Russia

 

My trip to Russia is brief. I have no interest in staying after I learn about Joseph Stalin and the atrocities he is overseeing. I soon learned with the coming of Stalin came the end of liberalization in both society and the economy. The beautiful Russia I had been told about was gone. Stalin had placed heavy restrictions on the Russian culture, leaving it barely recognizable to its own citizens. I will never forget the faces of the people I saw on the streets when Stalin announced his "First Five Year Plan." It called for intense economic growth beyond what the people of Russia were capable of dealing with. His production targets were so preposterous, he caused a shortage of goods. The great upheaval he caused in the agricultural sector of Russia would soon cause a widespread famine. The year of 1932 still haunts me, when I think about the starving I witnessed, and the lack of food I had to endure. Thankfully I had left before the "Great Purge", but a friend wrote to me from Russia, and from what I heard, it could not have been much worse. Anyone who he felt displayed signs of treason or betrayal was sent off to the camps. Anyone who he felt threatened his position of power was sent to the camps. After Sergey Kirov died, murders kept following in. Stalin blamed high-ranking officials who threatened his position for Kirov's death. The last I heard was of the 1936 Constitution, which was merely propaganda; Stalin still retained full control of Russia regardless of what social and economic rights were given to citizens.

Nazi Germany

From the journal of "HI" a marvellous teleporting space wizard sent from the future. (This explains my knowledge of future events, and why I never use conventional means of transportation. This also helps explain the apparent typo in the title of the blog.)

I have recently teleported to Germany.

 

Things have changed remarkably since my last visit; I am starting to question why I returned.

 

The Nazis are everywhere and Hitler has become the modern King of Germany. As weeks progress, I notice a simple strategy to Hitler. Propaganda, repetition, and brute force. He began a massive propaganda campaign dedicated to eliminating the Jews and Communists who are responsible for Versailles by stabbing Germany in the back. He also promised to end unemployment by building weapons and military infrastructure. This appealed to many German citizens, especially young men who had been overwhelmed with inflation and disparity as of late. The Sturmabteilung, the Nazis first paramilitary wing, went about bending Versailles in a variety of ways. They produced excess U-boats than were needed for Sweden, they trained tank crews in automobiles, and they even placed fighter pilots in the airmail service for experience. 1933 the Nazis were expanding but still decided to form a coalition government with the Nationalist party who held fairly similar views with the NSADP. Von Hindenburg the current President despised Hitler because he didn't want an Austrian running Germany. However, the nationalists saw Hitler as a puppet that could be manipulated to their liking and convinced von Hindenburg Hitler would collapse under pressure in no time flat. With Hindenburg's death, Hitler fuses the roles of Chancellor and President, becoming the Fuhrer of Germany. The Weimar republic is dissolved and all parties are outlawed except for the NSDAP. He began to violate Versailles by building larger battleships, and exceeding the army restrictions. Soon Hitler identified a new threat. The leader of the Sturmabteilung, Ernst Roehm now possessed tremendous power controlling the Brown Shirts. Hitler perceived him as a threat and called up Heinrich Hinler and his other paramilitary the Waffen SS. The night of June 30, 1934 is one I will never forget. Hundreds of members of the Sturmabteilung were executed, by another paramilitary organization the Waffen SS. Following that night a drastic change occurred. There were no more brown shirts on the streets, Hitler was now being backed by the Waffen SS, an elite, and savage group lead by Heinrich Hinler, an extreme loyalist to Hitler. Then in November of 1935, the situation in Germany became much worse. Hitler passed the Nuremberg laws which set into motion a violent campaign to remove Jews from Germany. It essentially legalized anti-Semitism and heavily restricted what even German-Jewish people could do. Those were terrible times but true violence, and monstrosity appeared with the implementation of the Kristallnacht, where Nazis used widespread force to alleviate Germany of the so called Jewish problem. It was sparked by the assassination of a German secretary by a Jewish refugee. The violence was carried out November 9 and 10^th 1938, and left 90 Jews dead. This marked a change in how the Nazis dealt with Jews, and began a widespread violent attack on all Jewish people within and beyond the borders of Germany. Much of the violence was carried out by two sub-divisions of the Waffen SS: the Einsatzgruppen, and the Totenkopf. The Totenkopf were known for their skull and cross bones insignia and their barbaric treatments of communists and Jewish people. They assisted in the running of the concentration camps and wee infamous for attacking unarmed civilians. The Einsatzgruppen were the murderous fiends who would take over abandoned villages and clear out all remaining civilians. Soon came the death camps in Germany, when the Einsatzgruppen weren't effective enough. Communists, Jewish people, and political enemies, all faced Hitler's wrath. Auschwitz, the largest of the camps, facilitated the killing of over a million people. As one could imagine, this is not the ideal travel destination for me. I am quick to depart.

The United States of America

From the journal of "HI" a marvellous teleporting, space wizard sent from the future. (This explains my knowledge of future events, and why I never use conventional means of transportation. This also helps explain the apparent typo in the title of the blog.)

 

 

 

 

America has been nothing but problems. It had made sense to me why a multitude of Immigration Acts had been implemented to Protect America's identity, and its traditions. A major concern among Americans was that the immigrants would not be assimilated properly if too many entered at once. Therefore it seemed very logical to restrict newcomers, especially if your country is on the line. In those days America was all for isolation, and the citizens supported them for it. Isolation was one of America's shields, like President Harding said, "America's present need is… not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality." It made sense, the last thing America wanted was to become something it wasn't or become divided by foreign customs, and traditions. Like all beliefs, some twisted America's nationalism, and took it too far. This was the case for Wesley Evans and his Ku Klux Klan, a group of white Protestants who believed in preserving America's identity through violent means. This included tar and feathering and beatings that were mainly directed towards blacks, Jews and non-English speaking immigrants. It was quite disturbing how quickly their influence spread through America. It became very apparent very quickly that America was distancing itself from anything non-American. It was occurring both within Parliament and on the everyday streets.

Those heavy immigration restrictions apparently were not enough for the United States government, who encouraged a ban on alcohol. Campaigns flooded the streets, and to my shock Congress would amend the Constitution which prohibited alcohol. I had always thought alcohol turned good men bad, but I was terribly mistaken. A lack of alcohol turned hundreds of seemingly decent men into rebels, and gangsters. The opportunity to make a fortune had presented itself in the form of illegally producing and distributing alcohol. It was an opportunity some couldn't pass up on. Thankfully the prohibitions have recently been lifted. Although some made fortunes illegally through the underground liquor industry, the majority became prosperous through America's industrialization in the twenties.

America was producing goods at alarming rate everything from telephones, to vacuum cleaners to cars. This production era also marked the beginning of an economic dependence on oil, as automobile production erupted. This was severely augmented by Americans viewing trade unions as "Anti-American." America was in the middle of an era dedicated to preserving identity, and industrializing. Trade unions prevented both from being accomplished rather effectively. An array of products was now out on the market, but few could afford such luxuries. That is when a credit system was made, which allowed Americans to spend money they didn't have. This opened the door for another door for quick money-making which was the stock market. The allure from the stock market was unassailable; it was the ultimate "get rich quick" scheme. Thousands invested causing brokers' loans to jump five million dollars. However it became apparent America was slowing down by the late twenties. Fewer goods were being produced, but the stock market took no notice. The stock Market crashed. Banks went bust. Soon countries needed money and the presumed "powerhouse" of the world could not keep up with the loans America was dishing out. America continued its isolation by putting preposterous tariffs on imports, forcing countries to buy local. This made it difficult for other countries to pay back American loans. America could continue on this path because it had a wealthy domestic market in which to grow. A World Bank was suggested to aid countries during harsh economic times. However America refused to join, which caused its collapse.

In short, America`s fixation on isolating themselves from the world in the 1920's and their desire to become rich quick prompted: a limitation on immigrants, extreme nationalism and racism, economic catastrophe, and no solution to the continuing economic conundrums. Had America chosen not to isolate themselves both in terms of population and in terms of international affairs they may have been able to examine economic failures other countries experienced and learned from them. They might also have been able to ease the effects of the Depression and make steps to finding a solution.

Britain

From the journal of "HI" a marvellous teleporting space wizard sent from the future. (This explains my knowledge of future events, and why I never use conventional means of transportation. This also helps explain the apparent typo in the title of the blog.)

I have recently teleported to Britain.

 

Unemployment has wreaked havoc in Britain. The number is just under Three million. The Depression has not been rampant everywhere but where it is active it is causing devastating effects; most notably in Lancashire, Cumberland, and Northern Ireland. Although times have been tough over here, there is no revolution or violent protests occurring on the streets. I have spoken to quite a few citizens and most agree that although they are in economic turmoil, British Democracy has proven very capable of ruling and expanding, and winning confrontations. It is clear that the protesters have no desire for revolution when one examine the "General Strike" of 1926. All protests were peaceful in nature. In addition it became evident to me that British democracy was not threatened when I took a closer look at the communist influence in Britain. The membership of the Communist Party never exceeded 20,000. They failed to appeal to the working class largely because Brittan's democracy worked, and it was stable. All in all though, Prime Minister MacDonald had his fair share to worry about. All this unemployment was causing government spending to go up, but unemployment continued to rise. This caused citizens' incomes to go down, which in turn, limited the governments income from taxes. MacDonald was forced to make some harsh cuts. Most of which were directed towards unemployment benefits and wages of public employees. It was because of this many ministers from the Labour Part resigned and a coalition government was formed consisting of mainly conservatives. Soon all I heard on the radio was of John Maynard Keynes who had an interesting plan for escaping the effects of the Depression. He believed the main enemy was unemployment and by spending more money, more jobs would be created. It was this that would prove essential in escaping the Depression. Keynes claimed, "Whenever you save five shillings, you put a man out of work for a day." The largely conservative government took a safer approach by merely lowering interest rates. Britain also tried to encourage local spending by putting high tariffs on imports. However, it was well established that Britain`s economy relied heavily on global trade. This plan only hindered Britain's efforts in defeating the Depression. Recently the Unemployment Assistance Board has been set up (UAB). This organization pays national rates of assistance to those in need. However, I have noticed social distress on the streets. The UAB determines who receives assistance through methods that violate one's privacy. These people on the streets believe it is their right to receive assistance from the government. The most alarming thing I`ve seen here in Britain though is a small cult following for fascism and totalitarianism; mainly towards Sir Oswald Mosley. These fascists have been parading the streets of Britain, in fact just the other day I saw various propaganda posters being displayed all over the streets. The sickening part is that the Daily Mail is endorsing these fascists and what they stand for. I have decided to leave Britain a bit early after the riot in the East End of London, October 1936. I am re-assured that a Public Order Act will be passed that heavily restricts their uniforms and marches in the streets.

Spain

From the journal of "HI" a marvellous teleporting space wizard sent from the future. (This explains my knowledge of future events, and why I never use conventional means of transportation. This also helps explain the apparent typo in the title of the blog.)

I have recently teleported to Spain.

This was a mistake. I have teleported into chaos. I am soon informed of the Civil war, and how it came about.

The failure of the authoritarian government; prompting a weak democracy that had to precedent to follow.

The instability forced a General election won by the left "Popular Front Party".

The nationalists revolt with the aid of General Franco, and the Spanish army.

A three year war ensued between the left and right wing movements.

Then the same sad song: the left couldn't unite due to ideological differences.

Franco wins.

This abundance of information was summed up briefly by a grieving stranger on the street. He told me how hard it was; not only fearing attacks from communists but from Nazis as well. I did not understand. Apparently, Hitler and Mussolini had offered military support to Franco. Unfortunately, Hitler`s units were more interested in testing equipment than providing military assistance. The Nazis often fired back at Franco's troops because they presented desirable targets for training and testing. I asked about Russia's involvement as up to this point, assuming they would have sided with the left. He said he was just thankful Stalin did not aid the communists, which came as a shock to me. Why would the world communist leader hinder the success of another communist party? It occurred to me that perhaps it wasn't so much about the success of communism as a whole, as it was the success of Stalin. He was motivated by greed, to remain the top communist leader in the top communist country.

I waited for more to be said but that was it. I wanted to learn more about this dictator who had become head of state a few months ago. After months and months of sifting through information and conversing with dozens of people, I was able to establish the following:

Franco was not a fascist. He was more along the lines of a political realist. He did what was necessary for his country, and his ideologies rarely if ever, coincided with fascism.

He was a Catholic and brought up the power of the Roman Catholic Church, which was a major contrast compared to other leaders like Stalin and Hitler who created atheist states.

The last thing I learned about Franco was that despite his religious and non-fascist ways, he was still a brutal dictator who who'd use force if necessary. He wasn't racially motivated, but his men were awfully violent in the streets to anyone who opposed him.

As I prepared to leave Spain, I hear of Spain declaring neutrality, and not joining the Axis to Hitler and Mussolini`s dismay. I am somewhat relieved.

France

Thankfully France has avoided Revolution like Britain. For a while things were going great; probably because France's currency was undervalued. That would soon change, when news reached France that a number of countries had left the gold standard. The foolish French Government was to proud to de-value the currency or leave the Gold Standard. People began complaining on the streets. Agriculture slumped and deflation kicked in. Even still, the unemployment seemed low, and I was thankful to see less miserable faces wandering the streets aimlessly here than in Britain. The Government was having an equally hard time with five non-successful coalition governments. Fascist groups began appearing on the streets. Not just one or two, but a vast quantity of different groups; all extremists. A protest was held February 6^th 1934,by the extremists. Seventeen were killed, just a few blocks from where I was staying. I could see the police lashing out against the barbaric protestors. Soon the left extremists would all come together to form the Popular Front Party. I learned soon that it was for one simple reason, to protect from the Fascist threat. Hitler's influence and power was spreading. Stalin knew iit, and feared that if France went the way Germany was going, and it appeared so, Russia would be up against a formidable alliance. A simple message was sent out to French communists: stop the fascists. This Popular Front Party won the elections, and had a new leader in Leon Blum. Like previous governments, Blum refused to de-value the currency. I heard a man on the street remarked, "He is too proud to help the people who need it." However economic problems would be too much for Blum and the government collapsed. I left France re-assured that despite the dark Fascist movements, France was safe from revolution.

Czechoslovakia

From the journal of "HI" a marvellous teleporting space wizard sent from the future. (This explains my knowledge of future events, and why I never use conventional means of transportation. This also helps explain the apparent typo in the title of the blog.)

I have recently teleported to Czechoslovakia.

Things are interesting in Czechoslovakia. Less than 50% of the people here are actually Czech. In addition I have noticed a large number of Germans living in the Sudetenland. Initially I fear a Nazis invasion, but am comforted upon realising Hitler is attending a meeting with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin.

I am outraged with the outcome. The fool Chamberlin attempts an appeasement with the Nazi leader. Chamberlin thought that if Hitler was given what he wanted there could be peace. Chamberlin didn't understand what Hitler REALLY wanted… the world. The Munich Plan was established which loosened the restrictions on Germany. Hitler wanted the Sudetenland in exchange for peace. Chamberlin sold out Czechoslovakia to Hitler. There were a few things Chamberlin did not know about the Sudetenland that I did from spending time in it.

1. Czechoslovakia had built up strong defences in the Sudetenland to protect it from foreign attacks. It had focused so many resources in that area that it left the rest of Czechoslovakia unarmed.
   
2. A substantial amount of resources and supplies were located within the Sudetenland that would augment Hitler's forces tremendously.
   
3. Once the Sudetenland was acquired by Hitler, it would be a simple matter to annex the rest of it.
   

In 1939 Hitler would annex the rest of Czechoslovakia and put an end to appeasement. I would then watch in horror as the Germans dismantled the Czech army. However, it was still rather peaceful in Czechoslovakia, I knew it was because Hitler wanted to extract all the resources he could from Czechoslovakia with little resistance. However, the Nazis would institute violence once more destroying the towns of Lidice and Lezaki. Things became worse with the use of the death camp Theresienstadt, located in Terezin. I later found out a quarter of the prosonners died there due to nbearable living conditions. There was nothing left of Czechoslovakia for me. I must go.