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They say time is faster than an arrow, and that was indeed true.
Nine years have passed since the war ended in the blink of an eye. Nine years.
You may think that one or two years is a short time, but nine years is on a different level.
Nine years is the time when an elementary school student enlists in the military or becomes a returning student after being discharged.
The Iceland issue, which had emerged as a hot potato in the North Sea, was somehow resolved.
The United States, which desperately needed Iceland to keep Germany in check, accepted the Icelanders' demands and increased support, lifted a large number of travel restrictions, and relocated the overflowing European refugees in Iceland to the United States, Canada, and British territories.
Although there were many noises during the process, it was a case that went well considering the situation almost reached the level of a riot.
Most of the refugees who left Iceland, either willingly or unwillingly, settled in Canada, and among them, those from France settled in Quebec, where many French people reside.
Perhaps Quebec, which is relatively closer and where many French people live, would be better than French Guiana, which is far away.
Brauchitsch and Reichenau, who made great contributions to Germany's victory in World War II, are no longer in this world.
Reichenau, who had lived leisurely after retirement and doing pastimes, died of a heart attack at home. A month later, Brauchitsch also passed away. The cause of death was the same: a heart attack.
As they were heroes who contributed to the victory of the Third Reich, their funerals were held on a grand scale with state funerals.
Blomberg decided to retire and focus on cancer treatment.
It was planned to appoint Rundstedt to the vacant position, but since this man also expressed his desire to take a break, the position of commander-in-chief of the French garrison went to Kluge.
"Mr. President. I think I should retire soon too."
"No, Marshal. What do you mean? "I have a lot of work to do, but I'm thinking of retiring."
"I wasn't feeling the same as before, so I went to see a doctor and he advised me to stop working right away. When I retire, I plan to take a break, travel with my wife, and sleep well. "
"Huh… … ."
Guderian, the father of German armor, also announced his retirement.
There is still a lot of work to be entrusted to him, but I approved it because it was okay to ask a man who said he wanted to rest now because he was not feeling well to continue working.
Still, I didn't give up on work completely, but promised to help occasionally in the form of torture.
In addition, several generals announced their retirement: Blaskowitz, Kleist, Lev, Bock, Weiks, etc. The reasons were all similar. Age issues, health issues.
Since I am well past my 60th birthday, it was natural for people older than me to talk about retiring.
Even Keitel expressed his intention to retire. He felt like he had done everything he could do, so it was time to step down and hand over his position to his successors.
"If the enemy says so... … . It's been a lot of hard work."
Many people were promoted to fill the positions of those who retired and wore new attire.
Manstein replaced Keitel as Minister of Defense, Model as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and Rommel as Chief of Staff of the Army.
Manteuffel, who had a high understanding of armor, was appointed to the position of Chief Armor Officer.
They are all talented and free from health problems, so there will be no problems for a while.
Unlike the Army, where there was a rapid generational change, there were few retirees in the Air Force, Navy, and SS.
Göring and Himmler had no intention of retiring, and Dönitz had no reason to retire as he had only been commander in chief of the Navy for four years and was in good health.
The German version of McDonald's, Reichsburger, opened at the beginning of the new year in 1953.
First, in 12 German cities, including Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. If business goes well, we plan to increase it sequentially.
The prices are not high, the quality food is prepared quickly, and most of all, perhaps because I was involved in the establishment, more than 300,000 people from all over Germany visited the store on the first day of opening.
Even though it is a fast food restaurant, they put a lot of effort into the interior design, logo, and staff uniforms to avoid giving the impression that it is light, and this seems to have left a good impression on people.
We conducted a survey about the food and service during the first week after the store opened, and all the reviews were good. This could be said to be a good start.
Dewey did not run in the 1952 U.S. presidential election. Since Roosevelt died in the middle of his third term, there was no ban on running for more than two terms, so Dewey could have run if he wanted to, but for some reason, he did not run for office. Dewey did not run for election.
Perhaps because Roosevelt, who had so far been the only candidate to run for a third term, ended badly - although he brought it on himself - or for some other reason, Dewey did not run, and the Republican Party had to look for the next presidential candidate.
The person singled out as the target was MacArthur.
MacArthur, who defeated Senator Robert A. Taft, a giant among giants, by a wide margin in the Republican primary, was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate.
MacArthur, who was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, recommended the vice presidential nomination to Taft, who competed with him for the presidential nomination.
Throughout the election period, the two campaigned throughout the United States, and wherever they went, hundreds of thousands of people gathered, and the police had a hard time controlling the crowds.
The Democratic Party also struggled hard to somehow win the election, but it was useless because the opponent was too big to begin with.
The duo of MacArthur and Taft, who easily won the presidential election by a landslide, entered the White House of their dreams on January 20, 1953.
***
January 23, 1953
Washington DC White House, USA
On the first day of his term as president, in his inauguration speech, MacArthur announced his aspirations in front of a cloud of people who gathered to see the new president of the United States.
How long have I waited for this moment to come? MacArthur's heart exploded at the realization that he had become the President of the United States, which he had dreamed of, but he maintained his composure on the outside.
I did not want to be recorded as being excited and soaked in the emotions of the first day of inauguration, which is common among people.
MacArthur had to be different. Because he was MacArthur.
"Today is a very special day for me, for you, for the United States of America, and for the whole world, because this Douglas MacArthur became President of the United States."
People burst out laughing because they thought MacArthur was joking. Like most Americans, MacArthur would begin his speeches with a few jokes.
But MacArthur was serious. People didn't know it, but he wasn't joking.
"Today the world is in crisis. From Gibraltar to the Urals, from Svalbard to Malta, a great Iron Curtain has been drawn over all of Europe. Behind this curtain are the historic countries of Europe. The capitals of the field are in it.
Warsaw, Paris, Prague, London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Rome, Athens, Belgrade, Kiev, Minsk and Moscow - cities and populations across Europe are under Berlin's control.
The Iron Curtain is not limited to Europe, but has begun to spread to Asia and Africa. This is very worrying. What is even more worrying is that freedom, justice, and order are also occurring within the United States of America. It means that the forces that disrupt the world are active."
MacArthur decided to pour out the things he had been itching to say but had been unable to say.
The problems in American politics are getting more and more complicated, the racists in the South, and the Hitlerites who claim that the United States should follow Germany's example and reform the entire country.
They were all cancerous cells that were eating away at the great United States of America and making it sick.
Unless they are all wiped out, the United States can never win the Cold War.
The defeat of the United States is the defeat of democracy and the defeat of the world.
It was something MacArthur could never accept. It would be much better to be shot and killed.
"America is a great country. At a time when dictatorship by a monarch was taken for granted, it was the only country where the people had sovereignty over the country. From 1776 to today, it has spread freedom and democracy around the world and helped countless unknown people. It led us to the path of freedom and liberation. This is an immortal achievement that has never disappeared and will not disappear as long as human history continues.
But now, the great values of our great America are under threat. America is under the greatest threat since 1812, 1861, and 1941
The threat is the enemies of freedom within us. While they enjoy the benefits that freedom and democracy bring, they actually use the rights they enjoy to throw society into chaos. This is by no means the case. "This is an outrage that cannot be ignored!"
As MacArthur made his decision and began to pour out his words, the smiles disappeared from people's faces. Some people were embarrassed and astonished, and some even made overtly uncomfortable expressions or quietly left their seats. But those who remained listened to MacArthur.
"I want to tell you something. This country exists for everyone's freedom, everyone's equality, and everyone's happiness. In this land where freedom, equality, and justice exist, I I am dreaming. The dream is deeply rooted in the American Dream.
I have a dream. A dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream. It is a dream that one day, on the red hills of Georgia, the descendants of former slaves and the descendants of former owners will sit together at the table of humanity.
I have a dream. It is a dream that one day Europe, groaning under the heat of injustice and oppression, will transform into an oasis of freedom and equality.
I have a dream. It is a dream that the day will come when everyone who lives in a world where oppression instead of freedom is taken for granted will live a peaceful life under a democratic society, and live forever in a world where the horrors of secret police and concentration camps exist. .
I have a dream. It is a dream where the Iron Curtain disappears, beyond Paris, London, Warsaw, Prague, and even Berlin, and where the Curtain once existed, a fresh garden where democracy blooms unfolds.
I have a dream. It is a dream where the evil forces that seek to destroy freedom, equality, and justice will disappear and the world and humanity will unite under the great American flag and create a paradise on earth.
For America to be a great nation, this must come true.
Let freedom ring from the great hills of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the streets of London.
Let freedom ring from the Place de la Bastille in Paris.
Let freedom ring from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate
Let freedom ring around the world.
Because that is the mission given to the citizens of the great United States and the will and longing of all who long for freedom! "Let's create a world where all people around the world smile at the proud American flag and play under democratic values!"
When the speech ended, enthusiastic cheers and applause poured out.
MacArthur, who succeeded in making a strong impression on the public from the first day of his term, began preparations for full-scale 'reform'.
"So I think you'll need to use some force."
"Of course, Mr. President."
FBI Director Hoover smiled at the words of the new owner of the White House.
Rarely for him, it was a smile that came from the heart, not an affectation.
Just as Hoover knew MacArthur well, MacArthur also knew Hoover well and how to use him.
"To make America great, we need talented people. a lot. "I heard you are one of them."
"I'm just grateful that you said that."
"I won't talk too much. There's a mountain of work to do. I'll leave the FBI to you. So please help me too."
"Would it be possible? "I am also a citizen of the United States, so of course I should help."
Before going hunting, you need a well-trained hunting dog.
MacArthur appointed Hoover as FBI Director for life.
***
Immediately after MacArthur became president, tension began to rise in the Presidential Residence.
It wasn't as bad as when the war had just started, but the atmosphere was definitely very different in many ways than it was during Dewey's time.
The reason is simple. It's because of MacArthur's speech to the nation from the first day of his term.
Even a person who knows nothing about politics or international affairs can immediately guess who MacArthur's speech is pointing out as the enemy. If you don't know this, you should stop breathing.
"This is it, there will be a lot of days when you will be tired from now on."
Manstein's remarks after reading the German translation of MacArthur's speech. Everyone in the conference room nodded at those words.
"Of course, we have a hydrogen bomb, so we can threaten with it if necessary… … ."
Manstein stopped talking and looked at me. Yes, he knows it too.
"I hope that situation doesn't come to that. In the first place, unless MacArthur is an idiot, he probably knows that it is realistically impossible to recapture Europe. Isn't it true that everyone dreams big? "In particular, this is my first speech as president in front of the people, so I guess I've done it once."
"I guess so, right?"
By the way, I was even more surprised when I heard MacArthur's speech. Martin Luther King The speech that he was supposed to give came from the mouth of someone who had no idea. Is this also a change in history?
In any case, since MacArthur openly declared that he would strike down pro-Germans, it was inevitable that conflicts with the United States would increase.
It may not lead to World War III (probably), but I have a strong feeling that many tiring events will occur in the future.
This is why I can't retire because I'm anxious.