Chapter 46: The Great Battle for Parliament

In the German President’s office, Hindenburg was pacing back and forth in front of his desk. He roared with rage, “Major General Akado Rudolph! You are already the youngest general in German history! What more could you possibly want? What is the meaning of this Greater Germany Party?”

“The Greater Germany Party is a new political party I have formed. Its purpose is to unite those who truly love Germany, to resist together the unjust treatment that has been forced upon us,” Akado said, bending down to pick up the fountain pen Hindenburg had thrown onto the carpet. With a faint smile, he placed the pen back on the bare desk.

“Of course I know the Greater Germany Party is your party! I’m asking you what you’re trying to do! This morning, the streets and alleys of all of Germany were filled with marching processions. They were shouting the name of the Greater Germany Party as they paraded through the streets, just like a pack of bandits,” Hindenburg said, his anger soaring. “The people of the Social Democratic Party are already furious! They will not allow a party like yours, which has come out of nowhere, to control the government.”

Akado smiled. “And that is the very reason I formed this party, Mr. President Hindenburg.”

“What?” Hindenburg was taken aback, not comprehending.

Akado repeated himself. “That is the very reason I formed this party. I do not need the government to have dissenting voices. What I want is a government completely under the control of the Reichswehr, not some Social Democratic Party government.”

Hindenburg stared at Akado, silent for a long moment. Then he finally spoke. “Are you trying to establish a military government?”

“No, President Hindenburg. I am trying to clear away any stumbling block that prevents the Reichswehr from becoming strong. No one can stop this,” Akado said firmly.

“Can you guarantee that you will support my continued rule? Unconditional support?” Hindenburg asked after thinking for several minutes, a question that made everyone let out a sigh of relief. Asking this already showed that he had compromised; he was seeking the support and help of a powerful organization.

“In the next parliamentary election, you will be re-elected. The Greater Germany Party will support you without reservation, making you the spiritual leader of all of Germany,” Akado guaranteed, holding his head high and chest out.

“How certain are you?” Hindenburg continued to ask.

“Germany’s entrepreneurs, bankers, and financial groups; the entire Reichswehr; and most of the officials in the government will all support you. You will have several times more campaign funds than your opponents, and you will also have the support of public opinion. You will be invincible in the election.”

“In that case, this afternoon I will declare the Greater Germany Party a legal party in Germany. Doing so will undoubtedly offend the powerful Social Democratic Party. Do you have any good ideas?” Hindenburg asked, looking at Akado.

“Please rest assured, Mr. President. We still have a trump card we haven’t played yet,” Akado said contemptuously. “You do not need to charge into battle yourself. We naturally have a way to pass the parliamentary vote. You only need to state your position at the very end.”

This satisfied Hindenburg somewhat. He nodded and said, “Then I will await your good news.”

Walking out of the President’s office, Akado saw Stresemann waiting for him, a look of anxiety on his face. Seeing Akado emerge, he hurried forward. “How did it go, Chairman? Did President Hindenburg agree to support us?”

“Support us?” Akado asked back. “Why should he support us?”

“Then what should we do?” Stresemann was so anxious he was sweating profusely. This was the biggest gamble of his life. If he failed, he would lose everything.

“He is asking us to support him. Remember, from this day forward, no one supports us. We are the most powerful existence. We will choose who to support, not be chosen by others,” Akado said with a smile, looking at the nervous Stresemann.

Staring blankly at Akado, Stresemann, after swallowing hard, finally came to his senses. “You scared me to death, Chairman.”

“This afternoon, the Parliament will convene an emergency session to discuss and vote on the matter of our party. Are your preparations ready?” Akado asked as he walked out.

Stresemann nodded. “This is the key to our continued existence. I have already used all my power. Whether we can succeed still depends on Krupp’s side.”

Akado was anxious to know the result from Krupp’s side, so after leaving the President’s office, he drove back to the Reichswehr High Command. There, as expected, he saw the Krupp family’s head butler waiting outside the headquarters gate.

“How is Krupp’s side? Have those businessmen agreed to our terms?” Although he had spoken so boastfully to Hindenburg in the President’s office, Akado actually had no certainty in his heart. He was taking a premature risk in many areas. So at this moment, the first thing he did was to question Krupp’s head butler.

The head butler was still a bit slow, but he answered directly, “Our master said when I was leaving that he had already made arrangements with most of the personnel overnight. He asks that the Major General not worry.”

Hearing the head butler’s words, Akado let out a slight breath. The worry in his heart subsided. He knew that this time, his gamble, or rather, his Greater Germany Party’s gamble, was halfway to success.

In the afternoon, in the great hall of the Reichstag building, the members of parliament from various parties were all seated in their respective places. Most of them were discussing something with their colleagues or acquaintances beside them. After all, they had all just heard about the Greater Germany Party.

“Why were we summoned here! For a shameless, illegal party like this, all we need to do is have the police investigate and shut it down. What’s there to talk about?” a Social Democratic Party member sneered mockingly.

An independent member beside him glanced at him, then looked away with contempt. Easy for you to say. If the police had any intention of managing this incident, would there be so many workers and citizens marching on the streets with banners? Last time when that small party called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party took to the streets of Munich with rifles, weren’t they all arrested and cleaned up?

“Are you confident?” Stresemann, sitting in a corner in the front row, asked Krupp beside him. “Chairman Akado is actually absent. It’s making my heart so unsettled.”

“Don’t worry. Leave this to us. Wasn’t this the plan we drafted long ago? Chairman Akado needs to hold the fort at the Reichswehr headquarters to respond to any possible problems. Besides, he also has to find a way to stabilize the German armed forces. He has no less to do than we do,” Krupp whispered in Stresemann’s ear. “We’ve already done everything we can. Let’s just wait for the result.”

“Order! I now invite our guest, Mr. Gustav Krupp, to state his purpose for being here.”

“Mr. Speaker, good afternoon to you, and to all the esteemed members of parliament. Due to a common political cause, many people you are all familiar with and I have come together. Under the leadership of General Akado Rudolph, we have established a brand-new political party.”

In the end, Krupp concluded his speech with the main tenets of the party program proposed by Akado. “…My party will seek welfare for the workers, farmers, and citizens, and fight for their happiness; my party will seek development for the capitalists, expand technology and perfect production to obtain greater profits; my party will seek survival for the empire, establish a world power and realize a Greater Germany; the Greater Germany Party is willing to give its life for the freedom and equality of all people!”

“Well said, but I think as a member of parliament, I can only regretfully inform you that if your so-called ‘what-the-hell Greater Germany Party’ wants to enter parliament, you can only look forward to the next election,” a member of the Social Democratic Party said with some smugness.

“That’s not necessarily so,” a member of parliament said, raising his hand to speak. “I, on behalf of the German People’s Party, welcome the Greater Germany Party to join the Parliament.”

“How can they join? The constitution does not allow minor parties to join the Parliament at will,” the Social Democratic Party member said with a sneer.

Stresemann stood up and said, “As the chairman of the German People’s Party, I hereby announce that the German People’s Party is reorganizing and joining the Greater Germany Party. The parliamentary seats of the former German People’s Party will, according to the constitution, automatically become the parliamentary seats of the Greater Germany Party.”

He turned his head to look at the large group of Social Democratic Party members sitting on the other side and said coldly, “The Greater Germany Party has now entered the Parliament, and it has done so in full compliance with the constitution. You have nothing more to say, do you?”

“Wait a moment! They may have nothing more to say, but we do!” an independent member stood up. “I speak on behalf of us independent members. After discussion, we believe that the Greater Germany Party represents the interests of the vast majority of the German people. Therefore, we have decided to join the Greater Germany Party.”

“Buzz.” The members below began to murmur again. The aggressive Social Democratic Party had not even launched its offensive, and the Greater Germany Party had already made several moves in succession. No one had expected that the newly established Greater Germany Party could fight against the powerful, old-guard Social Democratic Party without being at a disadvantage.

“Since the Greater Germany Party doesn’t know when to back down, then don’t blame our Social Democratic Party for playing hardball! Let’s have a show of hands and vote to kick the Greater Germany Party out of Parliament!” a leading figure of the Social Democratic Party said loudly.

“Yes! A vote!” Beside him, many Social Democratic Party members loudly echoed, “Let’s show them what we’re made of!”

From a small, inconspicuous side door in the hall, a man quietly entered. He scurried over to a corner, leaned in close to a Social Democratic Party member, and whispered something in his ear. The MP’s face immediately changed drastically. He quickly got up, pushed past his colleagues, and ran towards his party’s leadership.

Just as he reached one of the vice-chairmen of the Social Democratic Party, the procedure for the show of hands had already begun.

He could only sigh and say to his vice-chairman, “I just received news. Due to bribery and coercion, a good number of our MPs have defected to the Greater Germany Party.”

The Social Democratic Party vice-chairman who had suggested the vote was stunned. He then looked at his men, and his eyes went black. He fainted. The hall immediately erupted in an uproar, with shouts for a doctor echoing from all sides.