Chapter 236 Nobles Are Like Dogs
Xiao Peng and Walter walked in front, and he asked Walter in a low voice: “Walter, why do you say she is not simple?”
"Surname!" Walter said, "August is a noble surname. 'De' has a similar meaning to 'von' and 'zu', meaning 'from'. De August means from the August family."
Xiao Peng nodded: "Isn't this the same as France?"
Walter nodded. "France only has 'De,' while Germany has both 'Von' and 'De' and 'Zu'. However, this 'Von' is different from the 'Von' in Dutch surnames. The 'Von' in the Dutch is a very common surname writing there, and more than half of the people have this name."
Xiao Peng asked in confusion, "There are still nobles in Germany? Didn't the Germans kill the emperor?"
Walter explained: "They killed the emperor but not the nobles. You see, most of the German officers during World War II were from aristocratic families."
After that, he explained to Xiao Peng the origin of the German nobility.
In fact, Germany was a "confederation" a long time ago, consisting of small countries such as "kingdoms", "grand duchies", "duchys" and "principalities".
The confederation is different from the federation. The confederation is equivalent to the current European Union, an organization for joint action formed through treaties, and everyone usually does their own thing; while the federation is similar to the United States, where the fifty states each have their own government and laws, but are managed by the federal government.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, they belonged to the Frankish Empire. Later, they established their own Holy Roman Empire. After being overthrown by Napoleon, they experienced a chaotic period of bullying from all sides. After a difficult and arduous internal, military, and diplomatic struggle, they established the German Empire under the rule of the emperor. The country also changed from a confederation to a federal state. At that time, the "Iron Chancellor" Bismarck dealt a heavy blow to the nobles of the federal state.
Things changed. After the Germans lost World War I, they expelled their emperor and established the "German Reich," later known to historians as the "Weimar Republic." However, while the Weimar Republic expelled the German royal family, it did not expel the nobility, as the aristocracy itself had overthrown the royal family. The Weimar Republic's president was Paul von Hindenburg, and the chancellor was Franz von Papen. The former was a Posen noble, and the latter a Westphalian. Could they possibly rebel against themselves? So, the nobility were allowed to retain their property and titles.
But Franz did a stupid thing. He believed that he could control and use the devil with the mustache. He persuaded Hindenburg to appoint the devil with the mustache to succeed him as chancellor. Unexpectedly, his cleverness backfired. The devil with the mustache directly ruled Germany dictatorially, and those German nobles became the backbone of Germany during World War II.
Later, Germany was defeated and divided into four occupation zones, which were occupied by Britain, the United States, France and the Soviet Union respectively. Later, the British, American and French occupation zones merged into West Germany, while the Soviet occupation zone became East Germany.
The East German nobility was wiped out by the former Soviet Union, and all real estate and estates became "people's property." However, the West German nobility were not deprived of their property, so many nobles were able to survive.
Now the German government does not recognize these noble titles, but the descendants of the nobles still inherit these titles according to the previous traditions, and have set up their own organizations to determine whether a person really has noble blood.
Finally, Walter said, "Many old aristocratic families still hold a large number of seats in the German government, and there are even more descendants of aristocrats in German companies. Calling Selina d'Auguste a 'Princess' is not an exaggeration."
"Princess?" Xiao Peng frowned and asked, "How can there be a princess without an emperor?"
Walter laughed heartily and said, "'Princes' and 'Princesses' are everywhere in Germany. In other places, only the children of kings and emperors are called princes and princesses, but in Germany? It turns out that there are various 'kingdoms', 'duchys', 'principalities', 'grandduchys' and so on. The children of any title holder can be called this. Take Khedira, for example. His last name is 'Hardenberg', which is also an aristocratic surname, so he can also be called a prince."
Xiao Peng was dumbfounded: "A 'prince' who works as a bodyguard?"
Walter spread his hands and said, "Not all descendants of nobles have good lives. It's not surprising that you encounter 'princes' and 'princesses' begging on the streets. Otherwise, where did all the princesses and princes in Grimm's Fairy Tales come from?"
Xiao Peng suddenly understood, and then he asked in confusion: "Then why do you say that Selina is not simple?"
Walter explained, "Like I said, we're both from Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Historically, this state was formed by the merger of the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Kingdom of Württemberg. For example, Stuttgart belonged to the original Württemberg, while Karlsruhe belonged to the Grand Duchy of Baden. Selina said she was from Karlsruhe and her last name was August, which was the surname of the Grand Duke of Baden."
Xiao Peng held out his hand and said, "Stop! This is too chaotic, it gives me a headache!"
Walter spread his hands and said, "Who can be blamed for this? There are countless European nobles! In addition to the royal nobles, there are so many descendants of various aristocratic classes throughout history. I don't know how many people in Europe now have aristocratic blood. With so many nobles, it's natural that prices are not as high. But as far as I know, the August family is still very powerful in Karlsruhe. The buildings of the Baden State Theater and the Baden State Art Museum are all owned by the August family. Even the land of Karlsruhe University belongs to them."
Xiao Peng quietly pointed at the two people behind him and asked, "Do you and the others look like they are from aristocratic families?"
Walter shrugged: "Maybe a distant relative? But after all, she has this surname, right? Well, boss, to be honest, this is a kind of respect, just like your country's respect for the descendants of Confucius. Besides, she is also my compatriot, and I just protect her."
Xiao Peng was stunned: "You also know Confucius?"
Walter's eyes widened as he spoke, "That's not surprising at all. Four hundred years ago, Italian missionaries translated the Analects into Latin and brought it back to Europe. I've read that book. It's a very wise book. In fact, many people in Europe have read it, so many Europeans' understanding of China is still stuck in a very ancient and backward period. Damn it, after listening to Bruch tell me about his experiences in China, I began to regret letting him go! I should have gone there!"
Xiao Peng shrugged. "If you want to go, we can go together next time! I mean, how long have we been walking? Have we reached the 'ruins' yet?"
Walter pointed to the front and said, "We should be almost there. Look, there are more and more young people here!"
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