WesWorld

German News Wrap-Up, Q1/22

17 January 1922

The Land of Baden has come down hard on the fledgling National Socialist German Workers Party. The right-wing fringe party, led by former soldier Adolf Hitler, has been banned from undertaking a range of activities including public rallies, fund-raising, and meetings.

“Basically, the state is tired of the disruption they cause”, said a state bureaucrat on the condition of anonymity. “They will no longer be welcome in Baden.”

Despite protests from the party, there are early indications that other lander may soon follow suit. However, Bavaria, where the party is strongest, is not expected to be among them.

8 February 1922

India’s ambassador has returned to Berlin after a six month absence. Ramu Shrinivasa was recalled to India after the attack on Princess Prahminder Canagasundrum in September of last year. The attack resulted in the death of a nineteen year old man at the hands of an Indian bodyguard but only minor injuries to the princess.

“The government of India is satisfied that the criminals are being adequately punished”, Mr. Shrinivasa commented. The four surviving attackers were recently sentenced to eight year prison terms following relatively brief trials.

“There are a number of areas in which we can build stronger relations between our nations”, Mr. Shrinivasa said. “We wish to work with the Weimar Republic to make it happen.”

19 February 1922

In business news, the value of the mark hit a new low against a number of other major currencies. As of yesterday, two hundred and two marks were required in order to purchase a single American dollar. By comparison, only four marks were needed to buy a dollar in 1914.

Although the inflation is causing hardship for the German people, the nation’s exporters are benefiting from ever-decreasing real labor costs. Lionel Young, a professor of economic theory at Yale, believes that the problem, far from being uncontrolled, is the result of deliberate policy-making.

“The Germans are bound by treaty to make reparations, by paying a certain number of marks at a certain time. Inflation means that those marks are decreasing in value, and so the countries receiving those marks - Britain, Belgium, France, Nordmark, and so forth - are seeing less and less real value associated with each payment. I have to question how long these nations are going to tolerate such a situation.”

4 March 1922

The city of Hamburg has banned the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, joining six lander - Baden, Thuringia, Hesse, Brunswick, Prussia, and Schaumburg-Lippe - that have already done so. As expected, the city cited incidents of violence committed by members of the party as the reason for the decision.

The bans appear to be meeting with limited success, as the party has been forced to suspend its activities in these regions. However, there are reports of party members carrying on their work under the guise of other names. The Unified Workers Party of Prussia, for instance, sprung up shortly after that land banned the National Socialists, and is believed to be a front for the latter group.