Chapter 1561: Congress Bombing
It is not uncommon to seek cheap mineral resources in West Africa and use the price difference between industrial products and raw materials to obtain relatively considerable profits from industrial development.
This is the path that British industry is taking now. When the economic crisis broke out, the prices of industrial products plummeted, and the prices of raw materials also fell. However, the relationship between the two is fluctuating. If the decline in industrial product prices is smaller than the decline in raw material prices, it can turn losses into profits.
Britain itself controls a large number of colonies, so it can reduce the production costs of raw materials. For example, India is rich in agriculture and mineral resources, and has extremely low labor costs. In this way, Britain has a way to lower the price of raw materials in India. The overseas colonies in East Africa do not have such conditions.
In addition to the small population in the East African colonies, the more important point is that the people in the East African colonies were mainly immigrants, and their political status was higher than that of the Indians under British rule.
If West Africa can integrate with East Africa economically, this problem can be solved well. There are considerable cheap labor resources and minerals and energy needed by East Africa.
…
February 2, 1934, Berlin.
After a long period of economic depression, Berlin's economy finally showed a significant recovery in early 1934. Factories resumed work, workers were reemployed, Berlin's industrial machines resumed operation, and consumption was also boosted.
The direct promoter of all these phenomena is Prime Minister Adolf, who came to power just last year. Now, Adolf has delivered an economic report that satisfies most German citizens, and his support rate has once again increased.
If we say that when Adolf first came to power last year, the German Labor Party and the German Social Democratic Party could still compete with him in terms of public support, now the gap between the two has been completely widened by the German National Party.
German workers who have enough to eat will throw themselves into the arms of the German National Party without hesitation. They will naturally support whoever can bring them a stable life. The political demands of the lower-class people in Germany who have experienced the Great Depression are so low.
However, this is not surprising. Just imagine, if there had been no Great Depression, no matter what the German government did, the lower-class Germans would not buy it. They would complain that they did not have a decent and comfortable job.
But after experiencing the famine during the Great Depression, the demands of the lower-class people in Germany became very low. That is, a job that can support a family. As for whether it is decent, whether the salary is low, or whether the labor intensity is too high, it no longer seems so important. This is probably the "broken window effect."
Without the support of workers, the German Labor Party and the Social Democratic Party would be like fish out of water.
In the Prime Minister's residence, Adolf listened to reports from his subordinates and summarized the German National Party's achievements in governance and domestic situation in 1933.
Heinrich and other National Party members stood in front of his desk, all with a barely perceptible smile on their faces.
Holding a report, Heinrich said, "Your Excellency, under your leadership, the German economy has shown a marked improvement. Now, the entire industrial machinery of the Empire has resumed operation under the guidance of the government."
"Industrial indicators such as coal, steel, and machinery manufacturing have recovered rapidly. Various large-scale domestic projects have also been implemented. Enterprises have made profits, and workers have returned to the factories."
"Along with this, our society as a whole has stabilized, the Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party's support has plummeted, and at the same time, many people have come to their senses and withdrawn from these two evil organizations."
"Our intelligence services have noticed these changes in recent times, with the scale and frequency of Labour and Social Democratic unrest decreasing exponentially across the country."
"On the contrary, the number of members of our party has increased rapidly. At the same time, within the empire, public support for the National Party continues to rise. Under your wise leadership, Germany has restored its former glory..."
Adolf leaned back in his chair, held his head high, and listened to Heinrich's report with great enjoyment. The corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily, and the small mustache under his tall nose was deformed with pride. It can be seen that he was in a very happy mood.
He slowly stood up from his chair, stared at the portrait of Bismarck on the wall and said, "Very good. The past year has fully proved that only under our leadership can Germany have a bright future."
"Poisonous cancers like the Labor Party, apart from bringing unrest and conflict to society, have no positive effects, and the German people will no longer be deceived by them."
"They don't understand that for our great nation, there is only one way to achieve true prosperity and strength, as the great Chancellor Bismarck said, and that is through iron and blood, to win everything the German people want."
"Germany's land is too small, but its population is too large. Therefore, if we want to solve Germany's problems, we must use the sharp sword in our hands to expand and seek more land under the sun."
Heinrich said respectfully behind him, "Your Excellency, this is truly insightful advice. Unfortunately, many people don't understand it and have a deep misunderstanding of us."
Adolf turned around, his eyes becoming sharper, and he said in a harsh tone, "Sometimes we don't need to reason with those ignorant people, or beg for their approval in a humble manner."
"The German people will naturally stand behind us. All opponents have only one identity: enemies of the German nation."
"We have only one attitude towards our enemies, and that is to send them to hell. Anyone who wants to hinder the German nation deserves neither sympathy nor tolerance."
Having said this, Adolf straightened his back, looked down at his subordinates, and said, "Now, it's time to deal with the Labor Party members. I have only one request for these traitors to the German nation, and that is to spare not a single one..."
The murderous words instantly caused the temperature in the empty office to drop sharply, but the top leaders of the National Party were all eager to try and were ready to go.
Hermann said excitedly, "This should have been done long ago. As for the German Labor Party, these terrorists should be put to death. But, Mr. Prime Minister, what reason should we have to arrest them?"
Although the German Labor Party and the Social Democratic Party have completely lost the strength to compete with the National Party, these two "Labor Party organizations" are still the second most powerful parties in Germany after the National Party.
Therefore, even if the Nationalist Party wants to take action against them, it must find a reason that can convince ordinary German people.
Adolf had already made plans for this. He said confidently, "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that terrorists like the Labour Party have serious mental problems and violent tendencies. Therefore, Labour Party members are likely to plan and participate in violent activities at any time."
Hermann cautiously asked, "The Prime Minister means to frame someone..."
Adolf was obviously dissatisfied with the word "frame-up". He said: "No, Goering, your statement is wrong. After all, everyone knows that the Labour Party is a well-known violent criminal in the international community."
"In the past few years, all kinds of violence and antisocial activities have been very frequent in countries where the Labour Party has organized activities. Therefore, how could we possibly resort to such a low-level and dirty tactic as framing them? Instead, we must expose their true colors to the German people."
Herman quickly said, "Prime Minister, that's a good point. Judging from the behavior of the Labour Party members, we really don't need to take action. They are not clean themselves..."
"But, Prime Minister, what event do you think would better expose the true face of these terrorists in the Labour Party?"
Adolf thought about it for a moment, and suddenly remembered an arson case that had been planned by the Stuttgart SA.
This is a good case. Although the arson was aimed at a newspaper company in East Africa, planning a similar case to discredit the German Labor Party is obviously a good idea.
Of course, if it was just arson, it would not be enough to shock the whole country. It would be better to make the destructive power greater and make the incident even worse, so that the National Party can be more ruthless when dealing with the Labour Party and gain the support and understanding of the German people.
At the same time, the location should also be carefully considered. It is best to choose the most eye-catching and solemn place, which will make it easier to arouse public outrage. If it can cause bloodshed and casualties, the effect will be even better.
Thinking of this, Adolf's eyes suddenly lit up. He said to Hermann and the others, "What do you think of Congress? If something bad happened there, it would definitely attract the attention of the entire nation."
"As for the malicious incident, the script is written like this: because they are dissatisfied with the election results, violent elements of the Labour Party, under the planning and command of the Labour Party's top leaders, attempted to kill members of Congress by planting explosives..."
It has to be said that Adolf's idea shocked other senior members of the National Party. After all, the words "Congress", "explosion", and "murder of Imperial parliamentarians" put together would probably cause a sensation in the whole world, not to mention Germany.
Herman said with some worry, "Will this cause too much noise and cause the situation to get out of our control?"
Adolf, however, was completely unconcerned. He said with a hint of enthusiasm, "The bigger the commotion, the better. Only in this way can we be more unrestrained in dealing with the Labour Party's actions."
"As for the development of the situation, if it was a year ago, we would have naturally needed to be cautious, but now we have become the ruling party, the government departments are in our hands, and naturally we have the final say on the results of the investigation."
Then he turned to Heinrich and said, "Your department will be responsible for this matter. It must be kept strictly confidential. At the same time, all evidence must point to the German Labor Party. Also, the explosion should not be too widespread. Two or three people injured or killed are acceptable."
Heinrich felt a little nervous about Adolf giving him the task. After all, this task had to be carried out in the Congress, one of the centers of power in the empire. Moreover, it would cause an explosion, which would cause casualties. If there was any mistake, his political career and life would probably be over.
However, although Heinrich knew the risks, he still went ahead and pushed forward. He pushed the legs of his glasses with his fingers, and with a fierce glint in his shrewd eyes, he said, "Prime Minister, don't worry. We promise to handle this perfectly and no evidence will be found against us."
Heinrich, who looks gentle and refined, is actually an executioner who makes the whole of Germany feel fear and kills people without leaving any trace. After all, working in the intelligence department, some shady means are inevitable.
He had done countless dirty work for the National Party and Adolf.
Adolf was very satisfied with Heinrich's attitude: "I believe you can do the best you can. Now let's start discussing the domestic military industry and the military situation..."
After handing over full authority to Heinrich, Adolf still focused on the military. After all, from the beginning to the end, the National Party's goals were centered around war preparation and expansion, which was determined at the beginning of their establishment.
…
Time flies and it is the end of February. On February 23, the German National Party reports on its economic work to the parliament.
Many senior German officials, including Adolf, attended the meeting. When the meeting was halfway through, there was a sudden explosion from the Labor Party seats.
A timed explosive that had been placed under a seat was detonated, instantly blowing two Labour MPs into the air. The shock wave injured several MPs, three of whom fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
The explosion caused panic in the meeting hall. Many MPs were shocked and at a loss, while some hid under their chairs in fear. The senior members of the National Party above also pretended to be serious and angry.
At this moment, a team of guards suddenly rushed in. They went straight to the Labour Party seat, controlled everyone, and found more explosives from under the chairs.
The Labor Party Chairman Thälmann's face changed instantly. He immediately realized that the Labor Party had been tricked, but the guards did not give them time to explain. They simply pushed them all to the ground and controlled them all.
At this moment, Adolf pretended to have just recovered from his shock. He said, "Everyone, calm down. Someone wants to disrupt the meeting. There may be danger at this scene. Except for the Labor Party, everyone should evacuate in an orderly manner and leave this place to the guards while we wait for the professionals to investigate..."
At this time, the members of the Imperial Parliament who were unaware of the truth did not care what happened. They just wanted to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible. After all, who knew if there were other explosives hidden in the Parliament.
So, the members of parliament crouched down and evacuated from the parliament under the protection of the guards. Only the Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party were pinned to the ground.
That afternoon, the German police and security departments issued an investigation report: Marinus, a member of the Labor Party, was the culprit of the bombing. According to their investigation, this Labor Party member suffered from serious mental illness. Marinus brought explosives into the parliament and, with the cooperation of other Labor Party members, installed the explosives in the parliament in advance.
However, due to improper operation, Marinus detonated the explosives prematurely, which led to his own death. The Labour MP Del who was killed with him was also his accomplice.
German police and security departments finally confirmed that the bombing was planned by the Labor Party and had taken Thälmann and other senior Labor Party officials into custody.
Adolf and the German National Party quickly closed the case without giving the Labor Party any chance to defend itself. At the same time, Adolf, as the Reich Chancellor, issued a telegram labeling the German Labor Party, including the German Social Democratic Party, as a terrorist organization, and demanded that the entire country arrest the Labor Party.
For a time, German prisons were instantly overcrowded. Tens of thousands of German Labor Party and Social Democratic Party members were arrested and imprisoned. Some people were directly convicted and shot by the Adolf government. At the same time, a large number of accumulated cases were put on them.
(End of this chapter)
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