310
310
May 7, 1945
Washington DC, USA
"I never thought a day like this would come in my life."
"Mr. President. So do I."
Goering and I were amazed at the countless American flags and Hakenkreutz waves that decorated the streets of Washington.
The day will come when we will see Hakenkreuz in the capital of the United States.
On the way to the United States, I felt a new sense of wonder when I saw a squadron of P-51 Mustangs escorting the Ju352 I was on in the Atlantic Ocean, but now it was even more so.
It's something to see and live for a long time.
"This is why we must win the war."
"That's right."
"Achacha. Let's be careful. "We said this without much thought, but it may sound unpleasant to Americans."
"They might think they are making fun of themselves. I understand."
There were probably hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the streets to watch our procession.
Most of the onlookers were ordinary citizens who came out to see rare sights that are not easily seen, but there were quite a few friends who were a bit far from the word 'ordinary'.
Those guys over there, wearing brown uniforms that clearly resemble stormtrooper uniforms and giving the Roman salute.
I deliberately waved to my friends in the American Silver Corps. Immediately, Sieg Heil and Heil Hitler burst out of their mouths.
I thought the U.S. Silver Legion was disbanded with the U.S. declaration of war on Germany, but seeing that they came out wearing uniforms and holding flags, it seems they were re-established.
Or maybe you've been keeping quiet until now and only came out today.
That flag you see over there is the German-American Confederate flag.
"I'm glad the atmosphere wasn't bad. I was a little worried before I came."
Goering said, looking sideways at the onlookers who had come out to see us.
Many Americans were opposed to going to war with Germany, and even though the actual fighting lasted only a few months, some of that resentment must still remain.
But the atmosphere itself was better than expected.
Citizens only looked at us with curious eyes, but it was hard to find any hateful gaze, and there were no swear words or stones thrown at us.
It is said that when Hirohito visited England and the Netherlands decades after the war, there was an uproar caused by people who remembered the Pacific War.
Here, less than two years after the war ended, the Americans appeared strangely calm.
I shook hands with the owner of the White House while listening to Horst Wessel's song played by the U.S. Army Band.
"Welcome to America, President."
"Thank you for the invitation."
"Okay then, shall we go inside?"
***
I never imagined that I would make a state visit to the United States and enter the White House as the German President.
This exceeded the goal, right? Obviously, the game goal only said to win the war, but it didn't say to visit the United States.
My heart grew majestic as I realized once again how much I had changed history.
"It is a little smaller than the residence where the President lives."
"What are you saying? Instead, isn't there a long history permeating the White House?"
"ha ha ha! "It makes me feel good that you at least said that."
Although he meant it, Dewey seemed to think it was just lip service.
In terms of size, the new Presidential Complex that I ordered to be built is incomparably larger than the White House. It's really big. With a little bit of exaggeration, you could hold a soccer game in the hallway.
Dewey seemed confident that the White House would look cute as I lived and worked in such a place.
I won't deny it. Certainly, since I live in the new Presidential Residence, I now look cute wherever I go.
Still, I had a special feeling when I came to a place I thought I would never visit in my life. Just like when I first entered the Kremlin at Stalin's invitation.
Okay, now that we've done everything to save face, it's time to have an honest, dark conversation.
"You came this far from Berlin. Do you think you have to go empty-handed?"
"That shouldn't be the case, perhaps?"
"It doesn't happen often, so why don't we be honest?"
"If I hadn't been prepared to do so in the first place, I wouldn't have accepted the invitation."
Haha. Dewey laughed heartily.
Then, with a light tap of his palm, he summoned a world map. A map with the United States in blue and Germany in black.
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. were colored a lighter blue than the United States, and all of Europe, except Germany, was colored gray.
"then… … Where do you want to start? "I don't think there's any need to talk about Europe, right?"
"I don't think there's any need to discuss North America either."
"You know very well."
In the first place, Europe is tightly controlled by Germany and North America is tightly controlled by the United States, so there is nothing to talk about. Oceania is also similar.
The areas of contention are Asia and Africa.
I wondered if there was a particular need to discuss South America, but surprisingly, Dewey seemed to have different thoughts. Let's take a look first.
"Well then, let's start with Asia."
"Good."
Among Asian countries, the first country mentioned was India.
The hottest place these days.
"What do you plan to do with India?"
"If others hear it, they will misunderstand it. It sounds as if I will rule India like Britain."
"haha. Did I really mean that? I don't think the Fuhrer would do something like that. I just want to hear what the Fuhrer thinks."
"India belongs only to Indians, not to any other country. Of course, they should establish their own country."
I took a sip of the ginger ale in front of me. The tangy carbonated taste and the subtle sweetness of ginger were exquisite.
"Even if India becomes a pro-American country?"
Dewey asked. Understanding his intention, I asked back.
"Do you think that is a possibility, President?"
"Of course, it is low at the moment."
Dewey shook his head.
"The State Department said this before. Let's divide India into two and rule it over between Germany and the United States."
"India is not yet fully independent and has not been divided. But isn't it too early to think about partition already? And as I just said, India is the country of Indians, not Germany or America."
"I thought you would say that."
Dewey smiled slightly and drank his share of ginger ale. The half-melted ice scraped the bottom of the cup with a jingling sound.
"So, I have a suggestion… … Would you like to hear it?"
"Please tell me."
"Thank you. We, the United States, are willing to yield India to Germany. As long as it does not threaten the security of the United States."
"What you mean by saying it is a line that does not pose a threat… … "So you're worried that we might use India as a stepping stone to advance into Asia and Oceania?"
"That's right."
What Dewey was worried about was not independent India, but Germany behind India.
After all, he probably knows that a country that has just liberated itself from colonial rule cannot pose a direct threat to the United States. The real worry is that we are trying to advance eastward, starting from India.
In the first place, I have no intention of expanding beyond India and into the Far East, but it is natural for Americans to be worried because they do not know what I am thinking.
I thought it would be better to just admit the misunderstanding rather than trying to correct it.
"Okay, let's do that."
"Thank you. I think things will be resolved easily."
First of all, India was recognized as our share. Anyway, I am not interested in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
"Do you intend to bring China under the German umbrella?"
"iced coffee. You don't have to worry about that. China is so big and has a large population that Germany might actually be swallowed up by China."
"Are you kidding me?"
Then Dewey gave an expression that said nothing.
"This is no joke, President. Currently, China is one of the poorest countries in the world, but there is no guarantee that it will remain in its current position forever. This is written in My Struggle, which I wrote, but China has continued to grow steadily.
Even before Japan invaded China, China's total production surpassed that of Italy and Japan and rivaled that of France.
If Japan had not invaded China, China, with its increased power, might have attacked Japan in return."
This is a fact that many people overlook, but even after losing Manchuria to Japan, China continued to grow steadily and closely followed Japan.
In 1935, the ratio of steel production between Japan and China was 3,000:1, but China succeeded in reducing the gap to 150:1 in just two years, and the National Revolutionary Army was also growing qualitatively and quantitatively, receiving training from German military advisors.
If the Sino-Japanese War had not broken out, China would have been on a completely equal footing with Japan by the mid-1940s, and the airborne relationship may have truly changed.
Of course, the problem of corruption in China was very serious, and the Sino-Japanese War further aggravated the problem, causing the worst disaster such as the Great Henan Famine. It was not always a positive thing, but even taking all of that into account, China's potential cannot be ignored. .
If you look at actual history, China experienced two major negative events, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which would have ruined any country, but eventually overtook Japan and became a superpower with the world's second largest economy.
Even here, the Communist Party was eradicated and the Kuomintang completely unified China, so if growth was faster, it would be faster, never less.
"And think about it. China is friendly with Germany, but doesn't it also have friendly relations with the United States? If I were Chiang Kai-shek, rather than choosing between the United States and Germany, I would try to be friendly with both."
Chiang Kai-shek may have personally been inclined towards Germany rather than the United States, but considering the reality in China, he cannot be completely pro-Germany.
Germany is not a country rich enough to provide free aid to China like the United States.
On the other hand, the United States is one of the few countries that produces food that can be eaten in abundance not only by its own citizens but also by people around the world, and that can provide it to other countries free of charge.
In China, less than a year has passed since the end of the war, and the country is still devastated, and in rural areas, it is not uncommon for people to starve to death due to food shortages.
There is no way China would stay away from the United States, at least to get more support.
When I pointed this out to him, Dewey opened his mouth in admiration.
"Then, is it safe to say that Germany will maintain its current attitude toward China?"
"Is that so?"
"Honestly, when I heard that Germany was entering the war against Japan, I thought they would at least take Tsingtao."
"The Kaiser, who died four years ago, would certainly have done so. But I am different from the Kaiser. And not only is it doubtful that Chiang Kai-shek will hand over Qingdao if he asks for it, and even if he takes over Qingdao, it will only be a source of new conflict. In that case, it is better than nothing. "Let's do it."
However, in fact, immediately after the declaration of war against Japan, there was an opinion within the Defense Forces to bring back Kiautschou.
The question was, "How much has Germany helped China, and why can't we ask for even this much?"
He said that since it is not annexed to Germany but leased 'temporarily' from China like Hong Kong and Macau, China will not be able to object.
In fact, if Kiai Chow is taken over, it will not only serve as an important base for trade with the Far East, but will also be able to cut the speed of the United States, killing two birds with one stone.
However, Chiang Kai-shek, a nationalist, was unlikely to accept this and ignored it because it could only cause trouble in the German-Chinese relationship.
The era of imperialism, when it was popular to cut corners, is already over. It may have worked in the past, but there is no guarantee that the same method will continue to work in the future.
What Germany needs now is not colonies, but allies with whom it can cooperate economically and militarily.
"Do you really have nothing to ask for from Japan?"
"of course. Germany was at war with Japan for less than three weeks, but didn't the United States fight Japan for nearly three years? But demanding a share of Japanese rule is tantamount to robbery."
If I had asked for a share in the first place, he would have gone crazy right away. It's something you can't eat anyway, so it's better for your image to say you didn't even think about it in the first place.
As expected, Dewey twitched the corner of his mouth as if he was satisfied with my answer.
"As expected, the President is someone who knows how to see far ahead."
"It was nothing."
Well, I know I can see a little farther than the Prussian Junkers who only know war. Hmm.
"really. What did you decide to do with the war crimes trial?"
While we were talking about Japan, I asked what I was curious about. When I told him that the question was purely out of personal curiosity, Dewey answered without hesitation.
"All those responsible for the war will be executed. Those who carried out the war under him will also receive appropriate punishment, only if they committed crimes."
"You mean the emperor too?"
"There are no exceptions to the law."
"That's right. "Everyone, even the royal family, should be equal before the law."
From Dewey's tone, I could tell that Hirohito could not avoid the death penalty either. Unlike the original history, he was properly cleared of his karma.
It is natural that Germany did not collapse and the Soviet Union did not rise rapidly.
I heard that even now, new war crimes are revealed every day in the Far East military trials, shocking people.
From massacres such as the Nanjing Massacre and the Bataan Death March to all kinds of bizarre crimes such as the biological experiments of Unit 731 and the Chichishima cannibalism incident.
Dewey, a former prosecutor and famous for his inability to tolerate injustice, seemed to have no intention of overlooking Japan's criminal activities.
"Every single criminal will pay for the crimes they have committed, even if only to prove that justice is not dead in this world."
"You are right."
There was no need to specifically mention the Middle East as it was already a place where German influence was strong.
Saudi Arabia was the only country that seemed to be trying to distance itself from the Axis powers, but it did not give up completely and was compromising to some extent, such as allowing a German company to participate in the development of its oil fields, which were mainly handled by American oil companies.
In Africa, France launched a war targeting British colonies, but failed, and when there were signs of unrest in their own colonies, they hastily stopped fighting and retreated.
Germany had no stake in Africa, and the Axis powers France, Spain, and Portugal were busy managing their colonies, so the African problem was easily resolved.
Dewey also stated that he had no intention of clashing with Germany over African issues unless Germany attempted to advance into Africa in earnest with France, Spain, and Portugal at the forefront.
Another problem solved like this.