The Iron Eagle II - Days of Strife
- Thread starter Kaiser of Brazil
- Start date
Who is the most enduring individual (technicalities included) in the Third Reich ITTL? Was it Goebbels? (I mean in the government so Klara doesn't count)
Honestly I will go with Kaltenbrunner, he was useful enough in the SS and Bohemia to survive Hitler and Hess, detached enough from Heydrich to survive Goebbels, prudent enough to survive the day of 4 Leaders and efficient enough to keep his job in Ostland during the Ostkrieg.
No, pretty much all of them died, most of them devoured by the very system they created to slaughter others.
TheSpectacledCloth
Gone Fishin'
Are any of Hitler's old friends/comrades, Nazi or otherwise, still alive?
I won't be able to finish the chapter this week, there is a test coming up for me. But for now enjoy the first piece of it.
The Council of Salvador was very aptly named for it's city, Salvador was named after Christ the Savior, now the city was the center of the true Catholic Church in the entire world. While the Continent fell to the Apostate Anti-Pope Eugene, the true Pope, Stephen X would summon a grand Council of the Church like not seen in a century, in order to ensure the consolidation of the Church. Stephen was under a lot of pressure which did not do good for a man of his age who already went through so much, but there was a strength in him now like there was never before, he knew that the church was in it's most decisive moment, that determination pushed him beyond the limits of his body in an effort to go beyond, it fell on his shoulders to be the first Pope in the modern age who would not sit in Europe.
The location was quite modest, the Archdiocese of Salvador did not have the capacity for the expected members of the Clergy who were to come. But the Government did not spare any effort in ensuring that the Pope would have what he needed, expanding the Church and it's surrounding area being cleared to prepare it to receive the representatives of the Church from all across the world, outside of Europe there was no Archdiocese which recognized Eugene as the Pope, even in Europe, in Ireland, the Church continued faithful to Stephen X, which was considered to have been usurped by the forces of Goebbels and the Linz Pakt, officially condemned by the Papacy.
But while this Council was being prepared, Sister Debora was doing her part in the streets of Salvador. Ever since the Pope's arrival, there was a renewed work to spread the word of God to the people of a city which was once considered filthy by the Catholic Action. Her work was to ensure that the city was consecrated to the Lord, alongside many of her sisters and her superiors. The recent elections brought in, as expected, a candidate of the Catholic Action to the government of Salvador, in the local assembly, the members of the Action grew threefold in three years, spreading across all other categories and corporations which sent representatives to the Assembly, who in turn elected the mayor. The meaning of her mission before was to simply spread the gospel and she did, but sometimes a more direct action had to be made against the influences of devilish icons.
It was hardly noticed before, but the people of Salvador and in many other places of Brazil from the Amazon to the South, prayed to the Saints for intercession at the same time as they prayed to figures of the devil, demons and idols such as Baal and Moloch, their insidious influence through "syncretism" is what allowed paganism to exist for so long. The Church was active now in crushing these false idols under the direction of the Catholic Action. The National Chief of Brazil, Salgado, helped their work with his Greenshirts, but many of them did not know the more "technical" aspects of the Faith which made it so it fell upon the Catholic Action to crack down on the satanic idols of the city which was now hosting the Vicar of God himself. Now she was in one of those missions after one of the civilians turned over the location of a Candomblé site in the city, kept underground like many others that were shut down in the past years.
Sister Debora would be the one leading the way, she was dressed fully in black with a red sash like many of the female members of the Action, she gained this position mainly because of her devotion, even if usually the ranks were led by men, there were many examples even in the bible itself of female leaders like her own namesake in the book of Judges. She read the entire Bible before she was ten, even if she did not understand most of it, she came to learn more in the future times. There was so much in God that was perfect and beautiful, how could people fall to such devilish influences and revel upon them? She could not recall a single time where she did go to Church and did not feel join in the mass, in the communion, in the sense of unity and the reverence to the Lord. She pitied them, they were misguided and under the influence of the Enemy, that is why she hated when hearing the occasional stories of Greenshirts who ended up killing those poor souls, it just meant a soul who would die without a chance to properly repent, that is why she always gave them a second chance, that is why she always looked up more towards the Action than the Integralists, those caught by the Action had a chance of redemption to pay for their crimes against God.
"There, over there!"
She pointed out to one of the brothers by her side as she saw the house nearby, the place looked poor and unkept, but the smell coming from the inside was undeniably from the candles those pagans used. There were six members of the action with her, one woman and five men, she pointed out to the house and the men were the ones to go in first in case there was any resistance, they knocked on the door, when there was no answer after five seconds, they broke down the wooden door with ease. They came inside and she followed, looking around with a disgust as if she could feel the presence of the demons in that place. It was over quickly, there was the sound of crashes, with men and women all attempting to run away only for the other members of the Action to catch them when they expectedly came out of the windows. She saw the center of that place, you could very well draw a pentagram on the floor if you want to make it any more obvious what kind of place this soil was consecrated to, a place of worship for false idols. The statues were quickly broken and destroyed, they would later need to come back and pray for this house, maybe call an exorcist if it was too serious.
"The fourth one escaped, but we got these three."
They brought three people who were standing before Sister Debora, they were blacks as it was in most cases, either black or mixed, but that was no excuse, half of the sisters in Salvador were black, race was not the problem, the past was. She learned long ago from the classes that this syncretism came from African Slaves who were never properly catechised, never properly taught that you can only serve the Lord or the Devil, you cannot serve both by pretending to worship Christ while praying to the statue of some demon from the Congolese forests. She looked at each of them and at first she felt hatred, it was natural, the priest said, it is natural and the Lord teaches us to abhor sin, but she had to separate the sin and the sinner, beyond the exterior of these idol worshippers, was a soul which was worth no less than her own, which had to be brought to the light. "You are the Light of the World", Matthew 5:14, that is what they must always remember.
"Understand, this is not a condemnation, be grateful that you will face justice for this blasphemy here where you can regret and turn your lives, instead of facing justice beyond death."
It was what she usually said, her voice was soft in a contrast to the men who were holding them in place. Sister Dulce was finally coming in the house with their witness, the one who had turned over the idol worship of this house. It was a young girl, could not be older than 10, her name was Maria Teresa, she was one of the children who came to the lessons of Catechesis every week. That is when it dawned on Debora, this was her family, two men, one older and one younger, and a woman who was apparently the mother, she had never really seen them in church and Maria never really spoke of her family, the reason was very clear now, she had shame, embarrassment.
"You did the right thing, Maria."
The poor child was in tears, Debora would go down on one knee and place a gentle hand on her shoulder while wiping her tears with the other, she was looking at her parents who looked down upon her with that look of betrayal and disappointment which could crush a child. But she would not have that look discourage Maria, she would gently hold her cheek and turn her eyes to look at her and her only.
"One day, they will thank you, there is a crown in Heaven that the Lord himself will place on your head, your good works will be remembered Maria, you are not alone."
She planted a kiss on the girl's forehead and then stood up, nodding for Dulce to take the girl back, she probably would join others in the Church who will be cared for until their parents were saved, kept away to ensure the sinful influence of their elders was not spread to the fragile mind of a child. Debora cared for many girls like Maria, they all were distraught to some level but, in time, they got used to it, there is no better place to be raised than in the House of God and when their parents returned, everything would be better. She could recall many parents who returned after repenting and became some of the most frequent visitors to the Church. One time, when Pope Stephen himself came to celebrate the mass in their neighborhood, all the front seats were reserved for these families of newly converted. It was a beautiful sight, to see a family together worshipping God where before there was division and the corruption of sin, that is always what gave her strength, in knowing she was doing the work of God.
Now the three would be taken away, escorted by the brothers of the Catholic Action to one of the Action's centers away from the city. She knew that sometimes it could be... harsh, to say the least, but the process was never meant to be pretty, it was meant to be functional, people had to have their pride broken before they came to realize they were sinners, the Holy Spirit would then guide them to repentance and conversion. The details were never given to her, she was told it was not her place to know, one of them did say it was about her sensitivity as a woman, but the priest did give a more understanding reason, that breaking someone's pride, especially in the large scale work that the Action had to conduct across the country, was a delicate process better left to the Sacred Inquisition. Perhaps not knowing the details was more of a burden than knowing them, the enormous incognita to her about the fate of people she helped take away was crushing, but no matter what the means were, she could see the results in the Church and rejoice in their work... at least when the sinners repented.
The location was quite modest, the Archdiocese of Salvador did not have the capacity for the expected members of the Clergy who were to come. But the Government did not spare any effort in ensuring that the Pope would have what he needed, expanding the Church and it's surrounding area being cleared to prepare it to receive the representatives of the Church from all across the world, outside of Europe there was no Archdiocese which recognized Eugene as the Pope, even in Europe, in Ireland, the Church continued faithful to Stephen X, which was considered to have been usurped by the forces of Goebbels and the Linz Pakt, officially condemned by the Papacy.
But while this Council was being prepared, Sister Debora was doing her part in the streets of Salvador. Ever since the Pope's arrival, there was a renewed work to spread the word of God to the people of a city which was once considered filthy by the Catholic Action. Her work was to ensure that the city was consecrated to the Lord, alongside many of her sisters and her superiors. The recent elections brought in, as expected, a candidate of the Catholic Action to the government of Salvador, in the local assembly, the members of the Action grew threefold in three years, spreading across all other categories and corporations which sent representatives to the Assembly, who in turn elected the mayor. The meaning of her mission before was to simply spread the gospel and she did, but sometimes a more direct action had to be made against the influences of devilish icons.
It was hardly noticed before, but the people of Salvador and in many other places of Brazil from the Amazon to the South, prayed to the Saints for intercession at the same time as they prayed to figures of the devil, demons and idols such as Baal and Moloch, their insidious influence through "syncretism" is what allowed paganism to exist for so long. The Church was active now in crushing these false idols under the direction of the Catholic Action. The National Chief of Brazil, Salgado, helped their work with his Greenshirts, but many of them did not know the more "technical" aspects of the Faith which made it so it fell upon the Catholic Action to crack down on the satanic idols of the city which was now hosting the Vicar of God himself. Now she was in one of those missions after one of the civilians turned over the location of a Candomblé site in the city, kept underground like many others that were shut down in the past years.
Sister Debora would be the one leading the way, she was dressed fully in black with a red sash like many of the female members of the Action, she gained this position mainly because of her devotion, even if usually the ranks were led by men, there were many examples even in the bible itself of female leaders like her own namesake in the book of Judges. She read the entire Bible before she was ten, even if she did not understand most of it, she came to learn more in the future times. There was so much in God that was perfect and beautiful, how could people fall to such devilish influences and revel upon them? She could not recall a single time where she did go to Church and did not feel join in the mass, in the communion, in the sense of unity and the reverence to the Lord. She pitied them, they were misguided and under the influence of the Enemy, that is why she hated when hearing the occasional stories of Greenshirts who ended up killing those poor souls, it just meant a soul who would die without a chance to properly repent, that is why she always gave them a second chance, that is why she always looked up more towards the Action than the Integralists, those caught by the Action had a chance of redemption to pay for their crimes against God.
"There, over there!"
She pointed out to one of the brothers by her side as she saw the house nearby, the place looked poor and unkept, but the smell coming from the inside was undeniably from the candles those pagans used. There were six members of the action with her, one woman and five men, she pointed out to the house and the men were the ones to go in first in case there was any resistance, they knocked on the door, when there was no answer after five seconds, they broke down the wooden door with ease. They came inside and she followed, looking around with a disgust as if she could feel the presence of the demons in that place. It was over quickly, there was the sound of crashes, with men and women all attempting to run away only for the other members of the Action to catch them when they expectedly came out of the windows. She saw the center of that place, you could very well draw a pentagram on the floor if you want to make it any more obvious what kind of place this soil was consecrated to, a place of worship for false idols. The statues were quickly broken and destroyed, they would later need to come back and pray for this house, maybe call an exorcist if it was too serious.
"The fourth one escaped, but we got these three."
They brought three people who were standing before Sister Debora, they were blacks as it was in most cases, either black or mixed, but that was no excuse, half of the sisters in Salvador were black, race was not the problem, the past was. She learned long ago from the classes that this syncretism came from African Slaves who were never properly catechised, never properly taught that you can only serve the Lord or the Devil, you cannot serve both by pretending to worship Christ while praying to the statue of some demon from the Congolese forests. She looked at each of them and at first she felt hatred, it was natural, the priest said, it is natural and the Lord teaches us to abhor sin, but she had to separate the sin and the sinner, beyond the exterior of these idol worshippers, was a soul which was worth no less than her own, which had to be brought to the light. "You are the Light of the World", Matthew 5:14, that is what they must always remember.
"Understand, this is not a condemnation, be grateful that you will face justice for this blasphemy here where you can regret and turn your lives, instead of facing justice beyond death."
It was what she usually said, her voice was soft in a contrast to the men who were holding them in place. Sister Dulce was finally coming in the house with their witness, the one who had turned over the idol worship of this house. It was a young girl, could not be older than 10, her name was Maria Teresa, she was one of the children who came to the lessons of Catechesis every week. That is when it dawned on Debora, this was her family, two men, one older and one younger, and a woman who was apparently the mother, she had never really seen them in church and Maria never really spoke of her family, the reason was very clear now, she had shame, embarrassment.
"You did the right thing, Maria."
The poor child was in tears, Debora would go down on one knee and place a gentle hand on her shoulder while wiping her tears with the other, she was looking at her parents who looked down upon her with that look of betrayal and disappointment which could crush a child. But she would not have that look discourage Maria, she would gently hold her cheek and turn her eyes to look at her and her only.
"One day, they will thank you, there is a crown in Heaven that the Lord himself will place on your head, your good works will be remembered Maria, you are not alone."
She planted a kiss on the girl's forehead and then stood up, nodding for Dulce to take the girl back, she probably would join others in the Church who will be cared for until their parents were saved, kept away to ensure the sinful influence of their elders was not spread to the fragile mind of a child. Debora cared for many girls like Maria, they all were distraught to some level but, in time, they got used to it, there is no better place to be raised than in the House of God and when their parents returned, everything would be better. She could recall many parents who returned after repenting and became some of the most frequent visitors to the Church. One time, when Pope Stephen himself came to celebrate the mass in their neighborhood, all the front seats were reserved for these families of newly converted. It was a beautiful sight, to see a family together worshipping God where before there was division and the corruption of sin, that is always what gave her strength, in knowing she was doing the work of God.
Now the three would be taken away, escorted by the brothers of the Catholic Action to one of the Action's centers away from the city. She knew that sometimes it could be... harsh, to say the least, but the process was never meant to be pretty, it was meant to be functional, people had to have their pride broken before they came to realize they were sinners, the Holy Spirit would then guide them to repentance and conversion. The details were never given to her, she was told it was not her place to know, one of them did say it was about her sensitivity as a woman, but the priest did give a more understanding reason, that breaking someone's pride, especially in the large scale work that the Action had to conduct across the country, was a delicate process better left to the Sacred Inquisition. Perhaps not knowing the details was more of a burden than knowing them, the enormous incognita to her about the fate of people she helped take away was crushing, but no matter what the means were, she could see the results in the Church and rejoice in their work... at least when the sinners repented.
Would Remer, Rommel and Monhke be close? I agree with Kaiser’s assessment the most enduring Nazi official is Kaltenbrunner but they should be close.
Anyways i can’t wait for the rest of the chapter. That Maria Teresa cameo was not what i expected.
Thats not THE Madre Teresa, it's just one of the most common names in Salvador for girls to have.
Stephen is not thrilled with the Integralists and the Catholic Action, it is like getting out of the fire to fall into a frying pan, except this time the ones holding him are fanatics who want to have God's blessing for their own fundamentalist visions. Sure, he is not friendly to the syncretism that exists between African/Native traditions with Catholicism, but he wouldn't sanction the methods Plinio (both of them, because of course both groups had to be led by two men with the same names) uses.
Is there so many African syncretics OTL in el salvador or was that your butterfly?
I live in Northeastern Brazil, Salvador in Bahia did receive an enormous amount of slaves during the colonial era to plant sugarcane (even was invaded by the Dutch because of that in the 1620s), as a result not only the majority of the city is mixed (Pardo) and black in an ethnic level, it also has a lot of influence from African religions that syncretized with the teachings of the Jesuits for cultures like Candomble. To this day there are superstitious customs like dressing in white and praising spirits that are mixed up with catholic saints. There are also remnants of African religions around that practice animist or spiritist rituals. There were also Muslims in Salvador who did start a rebellion called the Male uprising in the 1830s.
Basically, Salvador is one of the most religiously diverse cities of the country de facto even if de jure its majority Christian. Here the Catholic Action is doing what the Integralists have done since 1952 by cracking down on syncretism and Macumba by calling it demonic dark magic and enforcing Catholic Orthodoxy.
San Salvador in Brazil is definitely a very heterogeneous place demographically speaking.
This timeline made me very interested in Salvador. As an American I had never heard of it till I read this timeline. Seems like a really interesting city with a lot of history.
IIRC in City of God yeah, the Candomble priest worshipped Yoruba spirit Eshu as some Loki/Lucifer archetype and gave little Ze an amulet.
Crazy stuff.
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