I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 129



Only Noblemtl

EP.129 Pre- and Post-processing (1)

A harsh yoke was imposed on defeated Germany.

First of all, the territory was reduced.

“Germany’s eastern border is the Oder River.”

This was the border that was decided as a result of a compromise between the Soviet Union, which was pushing along the Oder-Neisse River, and the British, which was pushing Germany’s eastern border as far east as possible.

Thanks to this, Germany now has a territory of 378,000 square kilometers, slightly larger than the original 357,000 square kilometers.

Considering that the Weimar Republic originally had a territory of about 469,000 square kilometers, this was also a devastating loss for the Germans.

The Allies added punishment here.

“The union of Germany and Austria is hereby revoked and the two countries are permanently divided.”

The annexation of Austria, which had been approved by the international community, was annulled, and Austria was separated from the empire.

“All Germans in the Sudetenland will be expelled to Germany, and the area will become part of Czechoslovakia.”

There were also minor territorial changes, with several square kilometers of territory ceded to the Netherlands and Belgium.

But what really mattered was the division of territory.

German territory was divided into four, no, six parts.

“We have a part to play too!”

Because France kept whining, the United States turned its share of Saar into the ‘International Mandate of Saar’ and entrusted it to France.

“The Ruhr is the heart of Germany, and it would be unconscionable for the United States to eat it all by itself.”

Under pressure from Britain and Korea, the Ruhr became an international mandate, jointly ruled by Korea, Britain, and the United States.

Instead, the Rhineland and Baden became the United States’ share,

“Ah, Baden has been plundered enough, so that’s good.”

In exchange for this exchange, Korea received Bavaria, Württemberg, Franconia, Thuringia, and Hamburg.

“This is enough to break even.”

Britain received Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, and Westphalia, excluding the Ruhr.

The Soviet Union occupied Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and parts of Silesia.

The Soviet Union, which had claimed a share up to the Weser River, took a step back.

Instead, northern East Prussia and eastern Poland, which had been taken from Poland, were formally incorporated into Soviet territory.

In return for reducing Polish territory in this way, the Soviet Union ceded to Poland all German territories east of the Oder River, including southern East Prussia and Pomerania.

The capital, Berlin, was divided among the four victorious nations: Korea, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, according to their respective contributions.

The Soviet Union occupied 45% of the total area, and the remaining 55% was divided among Korea, Britain, and the United States.

This kind of territorial division also took place in Austria, which was part of the German Empire.

Like Berlin, it was occupied by four countries, and the territory was divided into four relatively even parts.

The largest, Lower Austria and Burgenland, were given to the Soviet Union,

Styria and Carinthia went to Britain, Upper Austria and Salzburg to Korea, and Tyrol and Vorarlberg to the United States.

Once the territories were established, the Soviets began ethnic cleansing of millions of Germans outside the “established German borders.”

“Everything goes wrong.”

The Czech Republic and Poland also joined in.

More than 10 million Germans were deported to Western Europe.

This single ethnic cleansing completely destroyed the German communities in Eastern Europe that had developed over a thousand years.

The history of the German people’s eastward expansion and colonial movement in the East ended here.

The price Germany had to pay did not end there.

“The total amount of reparations to be paid by Germany will be 54 billion dollars.”

Of this, the Soviet Union’s share was $28 billion.

South Korea agreed to receive $8 billion as its share.

Of course, it was realistically impossible to receive all of this compensation.

In the case of Korea, this compensation was used to purchase the assets of the war criminal companies that were brought to trial and was left as a debt to the German government.

“German technology, factory equipment is sweet.”

But Germany’s karma is not over yet.

“The denazification of Germany begins.”

Among public officials in key public offices, those with Nazi ties began to be forced out.

“No, you’re saying that you’d be kicked out just for joining the Nazi Party? It was a time when you couldn’t even participate in society if you weren’t a Nazi.”

“We’ll review it later and accept it, so stay out for now.”

The German Wehrmacht, which still had some semblance of existence, was completely disbanded.

The weapons were recovered and either turned into scrap metal or exported to third countries.

“No, how are we going to defend our country without the National Defense Forces?”

“Don’t say X. You Germans, you were given 100,000 soldiers during the Weimar Republic, but you are the ones who turned Europe into a sea of ​​fire. Even if you only have 10,000, you are a dangerous people, so don’t even dream of having an army.”

Germany thus became a completely demilitarized state.

“Just maintain order with the police force. That’s what suits you best.”

The Allies also restored the Weimar Constitution, which the Nazis had destroyed.

“I’ll even change the Constitution. Just shout out something like Nazism and I’ll feed you beans and rice.”

The Germans suffered from the increased punishment.

“This is not enough.”

Allied and Soviet forces used German prisoners of war to remove mines and landmines, and to ‘restore’ devastated farms, factories, and mines.

Germans complained that their work was tantamount to slave labor.

“How long do I have to do this?”

“Until everything is fixed, or until we say we are done.”

In the case of the Soviet Union, this period was ten years.

Moreover, the Germans had to face their own sins.

Many civilians were forced to go to concentration camps and witness the atrocities committed by the Nazis, the crimes they had turned a blind eye to.

“Go talk about your slanderous, dirty words at Hindenburg’s coffin and look! You guys are just monsters!”

War crimes education took place throughout Germany.

The end of this type of punishment could only be a war crimes trial to punish war criminals.

The time was approaching for the Nuremberg war crimes trials that would mark the end of World War II.

*

“Your Majesty, how was the meeting?”

“The atmosphere was a bit cold.”

Stalin, the new US President Harry Truman, and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, all of whom I met in Potsdam, were friendly to me, but there was an inexplicable tension between them.

The reason was obvious.

Even if we were to recognize Eastern Europe as a Soviet sphere of influence, what would Britain and the United States think if they brought in a communist regime on a freight train and established a communist state using the might of the Soviet military as their weapon?

Let’s say we make a hundred concessions and say Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland are like that.

Czechoslovakia should not have been like that.

How can we tolerate the fact that the only democratic country in Eastern Europe was turned into a communist country overnight?

The Czech Republic had clearly stated that it would decide on a government through consensus.

This issue caused Attlee and Truman to show considerable hostility toward Stalin.

I just watched the process unfold and helped coordinate it.

It was a conflict and a standoff that was bound to happen anyway.

This wasn’t something that could be resolved by me stepping in and mediating.

“Let’s talk as we go.”

I boarded the plane with the Foreign Minister.

Come to think of it, Joo Si-kyung and I have been working together in the cabinet for quite some time.

It’s about time to change the cabinet.

I told them what I discussed with the leaders in the secret room in Potsdam.

Most of the issues are known to Joo Si-kyung, so he only told me what was briefly discussed behind closed doors.

The main issues discussed behind closed doors were the Ruhr and Czech problems.

The Ruhr issue arose when the Soviet Union protested its exclusion from the administration of the Ruhr, an international mandate territory.

But Truman and Attlee had no intention of granting this demand.

I had no intention of agreeing either.

Why should I share my share with Stalin?

I deliberately isolated Stalin by remaining silent.

It was the same with the Czech issue.

I said my opinion when I discussed it with Stalin before.

As a result, Stalin only aroused the West’s wariness and gained nothing in return.

It was a very interesting meeting for me.

After listening to my story, Joo Si-kyung expressed his concern.

“If the West and the Soviet Union clash over this issue, won’t we be in an awkward position?”

That’s right.

We joined hands with the Soviet Union in terms of security, but our national system and ideology were tilted toward the West.

It was a position where it was difficult to ignore the demands of both sides.

That’s why I had to be good at walking the tightrope.

I had to get through this ordeal, even if it meant doing acrobatics and twisting my body.

“So just give us one year, and we’ll be out of this awkward situation.”

What happens a year from now?

It’s easy to think about what will happen during that time.

First of all, Italy is on the verge of civil war.

And then the Iron Curtain came down on Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria.

When the confrontation between the two camps is not that intense, you can grumble about choosing your side or my side, but when it becomes a matter of survival, you don’t have the presence of mind to do that.

Wasn’t that the case with the Russo-Ukrainian war?

Apart from middle-sized countries like South Korea, large countries like India have benefited greatly from the confrontation between the two powers.

With the United States, Russia and China all reaching out to each other to take sides, India was able to enjoy the sweet treat.

The Korean Empire could have done the same.

However, if an all-out war breaks out, such talk will be of no use.

But that won’t happen.

You’re starting a war so soon after the end of World War II?

That’s something even Hitler couldn’t do.

Stalin was not a man who liked such adventures,

Truman and Attlee are leaders of liberal democratic countries.

Neither side was foolhardy enough to ignite war.

Of course, there was no guarantee that war would be avoided if the leaders of each country exercised their reason.

The leaders of World War I also all wanted to avoid war.

Efforts to avoid war only resulted in war.

“If I can just buy some time, I’ll do my best.”

“Please do so.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling tired from the long meeting.