WesWorld

12 April 1925

The second round of the presidential elections will have just three candidates: former army commander General Paul von Hindenburg, Prussian Prime Minister Otto Braun, and KPD leader Ernst Thaelmann.

General Hindenburg, who commanded German ground forces from 1916 to 1918, was the highest-scoring candidate in the first round, securing over 35% of the vote. He has been endorsed by two candidates who have withdrawn from the second round: BVP candidate Heinrich Held, and DVP candidate Karl Jarres, who collectively took 9.6% of the vote. NSDAP candidate General Erich Ludendorff’s withdrawal from the second round is expected to give Herr Hindenburg additional support, despite General Ludendorff’s somewhat unenthusiastic show of support.

Herr Braun, who has been Prime Minister of Prussia for most of the last five years, scored almost twenty-four percent of the vote in the first round, and was the highest scoring of the Weimar Coalition candidates. Braun, the Social Democrat candidate, has been endorsed by Wilhelm Marx of the Catholic Centre party, a not unexpected move given SD support for Catholic Centre Chancellor Cuno. Democratic party candidate Willy Hellpach added his support yesterday after announcing tha the would decline to run.

KPD leader Ernst Thaelmann remains a candidate for the second round, after a fiery speech in which he denounced the Social Democrats for “brutally suppressing the working class” in 1919-20 and called General Hindenburg, “an aging puppet of the capitalists”. Thaelmann’s candidacy may well be the deciding factor in this election, as without it, most candidates would more likely back Herr Braun.

This second round of elections will be won by the candidate with the most votes; an absolute majority is not required.

27 April 1925

Otto Braun is the new president of Germany.

Herr Braun secured 49.4% of the vote in the run-off, narrowly defeating Paul von Hindenburg, who took 46.3%. Ernst Thaelmann took 4.3%, a number almost identical to his total from the first round.

Herr Braun was born in 1872, in the Prussian capital of Konigsberg. The son of a cobbler, he trained to be a printer and edited Social Democrat newspapers until his election to the Abgeordnetenhaus (Prussian Parliament) in 1913. After holding posts as the Prussian minister for agriculture, he was elected prime minister of Prussia in March of 1920, a post he held for virtual all of the subsequent period.

Herr Braun has been called, “The Red Tsar of Prussia”, and is known for his direct, pragmatic method of governance. His pacifist stance and opposition to the return of the monarchy are expected further polarize the Reichstag between the Weimar and right-wing blocs.

There were reports of riots in several cities, as right-wing extremists clashed with police in Munchen and communists fought with police in some of the coastal cities.

15 May 1925

In his first nationwide speech to Germany, President Otto Braun spoke on military defence.

“We have something of a dilemma.

“We are a law-abiding nation, and have pledged to uphold the commitments made under the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty is very harsh with respect to matters of the military, for the Allies with whom we negotiated were dis-trustful of us. Given the political situation of the time - uprisings by extremists at both ends of the political spectrum - this was not entirely unreasonable.

“We were thus left with a small army, quite incapable of defending our own frontiers against even minor incursions. We were left with a small navy with obsolete capital ships, no submarines, and no mines. We were left with no air force of any kind.

“I agree that this does reduce whatever threat may exist to our neighbours, but it creates a threat and sense of insecurity for Germany, which can not effectively defend itself against aggressive actions. The world has failed to implement the arms reductions that Versailles was intended to begin, instead allowing for growth to unprecedented levels of warship operation among other issues. Even Denmark has a naval force to challenge us, and this is without even considering the French, Dutch, Russian, Nordmarker, and Polish fleets.

“This is not to say that any one of these nations currently seems to be threat to us, but who is to say what the future will bring?

“Now, I am by no means a supporter of war or even an enthusiastic proponent of armed forces, but I am practical enough to understand that an insecure Germany is more of a danger than a secure Germany. An insecure Germany will takes its eye off economic growth and social reform, and focus instead on security. One-note politicians like Admiral Tirpitz will gain power despite their inability to keep food on shelves or garbage off the streets.

"So as I see it, there are three ways in which we can ensure that German is safe from foreign aggression:

“First, we can renounce the Treaty of Versailles, and re-arm. This would, however, constitute a breaking of our oath and is thus untenable.

“Instead, we can ask the Entente powers to be released from the Treaty of Versailles, and if they agree, build our forces back to a level sufficient to defend our cities and our lands without being perceived as a threat to our neighbours. If we can accomplish this, we can secure our future without breaking our word or entangling ourselves in the issues of others.

“Should we not be freed from Versailles, we can seek out nations with whom we can secure military alliances. Their aircraft will defend our skies, their submarines our shores, their capital ships our seas. But as we have learned from the Great War, this comes with considerable risk - that we may once more find ourselves drawn into a conflict not our own. It may also antagonize some of our neighbours, who may find themselves facing Germany in one direction and Germany's allies in others. This would only serve to speed up military growth on our neighbours' part. Nonetheless, it is an option.

“To this end, I have ask Chancellor Cuno and Minister Stresemann to begin working on our two feasible options. They will report their progress back to me, and to you, before the end of the year.”

[OOC: Historically, Britain, France, Italy, and the USA were the major powers with whom Versailles was negotiated. Are there others here, or shall we assume countries like Atlantis concluded separate peace treaties?]

Congratulations to Herr Otto Braun with his victory.

So Germany now has a leftish/communist Chancellor? It gives me a few ideas for the future...

The Italian government gives their comisserations to General von Hindenburg, and extends the offer to Chancellor Braun to visit Roma whenever he wishes to discuss a few points.

Quoted

“Should we not be freed from Versailles, we can seek out nations with whom we can secure military alliances.

However as Chile is the soul country not party to the Treaty of Cleito, this is impossible as signatory nations are forbard from establishing military treaties with Germany.

Quoted

[OOC: Historically, Britain, France, Italy, and the USA were the major powers with whom Versailles was negotiated. Are there others here, or shall we assume countries like Atlantis concluded separate peace treaties?]

I reckon you can include Nordmark as well.

...Mmm, no, the Social Democrats appear to be more of a left to centre bunch. They have little in common with the KPD, which in turn loathes them.

Quoted

as Chile is the sole country not party to the Treaty of Cleito, this is impossible as signatory nations are forbard from establishing military treaties with Germany.

Actually, there's another one: Turkey.

And a whole bunch of NPCs as well, if you want to take that route...

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*public statement*

The Government of the Philippines extends its congraulations to Herr Braun, and hopes for only the friendliest of relations between our countries in the coming years.

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*private diplomatic statement*

The Government of the Philippines will support Germany in its bid to have the Versailles Treaty repealed. Perhaps when the Karlsruhe visits Manila the senior German officer and the German Ambassador can join Señor de Varga, the Filipino Foreign Minister, for an evening of discussion, bratwurst and schnapps?

**Official note from Netherlands:

The dutch government congratulates Herr Braun, in the hopes that Dutch-German relations keep improving under his mandate.


This government also wishes to support German's bid to see the Versalles Treaty lifted, or at least modified up to less strict demands, enough to allow Germany to keep a decent self-protection army and navy.

Our Government's point of view is that, as Netherlands is an immediate neighbour of Germany, its internal stability is a primary matter of concern.
A more reasonable treaty giving the Germans enough forces to guarantee her integrity against any possible external agression will surely give the new Chancellor enough credit between the German people to calm down the existing unrest. That measure will also stop the most extremist right-winged parties earning support on the grounds that Germany is virtually defenceless.


So we offer Netherlands as a possible neutral spot for negotiations between the Entente and the German Government to redraw the Versalles Treaty in the lines described. So, we formally invite all the nations concerned to a meeting at Amsterdam to discuss this matter in depth, at a date to be agreed between us all.

The Chilean Government wishes to congragulate the incoming Chancellor Bruan for his victory.

The Chilean Government views the support of a Catholic faction with some interest and wonders how the Vatican views this election.

Naval Authorities also await confirmation of the scheduled arrival of the German Navy's newest cruiser to Valparaiso. The Navy plans to have an reception waiting for the vessel's crew, and a proper escort into the harbor.

The South African government congratulates Herr Braun hoping that South African-German relations will imporve over the following years dispite the outcome of the Great War.

The Government of South Africa also supports Germany´s position in that the country should be able to defend itself.

(OOP: Great news, Rocky, keep ´em coming. I´m curious to see to what all this will lead us.)

Please note: Otto Braun is the President, not Chancellor. Wilhelm Cuno remains the Chancellor.

The president appears to be largely a figurehead, at least while the government is working properly. A key duty is to ask parties in the Reichstag to form new governments when necessary. He also has considerable power to enact legislation (which Ebert did not use much) during crises, provided he has the support of a minority of Reichstag members. Historically, Hindenburg used these powers late in the twenties when it became difficult to get any kind of coalition government in the Reichstag.

The Chancellor is a member of the Reichstag and actually runs the government, setting policy and so forth. So while Braun has made some statements about defense, it'll be up to Chancellor Cuno, Foreign Affairs Minister Stresemann, and Defense Ministers Gessler to do something about it.

Various private correspondences:

To Italy: "There may be an opportunity for the president or a member of the government to visit Roma in the summer."

To the Philippines: "Your support is most appreciated, and a dinner during the Karlsruhe visit would certainly be appropriate."

To the Netherlands: "We are pleased that you understand the need to disempower the extremists in our political system. The offer of hosting talks is generous, and will be kept in mind if talks do prove to take place."

To Chile: "A September date is anticipated for Karlsruhe, but at this point a precise day can not be determined. We will have a better idea once the passage through Russian waters is completed. The crew of the Karlsruhe will no doubt be looking forward to visiting your fine port when that time comes."

To South Africa: "We thank you for the congratulations, and are pleased that you appreciate our need for adequate defensive military forces."

Russian response:

Government of Russian Federation are convinced that present German government, and future governments for as long as can be forseen, are determined to avoid belligerent and disruptive policies followed by previous Imperial regime. Government of Russian Federation believe that Germany may safely be allowed to take her place among world naval, aerial, and military powers, and therefore agree that it is time for revision of military clauses of Versailles Treaty. Russian government are less convinced of pacific intntions of Hungarian government (as shouts of Nem! Nem! Soha!! rise regularly from Parliament Building in Budapest), and therefore do not support revision of Treaties of Trianon, Neuilly, or St. Germaine.

French response:

We recall with heavy hearts the sacrifice of the flower of French youth that the mothers of France made to attain our present safety from attack by Germany. It will be hard for us to face them if we give up the protections attained thereby. However, the Grenoble discussions between the French and German governments have borne fruit in the relations between France and Germany. Trade between our two countries is high, and growing. Our citizens visit one another's countries in increasing number, and often it is former soldiers, who once faced one another over the barbed wire that scarred France for four long years who are most interested in getting to know 'the fellows on the other side of the wire'. These indications give us confidence in the pacific intentions of the German people and government, and thus, the government of the Republic of France are willing to relax the military terms of the Versailles Treaty.

<snip outraged vituperation from the press of the French Right, which is unprintable anyway>

As a game aside, since Germany is an industrial power of the first rank, and has much of the HSF's infrastructure (docks, etc) available in an idled and rundown state, should we make German infrastructure investments cost some fraction of what is laid down in our rules, until the general infrastructure level of Imperial Germany is reached?

Looks like the French do not know what to say. :-)

It was a tough decision, and there was a little Russian arm-twisting involved.

Quoted

As a game aside, since Germany is an industrial power of the first rank, and has much of the HSF's infrastructure (docks, etc) available in an idled and rundown state, should we make German infrastructure investments cost some fraction of what is laid down in our rules, until the general infrastructure level of Imperial Germany is reached?

I would assume that after several years of non-use by Germany, the other slips/drydocks have either decayed to uselessness or been sold to private commercial interests. Ditto factories.

Which is not to say that I wouldn't enjoy such a scenario - it just doesn't seem likely from a roleplaying perspective.

I'll let you guys hash that out; either way is fine with me.

Atlantis agree's with it's fellow FAR allies, after 7 years of peace Germany has shown that it is willing to refrain from antagonistic behavior and maintain good relations with its nabours. The treaty of Versailles as such is seen in the eyes of the Atlantian government as a heavy handed treaty. We support the notion of revising the treaty of Versailles.