indecision, this afternoon I finally decided that they will be. I have edited post #764 on page 38 to say that the army get the better of Hitler's SS bodyguard in the fighting in the Reich Chancellery and that Hitler is killed by Colonel Friedrich Heinz. The army have won control of the Chancellery.

In my opinion a world without World War II has scope to be much more interesting than one in which such a war happens, even if it is say six months to two years shorter than in OTL.

Great, that means a lot of lives saved.

 

[Alikchi]

Wonderful. This opens up a lot of interesting possibilities.

 

[pipisme]

The new German government kept Colonel-General Franz Halder in post as Chief of the Army General Staff. Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army was a Nazi loyalist and had to be replaced. Colonel-General Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord, who was Commander-in-Chief from 1930-1934, and a man of liberal views, was reappointed to his old command. Admiral Wilhelm Canaris was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy in place of Ernst Raeder.

There had been little, if any, support for the Resistance in the Luftwaffe and not at senior officer level. So the government chose an army officer as Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. The man picked was General Erwin von Witzleben.

 

[pipisme]

I've been thinking where the following high-ranking officers in the German armed forces would most likely be in the morning of 15 March 1939:
Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch, Commander-in-Chief of the Army
Admiral Erich Raeder, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy
Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Minister of War.
Ideas from readers of this TL would be much appreciated.

Louise Schroeder, an SPD member of the National Assembly 1919-1933, was appointed Minister of Posts and Transport. [1] As Minister of Posts, in addition to the postal service, she was also responsible for the telephone system and for radio and television broadcasting.

The press conference given by President Ludwig Beck, Chancellor Carl Freidrich Goederler and members of his cabinet in the Berlin City Hall started at 3pm on 15 March 1939. The room in which the conference was held was packed with journalists and photographers from around the world.

Beck opened the conference with the following words:

Welcome ladies and gentlemen. My colleagues and I will be completely honest in our statements and in reply to your questions. We will not pretend that the situation in Germany now is easy, or pretend that grave problems do not exist. We will not hide the seriousness of the situation. We intend that this conference will end in one hour at 4 o'clock.

It is with the greatest of pleasure that I tell you that Adolf Hitler was killed in cross-fire in the Reich Chancellery about 30 minutes ago. After this conference you will have the opportunity to view the body.

In reply to a question:

Hitler will be buried privately in an unmarked grave in a cemetery in this city. We are determined that his grave will not become a place of pilgrimage for Nazis.

I will now hand over to Chancellor Goederler.

Goederler outlined the current situation in Berlin and the rest of Germany as far as he knew.

My next post will have questions and answers from the press conferences. If you were a journalist there what questions would you ask?

[1] Here is Louise Schroeder's biography in wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Schroder.

 

[Cylon_Number_14]

This TL will now be completely unpredictable with the success of the German Resistence. The Great Depression, events in eastern Asia, and etc. are all up for grabs. Obviously, the most important stuff for now is to see what happens in Germany over the next year.