Chapter 162: The National Flag

Advanced chapter until 350+ at patreon.com/caleredhair

Breakfast was personally made for Akado by Mercedes, but it was a pitiful offering of only two slightly burnt fried eggs with two slices of store-bought bread. This made Akado reflect that no woman is omnipotent, while at the same time, it instantly closed the distance the two had deliberately maintained.

“My dear,” Akado said, cutting his fried egg with a knife. “Krupp has been a bit too aggressive recently. I don’t object to him seeking benefits for his own factory, but he needs to be reminded to exercise restraint. I need you to go to the Ruhr region for me and have a good talk with him on my behalf.”

“I can arrange for a plane this afternoon,” Mercedes said, sitting to the side with her chin in her hand, her face full of happiness as she looked at her man.

“Uh, no, my dear! Don’t be in a hurry,” Akado almost choked. He coughed twice and then said, “At the very least, the two of us should enjoy our newlywed bliss! I don’t have a choice, but you must rest for a few days! I want to be able to see you every day when I come back here!”

“I’ll wait for you for dinner!” Mercedes’s smile became even more radiant. Akado’s words filled her newlywed face with happiness.

Even the most casual visitor could see the outward signs of prosperity in Germany under the rule of the Greater German Party. Construction was underway everywhere, and people had satisfied smiles on their faces. Newly built highways connected the various cities, the large smokestacks of factories belched thick black smoke, and factory production plans increased day by day.

The gross national income had nearly doubled in four years, and the number of unemployed had dropped from 6.5 million during the Weimar Republic to less than 1 million. However, the reviving enterprises and workers could not always buy the goods they needed—the output of many goods was still insufficient, and the entire supply chain was often broken.

The Greater German Party had repeatedly stressed the importance of agriculture in the Reichstag, yet Germany’s agricultural output had decreased. From 1935 to the beginning of 1936, the Soviet Union reduced its grain exports to Germany, leading to food shortages and causing dissatisfaction in some regions.

The economic genius Schacht advised Akado to reduce the scale of military expansion and war preparations and not to be so extravagant with military spending. As a result, his words did not receive the support of the other high-ranking members of the Greater German Party. Helpless, Schacht proposed to resign from his duties in charge of foreign exchange and commodity imports, handing these tasks over to the nominal number two figure in the Greater German Party, Krupp.

He had originally hoped that Krupp could use his influence within the party to prevent the economic collapse brought about by the frantic military expansion. But who would have known that as soon as Krupp took office, he would more than double the original defense budget in one go? In 1936, Germany’s military expenditure exceeded 15 billion, accounting for 15% of the entire German gross national product.

In April 1936, Krupp received an appointment from Akado—full responsibility for the “Four-Year War Preparation Plan” that Akado had announced at the Greater German Party’s annual conference in Hanover. In May, the Führer elaborated on this grand plan in a memorandum to Krupp.

At the conference, Akado spoke with great passion. He said that the threat of international communism was becoming more and more serious, and that Germany would soon have to take on the task of protecting Europe from the harm of the communists. It was necessary to ensure reliable sources of raw materials, and if necessary, to occupy the raw material production areas. It was necessary to open up new living space for the growing German population to provide them with food and shelter. There had to be a planned storage of raw materials, an increase in domestic production levels, and the completion of war preparations for the army within four years.

From this moment on, Germany implemented a wartime economic plan. Krupp and his cronies began to control Germany’s trade and production, affecting many aspects of the national economy. In his speech, Akado repeatedly emphasized that “there must be no restrictions on the rearmament plan” and that “the final decisive moment is at hand, and what we need to do is to use tanks and planes to destroy anyone who stands in our way.”

At the same time, the Greater German Party launched a powerful propaganda offensive. The laboring people were called upon to contribute money and effort to the “battle for production materials.” Germany launched a nationwide scrap metal recycling campaign, collecting all kinds of old metal waste for reprocessing. People turned their gardens and parks into vegetable plots to help the state supplement the increasingly scarce food supply.

Propaganda teams were sent everywhere to persuade people to replace the delicacies on their dinner tables with cheap food. The German people, who were more easily managed by the system, obediently replaced beef with fish, white bread with black bread, and butter with margarine. At an internal party meeting, Fanny told her assistant, “The Führer once said: ‘We can do without butter, but we cannot do without weapons, even though we love peace. We don’t shoot with bread, only with guns!'”

The turmoil of the Nazi Party was finally over, and Akado finally met the left-hand-trembling Hitler in his office. Two friends who had known each other since the First World War; two rivals who had competed with each other since 1920; two men who had sought a future for the Germanic nation through different means, were finally sitting face to face once again.

Silence. A very uncomfortable silence.

“Something to drink?” Akado broke the silence and asked.

“Are you mocking me? Do you think I’m sitting here today because I failed?” Hitler stared at Akado. It had to be admitted that his eyes were indeed chilling. At least, Akado still felt a little uncomfortable looking at them now.

“Adolf,” Akado sighed and looked at Hitler. “We were both fighting for the future of this country. Is it really so important which of us won or lost?”

Hitler stared at Akado for a long time, until he seemed to be able to confirm that Akado was not mocking him. Only then did he slowly lean back against the sofa. “Akado! I always thought you were a very formidable person! It’s not until today that I have to admit, I truly cannot surpass you.”

“Shifting hatred, national hatred, these are ultimately inferior methods. I didn’t want you to use them back then, but you didn’t listen to my advice,” Akado said with a sigh. “I really miss those days when the two of us were in the field hospital.”

“Back then, I worshipped you as I worshipped the Emperor,” Hitler’s expression became melancholic, as if recalling the events of those years. “You did not fail my worship! Now you are the ‘Führer’ of this country.”

He stood up and looked at the tricolor flag of the German Weimar Republic hanging behind Akado. “This flag is really ugly. But I really like the title you’ve given yourself… Führer, Führer… If I had become the Führer of Germany, I would have used a flag I designed myself.”

“I will do it for you,” Akado said after thinking for a moment. “In a few days, I will issue an order that, to commemorate the countless German compatriots who died after being deceived by the communist villain, Adolf Hitler, Germany will use the swastika flag as the German national flag.”

“Communists, I have hated communists all my life… and in the end, I am framed as a communist by my own friend,” Hitler said, pacing back and forth in front of Akado in a rage, his voice already tinged with tears. “I, we, we were friends, weren’t we? And in the end, you want to kill me as a communist.”

“If we are still friends,” Akado said softly, “then you should tell me who supported you in obstructing my plan to strengthen Germany, who instigated you to step by step become an enemy of the German people!”

He paused, then said very solemnly, “I will send him to accompany you. I will not break my promise.”

“Who? It no longer matters who it was,” Hitler snorted. “Remember our oath, Akado Rudolph! Lately, I keep dreaming that I’m hiding in a bunker, with the sound of cannons all around… To avoid being captured by the enemy, I have no choice but to shoot myself in the head… I hope this is not your ending.”

“I will walk through mountains of corpses and seas of blood!” Akado said, staring at Hitler. “I will not turn back, I will not retreat. If the German people ultimately suffer because of me, I will go to hell with you. If God has destined me to lead my people to glory, then I will cut through all obstacles along the way, until death do us part.”

“You know I was doing it for Germany’s good, don’t you?” Hitler suddenly asked, looking up.

“Yes, I know. I know you were doing it for Germany’s good!” Akado nodded. He suddenly felt that some people who do evil are not entirely without merit. At least, some people are just a bit radical and narrow-minded. They hope to become heroes of their entire nation but do not care about the life and death of other nations.

“Will killing me as a communist make the German people more united? More militant?” Hitler asked again.

“It’s the only way, Adolf! Your death can save many Germans,” Akado nodded again.

“The French secretly supported the Nazi Party. The account books are in the first apartment on the third floor of 179 Berlin Street,” Hitler said, walking toward the door, his steps as heavy as if they were filled with lead. “The Crown Prince in the Netherlands was also involved. I hope you can keep your promise to me.”

“Thank you. We will always be friends…” Akado said softly, rubbing his eyes.

“As a Comintern radical who instigated conflict among the people, you have been sentenced to death on charges of murder, treason, corruption, and attempting to divide the country. Do you have anything to say?” a judge intoned loudly on the execution ground.

“With my loyalty, I bless this nation to prosper forever! I hope my departure can keep this nation from suffering! May Great Germany live forever!” Hitler said loudly, his head held high before more than 500 civilian spectators.

“Then, carry out the execution!” the execution officer commanded loudly.

Suddenly, the prisoner Hitler raised his right hand and shouted, “Heil Führer!…”

“Crack!” The shot rang out.

The leader of the Nazi Party, Adolf Hitler, was executed by firing squad on November 11, 1936. A formidable figure of his generation had exited the stage of history.