Germany Part 3 (The Evil End)

This is the final chapter. Last time, Germany had fallen in World War 1. This picks the story up from there and brings us to the evil end. 

After World War 1, the victors decided that Poland was allowed to exist. Before this, Poland had been split up between Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Germany. Austria-Hungary was split up. It became like we know today, 2 separate small nations. In fact, World War 1 was the war that for the most part created the current map of Europe. Germany's economy sunk after the war. The reparations they were asked to pay were brutal, and the leadership seemed to think that cranking up the ol' money printer was the best way out of it. So, can you say...inflation! The poor German people were made to choke on it. America stepped in with loans to Germany so they could pay Britain and France and then Britain and France paid America. Well, Germany rode that lifeline up up up, and then boom! Great depression, America pulled back sharply to deal with its own problems, and Germany was cut adrift.  Almost overnight, things reverted back to suck-Ville. Meanwhile, Russia had had a revolution, and become the Soviet Union. 

Along came a certain mustached man. What the German people saw was a man who would save them, and make Germany great again! In some ways, he did. Yet, he was also gripped by a demonically evil ideology. (I don't understand all those details of what he believed and how he got there for I never read Mein Kampf) Adolf Hitler got elected and set about restoring the economy. Then the ideology came up. All Jews were bad, in fact, anyone who wasn't a fair-skinned Anglo-Saxon was bad. Especially Jews though, they had concentration camps for them. (This is especially sad because Bismarck's Germany was a refuge for Jews fleeing antisemitism.) Then there was the revenge part. There was a desire to do World War 1 again but this time, win! Japan and Italy had both felt they got raw deals from World War 1 as well, so they were the allies this go around. 

Hitler started out by annexing part of Czechoslovakia, and Austria. (Austria's leadership essentially handed him the keys to their country!) He also signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. Germany has always been working hard on their military, equipment, logistics, and tactics. They developed a military advance strategy called Blitzkrieg. When they unveiled Blitzkrieg in Poland, it was a beatdown. They took back "their" part of Poland and let the Soviet Union have "theirs" back as well because they invaded from the other side. Ultimately, in Europe, this was a straightforward war. Germany had such power and speed, that what they wanted they took. The countries that were ultimately conquered by them were many. So I will focus on a few "lowlights" and the ultimate demise. 

A constant theme throughout this series has been Germany's continual advance and France's continual stagnation. Germany had come up with a lot of new tactics under the realm of "blitzkrieg". France was still in World War 1 mode. They and Britain sought to defend the border. They didn't bother putting much effort into defending the Ardenne Forest region though, because no one could get through the Ardennes. Germany blitzed through it anyway. They punched a wedge of soldiers into the defensive line and separated the British and French. The British escaped back to their island, and France fell. For the second time in 80 years, Germany took Paris. 

I don't understand Blitzkrieg, but, it involved a very coordinated attack of infantry, backed by the latest and greatest tanks, and air support. It was designed to avoid trench warfare. Germany needed quick victories, not wars of attrition. Attrition and time in a war favored the British who were able to move soldiers and resources in from their holdings and friends like America. This blitzkrieg method worked in France. So Britain stood alone. Defiant, unbeaten but hard against it because the Soviet Union and Germany were still allies. Germany had to squash Britain somehow. They threw their air force against it, but to no avail, Britain survived. Another hat tip to the British. Once again, they held the line. In the First World War, they held the French trench, in the second, they held their island. This would be very important later.

Hitler made the decision that cost him everything. He attacked the Soviets. The blitz went deep into Russian territory but finally ground to a halt just before Moscow. Winter came and the soviets began to regroup with their huge reserves of manpower. Remember how Britain held their Island? America decided that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and opted to help the soviets. They began to ship the Soviets materials to fight with and then mass soldiers on the British Island. When the time was right they stormed into France and Italy. Germany, the world's most powerful nation (militarily wise) was overstretched. They fell back on 3 fronts. In the south, the British led an American/British invasion of  Italy. (Germany had been holding Italy when the regime fell. ) In the west, America led an American/British invasion of German-held France. In the east, the Soviets began to push back. All in all now is a good chance to drop in another quote from Bismarck, he said back in his day, 

"The Americans are truly a lucky people. They are bordered to the north and south by weak neighbors and to the east and west by fish."

Ultimately, Germany fell. The west was given to the western powers. The east was given to the Soviet Union. Berlin was divided into 2 zones. Germany ceased to exist for over 40 years.  Germany had strong neighbors, and this hurt it. This is something America didn't have to face after 1850. Still, Germany ended up being the victim of her own war in the end. 

Otto Von Bismarck had led the unification and creation of a powerful nation, but in 2 generations, through incompetence and evil, the men who came after managed to destroy it entirely. Otto had a clear vision. He wanted a united German nation. The greed, incompetence, and racism that came after ultimately destroyed it completely. Germany was built on the foundation of war and conquest. This was also how it died.

-Loren

Germany Part 2 (Germany's Downfall)

Last time we discussed the rise of Germany. A lot of details were left out, but I'm not sure how else to keep it concise. We left the story around 1900 or so. If you haven't read part 1. Click on this first before continuing with Part 2.  As we go along, I would like the reader to know that I don't want to portray Germany as being "the good guy." I really don't believe any nation should be so militaristic and cruel as Germany was here. Yet, it's hard to say that they were much if any worse than most of the other nations who were actively attacking in this war. 

Bismarck was fired by the new young king. Before he left, he had a complex system of alliances. This protected Germany from the type of situations you will soon read about. The new young king never learned this, and whoever he surrounded himself with didn't either. There was unrest throughout Europe. In 1914 a prince from Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a Serbian. There was lots of bad feeling between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. They were apt to go at it at any moment, and this was merely the tipping point. Perhaps in the future, I will write a series on World War 1, but for now, I'm going to keep it tight, because this is about Germany. 

2 things that were particularly alarming about Europe now that pertain to this situation. 1. It seemed like everyone in Europe was greedy and spoiling for a fight. 2. The alliances were alarming if things escalated. Let's try to work through this. Serbia and Russia were allies. Russia and France were allies. Britain had guaranteed Belgium that it would protect Belgium's neutrality. Germany and Austria-Hungary were allies as well. So let's blow it up, here's how it became the great European war. Serbia assassinated Austria-Hungary's prince. Germany agreed to back Austria-Hungary up if they sought to get "justice". Russia agreed to protect Serbia from Austria-Hungary. This immediately puts us in a situation where Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Serbia are at war. 

Germany's war strategy was thought out with the knowledge that they were in a desperate predicament, being stuck between Russia and France. Both were planning to attack them because France was going to help Russia. Germany decided to invade France and quickly knock them out before Russia had time to get going, and then turn and face Russia. France had great border defenses along the border they shared with Germany. Germany bypassed this border and invaded Belgium, and then into France from Belgium. The problem was, Belgium didn't cooperate. They saw it as an invasion and fought it. This brought Britain into the war on the side of France and Belgium. Germany advanced to about 20 miles from Paris and both sides tried to outflank each other, they dug trenches running from the English Channel to Switzerland and sat in a state of trench warfare for the rest of the war on that front. Hat tip to the British. The situation got so dire in France that their army mutinied and looked like they would lose to Germany again, but the Brits held the line for them. Germany also was unaware that France had mutinied and so didn't press their advantage. 

Russia mobilized and Germany's worst fear was realized. They had to hold their ground in France while beating back the Russians. They actually beat Russia. Partly by being way better militarily and because they helped Lenin get into Russia. Lenin started the revolution that created the Soviet Union. Germany also tried to attack various points of the British Empire in Africa and possibly a few other places to draw Britain away from France. Austria-Hungary really struggled, not only did they have Serbia, Italy attacked them, and so did Russia. Germany had to bail them out at various points. Germany talked the Ottoman Empire into coming in on their side, but the Ottomans were weak and not much help. Ultimately, Germany had a real chance of winning the war when they knocked Russia out, but, America came in.

America bankrolled Britain's war efforts. America got rich by continually building goods and sending them to British Canada for distribution and loaning money. This protected Britain from the financial ruin Germany was facing.  Germany got desperate and used their submarines to sink merchant ships. One time they sunk a passenger ship called the Lusitania, and many civilians, including Americans, died. American sentiment was turned against the Germans. They kept bankrolling Britain, but Woodrow Wilson the president kept saying that all parties should sit down and work out an equitable deal for everyone. When Germany tried to talk Mexico into attacking America to distract them from the British support, their telegram was intercepted and given to the Americans. So it was that about the time that Germany had knocked Russia out and was prepared to mass her troops to deliver the knockout blow to France, fresh well equipped Americans arrived in France and held the line. 

Germany remembered Wilson's talk of a fair deal and asked America for a truce. America entered talks with Britain and France. America listened to their sob story and believed it. In short, Germany was told to not only give up a lot of territories, but to disarm, she and her allies were to take responsibility for the whole war, and Germany was to pay an outrageous sum to the others for the damages incurred. Germany protested vehemently. They were told to sign or expect to be attacked. Since America now tipped the scale against them, Germany signed. Germany was awful in this war, but so was everyone else. Germany was never conquered in this war. She had fallen and even been beaten, but not vanquished. The people were angry. The stage was set for a radical to sway the populace, and for a dark menace to take hold. Germany would recover, Germany would rebuild, and then all these people would rue the day! All the German soldiers went home that day, and many were bitter and angry. For now, though they had lives to rebuild. One young Austrian-born German was especially angry, he survived the war, but he was obscure. One day everyone would know his name. It was Adolf Hitler.

Ferdinand Foch, the leader of French, British, and American troops saw the penalties on Germany as being too lenient. He feared that if Germany were not completely vanquished then there would be a problem in the future, he said, “This is not a peace. It is an armistice for twenty years!” He was right. The deal was harsh enough to anger Germany, but not harsh enough to break them. I see now with how long this has gotten that there will need to be a part 3, let's call it "The Evil End."

-Loren 

Germany Part 1 (Germany's Rise)

 Ah, Germany... What a fascinating country. It burst onto the world stage in the 1870s as the world's most powerful nation, and then was deemed too dangerous to exist and wiped out again in the 1940s. It was rebirthed again in 1990 and is once again one of the most powerful countries in Europe.  From my American point of view, I knew very little of Germany's history. I knew that the Hessians in the American Revolution were somehow German. I knew that Martin Luther was German. I knew they were very naughty in World war 2 but that was about it. So, I did some digging. What follows is what I learned. If you enjoy history, you might enjoy this blog. If you don't and were looking for another spiritual-minded one, now's your chance to exit. 

Ok, now let's get into it. In the 900s, an empire of sorts was formed. It was called the Holy Roman Empire. It occupied the areas that we know as Germany today. It was a loose collection of little nations who spoke German and agreed on a few things. Martin Luther would have been born in one of those little countries. The Hessians who were in the American Revolution? Britain hired mercenaries from one of these little nations, and those mercenaries were the Hessians. So, we had Germans, but no Germany. This is how things stood until about 1808 when Napoleon saw this empire as neither Holy, Roman, nor much of an Empire. He conquered it and made the whole area his puppet until enough people ganged up on him to beat him. After Napoleon was gone, the little countries remained in a sort of loose alliance situation similar to how they were before him. They called themselves the German Confederation. This brings us to the 1815-1860 range time-wise. Speaking very broadly, because there were many differences, there is one notable difference of interest between the little German states before and after Napoleon. That difference is Prussia. Prussia was now a member of the confederation, it was an independent power before. 

Prussia was a big deal. True, they had also been conquered by Napoleon, but, Prussia was possibly the 3rd most powerful nation in Europe after France and Britain. In the 7 Years' War (1756-1763) they held their own against the combined forces of Austria and Russia. So, now to get back on track. We are in 1815. There is no Germany, but, there is a collection of little nations that speak German and agree to work together. 2 of those little nations are vying to be the 3rd most powerful nation in Europe. They are Austria and Prussia. These 2 might not really count as "little". Gradually, the concept of a united German nation begins to become more and more popular. In 1862 a couple of very important things happened. Otto Von Bismarck was appointed minister-president and then foreign minister of Prussia. Ultimately he was both president and overseer of foreign affairs. He answered to the Kaiser, or King as we are used to saying in English. Bismarck was a brash and bold sort but with diplomatic genius, he set about creating a plan that would unite the German-speaking peoples. What happens next is a tad complicated, and I'm not sure I understand it all, but somehow, this all called for war, 3 of them.

There were 2 small German states, held by Denmark. Bismarck convinced Austria to help Prussia get them. They split the 2 states, one went to Prussia, and the other to Austria. Both of these states were in the north. Remember this for what happens next. This all happened in 1864. Bismarck had managed to defeat Denmark very quickly, get exactly what he wanted, but then restrain himself from vanquishing the entire country. He also managed to keep anyone from aiding Denmark through diplomacy. 

2 years go by, and during this time tension builds between Austria and Prussia. A desire exists to be the leader amongst the small German states. There can only be one. It's 1866, and Prussia goes to war against Austria. Once again, Bismark pulled a masterstroke and talked others like France into sitting this out, he diplomatically isolated Austria and cut a deal with Italy. They invaded from the south, and he invaded from the north. Prussia had done lots of hard work on their equipment, their strategy, and their logistics. It was a one-sided beatdown again. In fact, this was so short, barely over a month, that it was called the seven weeks war by some. In the aftermath, Austria was made to sign that basically, they wouldn't interfere with Prussia's doings and that the little state Prussia gave to them from Denmark would now be given back to Prussia. Also, Prussia took a couple of other states from Austria.

With these spoils, and with the little states allied to them, Prussia assembled a country, called the North German Confederation. This was now a big German nation, it looked a lot like Germany, but not quite yet. Now, again, Bismarck left Austria intact, he stood against the King of Prussia, who had wanted to march on, and conquer. Bismarck convinced him not to do so. The King of Prussia is now the king of the new German Confederation that Bismarck has just formed. Bismarck sought a quick resolution, a peace that would allow for friendly terms with Austria again. If Austria can be persuaded to be friendly with Prussia, then they probably will not attack Prussia when it is facing off with a giant. Bismarck knew, that eventually, his brand new nation, which he had worked so hard for and even gotten shot for (There was an attempted assassination, but amazingly the bullets seemed to just bounce off his ribs, a miracle? Perhaps.) would have to face off against this giant to fully solidify its status as the great German Empire of Europe. There were still small German states who had not seen the need to join this endeavor, they were bordered by the giant. This giant was France. Everyone was afraid of France. That is, everyone except Bismark. 

So, there are small German states that live next to France and south of the North German Confederation. These small German states should join, but there is reason to believe they don't want to. Should he conquer them? No, that would lead to bad feelings, and then his new nation might have a civil war. Bismarck doesn't want a civil war in his new country. No, these little nations need to be incentivized. If they were convinced that France was out to get them, who would they run to for salvation? Why, I'm glad you asked, the North German Confederation of course! France was already deeply troubled by the rise of this new country. They had bad feelings about this and were starting to saber rattle. Things needed to transpire in such a way that France acted aggressively, and the small nations asked Bismarck for help. Not in such a way that Bismarck would be aggressive and cause the small nations to ask France for help. Bismarck waited for his opportunity. It came when the King of the German Confederation had a meeting with the French ambassador and told Bismarck what France was demanding. Bismarck released a statement to the public that somehow managed to make German peoples feel that their king was disrespected and made the French turn absolutely red-hot mad. I'm not sure what the statement was, but now, France was planning to march straight into Germany and march into Berlin to shut them down. (Berlin was Prussia's capital this entire time.) Their army was led by the emperor Napoleon III and was stuck in the past. (We are in the 1870s now.) Prussia has continually improved its artillery, troop deployments, logistics, etc. 

The neutral German states come calling for help as Bismarck thought they would. He mixes their soldiers with the Prussians so that they are marching as a united German mass. As things turn out, France put up a better fight than Austria, but not as good a fight as predicted. German forces captured  Napoleon III and his entire army, then put Paris under siege. The population was in disbelief and kept trying to deploy reserves, new recruits, and even hot air balloons. (The hot air balloons were to attempt to reach Britain and plead for help.) When they were eating the elephant from the zoo and trying to decide what else from the zoo could be eaten, they finally surrendered. Germany marched into Paris. They drew up some papers. All parties signed, and when the dust settled, all the little German-speaking nations who were in the Holy Roman Empire (except Austria & Switzerland) were part of a brand new nation called the German Empire. Each one had given up their independence, and individual identity to be part of something huge. The year is 1871, and Prussia has voluntarily ceased to exist as a nation, they are now a state inside Germany, and they have replaced themselves with this powerful new empire. France was in shambles. Germany had taken the german speaking nations that they had held control over away. The neutrals had come along because they wanted to. France was required to make payments to Germany. Germany did send food to Paris, and they did give France their country back. France was humiliated and vowed that someday, somehow, and some way, they. would. get. their. revenge! Meanwhile, Germany was at its peak! America was still recovering from her self-destruction attempt known as the American Civil War, and Russia was hopelessly behind the times and low-tech. Britain had a big empire and navy, but not much of an army. So Germany stood tall as the most powerful nation in the world. The king of Prussia is now the king of Germany. 

I don't wish to leave you with the impression that Bismarck was a man of great and upstanding character. I don't think he was. However, he was very gifted in diplomacy and achieved a great thing by simply locking into a goal, and was never distracted from it. He was involved in 3 wars, yet he was never drawn into a war that hindered the goal. Otto Von Bismarck spent the next 19 years working towards protecting his new country. He was more interested in strategic alliances and protecting what he had than he was in conquering. After all, Denmark, Austria, and France were still allowed to exist. The old king had given Bismarck free reign to do his job, but the day came when a new young king replaced the old one and with an eye for expansion, and a desire to make Germany bigger, decided he knew better than Bismarck and fired him. Otto had built something amazing, but the young king didn't appreciate it. How long would Germany be the world's most powerful nation? What if France and Russia attacked Germany at the same time? Bismarck had carefully thought through those things and established agreements to protect against such things. Now, what would happen? Would Germany stay the course? No, no she wouldn't. This was Germany's Rise. The next part will be Germany's Downfall. 

I will close this off with a quote from Bismarck. “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.” This was stated in 1888, and in 1898, he died. In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in the Balkans. This lit a match and all of Europe then eventually the world went off in the powder keg known as World War 1. 

World War 1

World War 2

-Loren

A Letter From a Brother (Chapter 4: Who Decides Who "James" Is?)

He had a quiet life growing up on the family farm in Yorkshire. Then there was leaving home at age 16 and working in a grocery. In his spare time, he studied geometry and math. After 18 months, he had enough of selling groceries. He decided to apprentice with a merchant navy company. His rise was swift, he showed a talent for the sailor's life. It was time for him to become a captain. Instead, he switched to the Royal Navy and started over from the bottom. Very quickly, his merchant ship skills got him up the ranks in the military shipping side. After displaying great surveying and sailing skill in the 7 Years' War (French and Indian war if your history knowledge is primarily American) he was selected for a scientific voyage...

This brings us to 1768. A 39-year-old James Cook, devoted and loyal to his wife, and a man of upstanding character says goodbye to his family and friends and sails around the world. This is a ship, made of wood, and powered by wind. Only traveling 4-5 mph. This trip takes him over 3 years to complete. He lands in Tahiti and sets up an observatory for the British Empire. He scouts out areas around Australia and New Zealand. On this voyage his character is notable. He has respect for the natives he meets and treats them as human beings and urges his crew to do the same. He cares deeply about his crew and puts them first in his decision-making process. He also follows orders faithfully and takes care of the ship and all the other equipment entrusted to him. This gives him a reputation as a man to trust to explore the world. He is probably a little put off by the way the pacific islanders worship him, they think he's a god. However, he lets them do so. 

He is hired for a second voyage. This time he is tasked with discovering whether Antarctica has a useful landmass. He finds there isn't one. What's notable about this trip is that he sails further south than any man has sailed before. His personal desire for glory is beginning to influence his decision process. On the first voyage, he had a job to do and did it masterfully, but on this voyage, he strains his crew and there are whisperings of a mutiny. He is no longer perturbed by the worship and adoration he gets from the natives at various stops. Now, he begins to see the pacific region of the world as his kingdom. Of all the islands, New Zealand is his favorite. He returns home and retires from sailing. It's time for a job that lets him stay with the family. 

James is now pushing 50. He hears that there is a search planned for a northwestern passage. He leans on his political connections and gets himself installed as the captain. A big difference this time though, he doesn't spend time at the shipyard making sure the ship is ready. This is a glory tour for him. He desires to erase certain other explorers from the history books. There is a personal need for glory for himself. On this trip, he discovers Hawaii. He doesn't stay too long though, he sails on north probing around for a passage along the Alaska coast region. The American Revolution is raging, but he's oblivious to it, still looking for the passage. Finally, when cold weather comes, he returns to Hawaii for the winter. He intends to return to Alaska next spring. Unknown to him, he will never see Alaska, England, or his family again. You see, on this trip, he seemed to actually believe he was a god. he sorely abused his men, did unspeakably cruel things to various natives he met on this trip, and was in general, the polar opposite of who he was on the first voyage. He overstayed his welcome at different points, and in Hawaii in particular, the natives began to realize that he was very much a man and an ill-tempered one at that. So, when a native from Hawaii stole something from him, he kidnapped one of the chiefs. He marched him to the beach, intending to take him on a ship as a hostage. However, others came to rescue their chief, they had knives, James shot, then turned to bark an order to his crew, but with his back to the natives temporarily, that's when the stabbing started. 

The "god of the Pacific" died in the sand that day just like any other man. He started out as a "nobody" from a Yorkshire farm, but he rose through the classes and became an esteemed member of the British upper class. When he took his expensive English toys to the Pacific, the natives thought he was a god and worshipped him. He read his press and what the natives thought of him and began to believe it. He got himself killed and hacked to pieces by people he thought of as his inferiors. The natives kept most of his body but returned a few parts to the ship so that they could give him an English funeral. 

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. James 1:9-11

There are 2 realities. 1 reality is what God says. The other reality is what you experience. Never let your experience define your idea of who you are. Only let what God says define who you are. Before God, we are all sons or daughters. We are all His if we believe. Also, God's reality is where eternity is found, so no death in that reality. 

Let's look at this through the lens of James Cook, if he were a believer, understanding his identity from God, it would have been like this: Paragraph 1: James Cook, a son of God. 2: James Cook, a son of God. 3: James Cook, a son of God. 4: James Cook, a son of God. 5: James Cook, a son of God.

Now, let's see what his perceived identity looks like through the lens of his circumstances. Paragraph 1: A nobody from the lower classes, good sailor though. 2: The world's best captain. 3: The world's greatest explorer. 4: The god of the Pacific. 5: A nobody again, but now, a dead and mutilated nobody as well.  

In this life, the rich die. The poor die. Both came with and leave with nothing, so, in that sense they are equal. Yet, during life, we tend to think they are different in value. In God's sight, they aren't. It's time to agree with God. He's right. 

Source Material: Farther Than Any Man -Martin Dugard

-Loren