Chapter 103 Currency War II
"Then what should we do?" Ludendorff looked at Chief of General Staff Seeckt with bright eyes. "Germany is facing a disaster. Do we still want to allow traitorous criminals to stay on stage?"
He means launching a coup to overthrow President Abbott! But Admiral Sekter remained silent.
"Your Excellency, General, now is not the time!" Hessmann saw the scene a little embarrassed and quickly took over the topic, "After all, the disaster has not happened yet, the people have not fallen into hell, and... now our people are staying with the Social Democratic Party On stage! This responsibility is not just for Albert, but for everyone.”
The current political landscape in Germany is very strange. The Social Democratic Party is "semi-opposition". The president of the German Empire is Albert of the Social Democratic Party, but the cabinet is composed of non-socialist parties such as the Catholic Center Party, the Democratic Party, the People's Party, and the National Party. .
In other words, the Social Democrats have the president and are the largest party in parliament, but the cabinet is not in the hands of the Social Democrats. Moreover, the president of the Weimar Republic was not a ceremonial vase, but a super president with more power than the emperor. Under the Constitution, President Abbott can even impose a state of emergency and turn himself into a dictator!
"The current situation is that all the major parties are tied together and everyone is responsible for this disaster." Hersman said. “This reminds me of Russia before Kerensky’s offensive!”
"The Bolsheviks are in opposition!" Ludendorff interrupted. In fact, the National Socialist German Workers Party, which he cooperated with, was also an opposition party.
"Yes, we shouldn't take the blame together with the Social Democrats!" Hessmann paused, his eyes slowly swept over everyone present, and finally stopped at Gustav, who was fat and had a mustache. .on Stresemann. "I recommend that the current cabinet be dissolved."
"The cabinet was dissolved?" Gustav Stresemann pondered for a moment, "Should we let the Social Democratic Party bear all the responsibilities?"
He understood what Herschman meant. From a democratic political point of view, whoever is on stage now is unlucky! The reparations extorted by the Allies could not be paid at all, but the German government did not dare to resist to the end. In the end, the mark reserve would inevitably become a huge negative number, and then the German currency would become waste paper.
In this situation, the opposition parties can attract voters with high profile and grow stronger, while the ruling parties can only bear the scapegoat until they are finally crushed to death by the scapegoat.
"Someone has to bear the responsibility," Herschmann nodded. "If we let Ebert's Social Democratic Party take full responsibility, then by 1923 at the latest, Germany will be back on track."
In his memory, when Germany's hyperinflation was at its worst in 1923, buying a loaf of bread cost hundreds of millions of marks! When Germany finally issued the Land Rent Mark stable currency, one trillion old Marks were exchanged for one Land Rent Mark!
It has to be said that it is a miracle that the Weimar Republic did not collapse immediately after this kind of inflation that affected all Germans. The reason for this miracle is probably the Weimar political model of "everyone takes the blame together".
"But the president has great powers," Gustav Stresemann stared at Hersman for a while. He knew the role Hessman played in the Russian Revolution. Then he glanced at Admiral Seekt and said: "The president can use the emergency authorization to establish an almost dictatorial rule with the support of the Social Democratic Party."
"It depends on the support of France." Hessmann shrugged. Of course he knew that people like Stresemann would not worry about the Social Democratic Party without guns establishing a dictatorship. This big man who had won the dynamite award in history Politicians must have been worried that the army would do this after the fall of the Social Democrats.
Hessmann paused, then continued: “The choice now lies with France, and if they do not take away our monetary sovereignty, the Social Democrats, who are fully in power, will not need a state of emergency to consolidate power.
On the other hand, if Mark collapses. Then Germany will fall into an unprecedented crisis. In this case, whoever becomes the new president must start to solve the crisis. Only by saving Germany's economy first will there be a public base for establishing a dictatorship. Mr. Stresemann, I don’t think you think that in a country like Germany, where the internal economy is collapsing and the external Allies are aggressive, the guns of a few people alone can suppress public opinion and establish a dictatorship, right? "
Herschmann's analysis reassured Stresemann. He was not actually opposed to Hindenburg or Ludendorff becoming dictators, and he was not very in favor of republican democracy. But he is worried that the military will do whatever they want after putting their boss in office. Today's Germany is not the Germany of 1914. It really does not have the strength to confront Britain and France.
"Who is president?" Stresemann asked.
"We would like Field Marshal Hindenburg and General Ludendorff to serve as president and vice president respectively," Admiral Seeckt replied.
"Vice president?" Stresemann thought for a moment and nodded, "There should indeed be a vice president."
The establishment of a vice president was Hessmann's proposal, because the president of the Weimar Republic held a high position of power. If he died in office, it would be a question of who would take over the power of the president. According to the Weimar Constitution, the acting president would be the Chancellor, a position that belonged to Hitler in 1934 (the year of Hindenburg's death).
"What about the cabinet?" Stresemann asked again. “Is it still accountability?”
"Of course," said Seeckt, "the constitution will not be amended, and the active military will not interfere in politics. Everything will be the same as it is now, except for a new president."
"Okay," Stresemann was silent for a moment, "the People's Party can consider withdrawing from the cabinet." He glanced at Dr. Schacht, one of the leaders of the Democratic Party.
"The Democratic Party and the People's Party advance and retreat together." Schacht also immediately expressed his position. However, Colonel Papen, who represented the largest party in the coalition government, the Catholic Center Party, said nothing.
Although there were more than 100 political parties in the Weimar Republic, only the Social Democratic Party, the Independent Social Democratic Party, the Catholic Center Party, the Fatherland People's Party, the National Party (split from the Center Party), and the Democratic Party entered the parliament. Now the Center Party, the People's Party, the National Party, and the Democratic Party form a majority coalition government. If the People's Party and the Democratic Party withdraw, the majority government cannot be maintained.
Seeing Stresemann's support, the military politician Schleicher smiled and said, "It's not the time to overthrow the cabinet right now. It will take a few more months until the negotiations with the Allies fail to make satisfactory progress... We estimate that Ebert will issue a presidential decree requiring the cabinet to agree to reparations. The People's Party and the National Party will withdraw from the cabinet at this time to protest President Ebert's order.
And Prime Minister Fehrenbach will then ask the president to dissolve the parliament and hold a new election."
The plan on how to overthrow President Ebert was of course drawn up by Colonel Schleicher, the chief of the General Staff Political Department.
He paused and continued, "If in this election, no matter how many seats we can get, we must first let the Social Democratic Party and the Independent Socialist Party form a minority cabinet. We are in the opposition and call on the people to continue to run on gold. After the collapse of the German currency, if we have enough seats, we will initiate an impeachment case and drive Ebert out of office. If not, we will pass a no-confidence motion to force Ebert to dissolve the parliament again for a general election. If Ebert uses the state of emergency authorization, then we will mobilize the masses to surround the presidential palace and force him to resign!"
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