African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1594 The Anniversary of Germany and Austria-Hungary and the Superpower

This is also one of the important characteristics that distinguishes East Africa from other colonizers in terms of their colonization methods. East Africa places greater emphasis on stability and controllability, and is willing to pay more for this colonization.

If East Africa had not been a country established in the late 19th century, Ernst would have been willing to learn from the methods of other colonial powers. However, by the end of the 19th century, traditional colonialism had clearly reached its end.

At that time, the last hurrah of colonialism was merely a fleeting moment of glory. As the 20th century progressed, the various problems and contradictions of colonialism became increasingly apparent.

Therefore, from Ernst's perspective at the time, even if East Africa wanted to continue its colonial expansion, it had to make changes. This became the general approach for a series of East African projects that went against the traditional colonial model.

At the time, and even now in the eyes of many countries, East Africa's overseas colonization was quite peculiar. This is because the benefits East Africa gained from its overseas expansion far outweighed its expenditures.

However, Ernst did not consider the gains and losses in the short term at all. East Africa wanted to benefit from the colonies, not just in the last ten or twenty years, but all the way into the 21st century, and to maintain this overseas colonial system that could last for hundreds of years.

If this system can be maintained into the 21st century, East Africa will eventually recoup its costs.

……

April 7, 1945, Berlin.

After the groundwork laid, Germany officially began its annexation of Austria-Hungary today. Parliamentarians and government representatives from both Germany and Austria-Hungary flooded into the Reichstag in Berlin.

Adolf sat confidently in the seat of honor and addressed everyone present: "Today is a day that Germany will never forget. Through the efforts of generations of Germans, the unification of the German region will be accomplished in our hands."

"Germany and Austria-Hungary were originally one family. Historically, the territories of both countries were once part of the Holy Roman Empire."

“Starting from 1806, the entire German nation endured over a century of humiliation and hardship before finally becoming a unified, united, and complete nation once again.”

1806 was actually the year the Holy Roman Empire fell. Of course, to be more precise, the Habsburgs were being continuously weakened by Napoleon and were no longer able to be the widely recognized leader in the German region.

The last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, issued a decree in Vienna dissolving the Holy Roman Empire and relinquishing his title of Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire then transformed into the Austrian Empire, the precursor to the modern Austro-Hungarian Empire.

If Franz II had not relinquished his claim to the Holy Roman Empire, then the Austrian Empire would have been the Holy Roman Empire. However, in the eyes of the Habsburg royal family at the time, maintaining the claim to the Holy Roman Empire did not bring much benefit.

In particular, after losing control of northern Germany, the Habsburg dynasty lost an important asset in suppressing peoples such as Hungary. Therefore, in order to maintain imperial rule, abandoning the claim to the Holy Roman Empire was actually more advantageous to the Habsburg dynasty.

This led to Adolf being forced to set the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. In order to better integrate the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he needed to use the Holy Roman Empire's name to make it more legitimate.

Because the territory of the Holy Roman Empire itself included most of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as present-day Hungary and Bohemia, and these areas were not entirely inhabited by Germans.

Adolf said, "Before Napoleon, what is now Germany and Austria-Hungary was originally one country. The people on the land were originally part of the Holy Roman Empire. Napoleon was forced to dismantle the empire because of his fear of this powerful empire."

"Now, everyone has returned to the embrace of the empire, which is a manifestation of the will of the entire German nation."

Although somewhat contradictory, Adolf could only adopt this narrative, where he forcibly labeled ethnic groups including Hungarians, Czechs, and Slovaks as descendants of the Holy Roman Empire, thus blurring the distinction between them and the Germans.

After all, the Holy Roman Empire was the recognized legitimate power among Germans and the greatest common denominator between Germany and Austria-Hungary.

While considering Hungarians, Czechs, and other ethnic groups as part of the nation contradicts Adolf's racial theory, it is clear that Adolf's principles can be flexible when compared to practical interests.

Adolf's contradictory statement was indeed acceptable to some representatives of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although they came from Bohemia and Hungary, none of them had not had their ancestors intermarry with German nobles, so their status could actually be changed.

As for nationalists who don't buy into Adolf's ideas, there certainly are, but such people are obviously very few and wouldn't be invited to Berlin today.

Adolf continued, "Therefore, the unification of Germany and Austria-Hungary was not a unilateral annexation of Austria-Hungary by Germany, but rather the return of two countries to the embrace of an ancient empire."

"The new nation, or rather the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, the Greater German Empire, will be the common home of all of us..."

After Adolf finished his speech, everyone present shouted, "Long live the Great German Reich!"

Even those who are unwilling can only cheer and shout along in this atmosphere.

When the news of the establishment of the Greater German Reich was announced in Berlin, mainstream newspapers and news outlets in all countries of the world rushed to report on the event.

In East Africa, the Rhine Agency reported: "A behemoth with a land area of ​​1.12 million square kilometers and a population of over 120 million has appeared on the European continent. Germany has become a superpower that can rival the Soviet Union in size, and possesses a more powerful industry, more workers, and a more powerful army..."

"With the formation of this powerful empire, the entire European continent will be completely transformed..."

Overall, East African media coverage of Germany's annexation of Austria-Hungary is positive; at least at the grassroots level, it is difficult for East Africans to feel any aversion towards the new nation.

In the Soviet Union, however, reports about Germany were more targeted and filled with anxiety.

The Soviet newspaper Pravda wrote: "German aggression and the occupation of Austria-Hungary have become a reality. This is a huge disaster for non-German peoples living in Germany, as well as for the working class, who will face the oppression of an even larger machine of violence..."

"The convergence of capitalism, militarism, and feudalism in Germany and Austria-Hungary would cause a setback in the civilizational progress of the whole of Europe."

"At the same time, Germany, after annexing Austria-Hungary, will further threaten the security of our great motherland. We should be more vigilant towards Germany than ever before!"

Although Germany called itself the Greater German Empire after annexing Austria-Hungary, the international community continues to use the name Germany to describe this new world superpower.

Currently, there are six countries in the world that can be called global superpowers: East Africa, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union. The latter three are somewhat controversial. The United Kingdom and France possess vast overseas colonies and populations, and their domestic development is considered world-class. However, their gradual decline is an objective fact, and their current situation is somewhat similar to that of Russia in its previous existence.

Russia undoubtedly has the potential to become a superpower, but it has failed to capitalize on this potential and has continued to decline in international competition.

Britain and France are in this situation now. They look enormous, but they cannot integrate and optimize these resources. For example, the separatism in their colonies is an unsolvable problem. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for both countries to suppress their colonies from their own territory.

The debate over whether the Soviet Union became a superpower lies in the fact that the overall level of Soviet industrial development was still relatively low, and the Soviet Union's industrial size was somewhat insufficient before the completion of its second five-year plan.

However, one thing is certain: if the Soviet Union had been given another ten years of peaceful development, it would have inevitably become the undisputed emerging superpower.

The gap between the countries other than East Africa, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union and the five major powers is too obvious, even for Japan and Italy, which are also major powers.

From a territorial perspective, among the six major powers, Germany, with the smallest land area, still exceeds one million square kilometers, while Britain and France, along with their colonies, are two behemoths.

In terms of population, the six superpowers each have a population of at least 100 million. Among them, the United Kingdom has the largest population, including its overseas colonies, with a population of nearly 500 million. India alone may have a population of over 350 million.

Of course, India here includes regions such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

Aside from Britain, the second most populous superpower is East Africa, with a population exceeding 200 million, including those from its colonies. The third is the Soviet Union, with a population exceeding 150 million.

The United States and Germany rank fourth and fifth, respectively, with populations exceeding 120 million.

France, on the other hand, has become the least populous of the six superpowers. Even if all of France's colonies are included, its population barely reaches 100 million.

If we include the population of colonies, Japan's population would also exceed 100 million. However, population is not a decisive factor in the criteria for superpowers; otherwise, the Far Eastern Empire and India could be calculated in the same way.

Japan's industrial level lags even further behind that of the superpowers. Even the Soviet Union, which had the worst overall industrial quality among the superpowers, had a higher level of industrial development than Japan.

Japan's industry is concentrated in Asia, and it's currently at its peak, but the gap with East Africa, the United States, and Europe remains significant.

Italy, needless to say, lags significantly behind the six superpowers in terms of population, area, and industry.

For Japan and Italy to become superpowers, the former must achieve its goal of dominating Greater East Asia, while the latter must build Mediterranean hegemony. However, the possibility of either country achieving its goals is almost zero.

……

As mentioned before, East Africa and the Soviet Union had different attitudes toward Germany. Obviously, the Soviet Union was the most worried about Germany, followed by France.

Although France is currently in a semi-submissive position in its diplomacy and competition with Germany, the news of the reunification of Germany and Austria still caused a huge uproar in France, and many different voices emerged within the country.

The French newspaper Le Monde reported: "With the rise of a new Holy Roman Empire in Europe, France must increase its military investment to ensure the security of France..."

Meanwhile, the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche called for Germany to remain calm. Both Germany and France are leading players in European affairs. In today's declining Europe, the relationship between Germany and France should be one of cooperation, not competition and hostility. Both sides should put aside historical grievances and coexist peacefully.

The French newspaper stated: "Germany has become the most powerful country in Europe, and it is hoped that the German government will focus its energy and responsibility on resisting the Soviet Union, a common enemy of Europe. France can cooperate with Germany in this matter..."

It is evident that France's internal attitude towards Germany was the most complex. Some viewed Germany as a mortal enemy, some hoped for Franco-German reconciliation, and some incited Germany to confront the Soviet Union...

France is currently unable to achieve ideological unity, a consequence of World War I. Pre-war France would never have so easily allowed Germany to annex Austria-Hungary.

This also means that France's overall attitude towards Germany is more inclined to hope that Germany will be lenient and give France a break, rather than that France can continue to be a major power that can stand alone in European and world affairs.

Compared to France's dilemma, Britain's attitude toward Germany was simpler.

British news media did not heavily criticize the reunification of Germany and Austria, but they did emphasize and urge Germany to act within its capabilities, especially on maritime issues, to avoid a repeat of World War I, and to maintain peace in Europe.

Of course, the Germany mentioned by the British media obviously did not include the Soviet Union.

This implies that Germany should make concessions to Britain in its subsequent military actions, and that the British could tolerate Germany's expansion in continental Europe without harming British interests.

Finally, there's the United States. The US simply doesn't have the time to care about Germany's development right now. Compared to Germany, the threat it poses is even less than the pressure the Soviet Union and East Africa put on the US.

Of the six world superpowers, Germany occupies one spot. The other four capitalist countries did not strongly oppose Germany's annexation of Austria-Hungary. As for the last one, the Soviet Union, its attitude was unclear, since the Soviet Union was an enemy of the world and a clearly hostile country to Germany.

Therefore, Germany's annexation of Austria-Hungary was completed almost without any major incidents. At the same time, Germany's sudden expansion of national power also brought about significant changes in the diplomatic activities of non-superpowers and major powers around the world.

First, there are the countries surrounding Germany, such as Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium, who are afraid of Germany. After all, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were once part of the Holy Roman Empire. There are also Nordic countries such as Denmark and Sweden, which have all been on good terms with Germany.

The Balkan countries also place Germany at the top of their foreign policy agenda, and their lifelines are now in Germany's hands.

Outside of Europe, countries in the Middle East, Far East, and Latin America adopted a more positive and friendly attitude toward a more powerful Germany. These included the Nanjing government of the Far Eastern Empire, as well as countries like Argentina and Persia.

Italy and Japan, which already tended to cooperate with Germany, were happy to see their quasi-ally's strength increased.

(End of this chapter)