German Red Prince

"this?"

"That's right, Mr. Adolf. Our art university is currently located here because it hasn't been built yet. As for what we learn and apply, our art university specializes in architecture. We will build this school in Berlin ourselves in the future."

"Your school isn't called Bauhaus, is it?"

"My goodness, Comrade Thorne, you're really well-informed. We only came up with this name this morning, and I didn't expect you to find out so quickly."

Speer marveled at the power of the Gestapo; they had so many ears! The Bauhaus design school was a name they had chosen that morning, yet Thorne knew about it by the afternoon.

Thorne didn't know how to explain, so he could only scratch his head awkwardly. In their world, the Bauhaus School was built in 1919, but it didn't last long. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, the masters in the Bauhaus School went to the United States, which led to the later Chicago School of Design.

Looking at Adolf before me, I realized that in Thorne's world, the disappearance of the Bauhaus in Germany was inextricably linked to him. Here, this "culprit" was actually invited to participate in the academy's founding ceremony.

Perhaps due to the imperial system, the Bauhaus did not exist in this world. The imperial art style could not accommodate the Bauhaus style. Thorne had also seen the Bauhaus buildings, and from a 21st-century perspective, it was hard to imagine that these things were produced in the 1920s. The style was too ahead of its time.

"It is because of people like you that socialism does not become a synonym for barbarity and crudeness. Socialism has its own unique art. Let the art of socialism in Germany begin with the Bauhaus."

Gropius, Byer, Van der Rohe, and Thorne, looking at these masters in the field of art, could already imagine the pinnacle that German art would reach in the future.

481. Such a wonderful start.

"Mr. Rudolph, welcome to our family!"

Otto stepped forward, shook Rudolf's hand, and congratulated him on passing the test. Rudolf was now a mechanic at the Volkswagen People's Automobile Plant.

"Thank you, Mr. Otto."

Rudolf breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to shake hands with Otto excitedly. He had been unemployed for some time, and although he was highly educated, Rudolf's life had been miserable during that terrible period.

He lost his job during the Great Depression in Germany. During the German Civil War, stimulated by the war, Rudolf found work for a period of time, but it was just tightening screws in an arms factory.

It was impossible for Rudolf to support his family of four by working alone at the arsenal, tightening screws. Despite Rudolf's best efforts, his meager income was still insufficient to support his family. To make matters worse, his small house was destroyed by a stray shell during the German Civil War.

When Rudolf returned home, the situation had changed drastically; the Rhine army had already taken over the city. However, that didn't concern him. Seeing his house destroyed by artillery fire, Rudolf had lost all hope of survival. He thought his wife and children had been killed and had decided to hang himself from a tree that night.

Fortunately, his family wasn't home when the shells landed; they had all gone to take refuge with their neighbors. This was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. The house was destroyed, so Rudolf had to send his family to the countryside while he stayed behind to try and find a solution.

Rhine, specifically, immediately began to resume work after the revolutionary government's army took over the city. The city's owners had changed, but Rudolf's job remained the same; he continued to work in the arsenal.

Unlike before, his working hours are shorter and his salary is much higher, but after get off work he has to go to the construction site to do voluntary labor for several hours. In fact, his life is not much different from before, but he is even busier.

The war had caused some damage to the city. During the reconstruction, Rudolf saw many buildings that were different from the ones before. These buildings did not look very beautiful, but the construction speed was very fast. Rudolf and his fellow workers often helped on the construction site after get off work, and the progress here changed almost every day.

Life had to go on, and Rudolf had gotten used to his new life. His family was still in the countryside, so Rudolf was still thinking about housing. As the war drew to a close, there was less and less work at the arsenal, and they would definitely not need so many people in the future. In conversations with his coworkers, Rudolf realized the seriousness of the problem. He had to find a suitable job as soon as possible to support his family.

During a conversation with his coworkers, Rudolf learned that a car factory was under construction there. At that time, the Volkswagen People's Automobile Manufacturing Plant had not yet been officially established. Rudolf decided to try his luck and see if he could get in.

Car design and car manufacturing are fields that Rudolf is well-suited for. After the war ends, the arsenal will definitely have to lay off a large number of workers. Rudolf also knows the principle of first come, first served, so he went there to test the waters first.

At this time, Volkswagen had not yet been officially established, but it had already started recruiting. Before entering the factory to tighten screws, Rudolf had worked in a car manufacturing plant. Unfortunately, the car manufacturing plant where he worked went bankrupt. There were many applicants at this car manufacturing plant, and the person in charge here was very polite. After Rudolf entered, he was quickly taken to the place and then began special testing.

Rudolf applied for a professional mechanic position. The person in charge took him there and did some testing and hands-on work. After a lot of work, the person in charge put a checkmark on Rudolf's name and told him to go back and wait for notification. If he passed the interview, they would contact him.

After waiting anxiously for a while, Rudolf finally received the notification. Just as Rudolf had expected, the demand at the arsenal was not as great as before because of the end of the war. Many employees were assigned to the regional workers' committees. They were temporarily unemployed, or rather, they were employed anywhere.

Germany is still rebuilding, so these people are running around everywhere. They are busy building large-scale infrastructure projects, so they don't have to worry about their jobs for the time being. After all, a lot of jobs will be created during the construction process, and their problems will be solved in batches.

Rudolf did not go to the regional workers' council; he successfully obtained a job at a car factory, where Otto warmly received him and handled the remaining formalities.

"Welcome to the Volkswagen family. Volkswagen will protect the rights of every worker."

Otto produced a document for Rudolf to sign, making him a Volkswagen employee. He would then enjoy Volkswagen's benefits, and becoming an industrial worker was a great honor.

Rudolph was honored to become a member of the Volkswagen National Manufacturing Association. Otto personally handed Rudolph the membership badge, which had a number on the back indicating Rudolph's membership number within the association.

"Once the formalities are completed, you can start working. Pick up your wife and kids, and then go see a house with Bruce in a little while."

"A house? We still have a house?"

"Of course, we will protect the rights of every industrial worker. This country will belong to the proletariat from now on. Go and see your new home. Mr. Bruce will tell you."

Rudolf was very excited. After the war ended, he brought his family back and put them in temporary housing. During this time, Rudolf had been struggling to find a place to live, but he never expected that this problem would be solved after he joined the Volkswagen Group.

With his family by his side, Rudolph quickly found Bruce. After showing him the proof, Bruce quickly handed Rudolph the key.

"Welcome to the Volkswagen Group, Mr. Rudolf. Based on the information you provided, the manufacturing plant has already assigned you an apartment."

This building is the Speer Building, which is currently under construction in Germany. Thorne learned many lessons from his predecessor and had Speer and his team redesign it to better suit the current situation in Germany.

This wasn't a single building, but a community comprised of several buildings. Rudolph followed Bruce, who was showing the Rudolph family around the community.

"Mr. Rudolph, this is our Volkswagen community. The community is not yet completed. You can see that there is still a lot of empty land. There will be buildings here in the future, and the employees of the Volkswagen plant will be assigned here."

"This is the community park, that building is the community shopping mall, and the area behind it is being expanded to include the community hospital. We are planning to build a community kindergarten and a community primary school here."

As Bruce walked, he explained the community's specific plans to Rudolph in detail, then led him to Building 1. At the door, he took out a document for Rudolph to sign.

"Mr. Rudolf, before you officially move in, I still need to remind you that you are now a member of Volkswagen. Volkswagen will take care of your food, clothing, housing and transportation for you and your family, but on the condition that you abide by the above regulations and become a good employee, a good husband and a good father. Otherwise, the government has the right to take back all the rights you enjoy."

"Of course."

Rudolph took the document, which contained some regulations, including prohibitions on excessive drinking, unexcused absences, domestic violence, and maintaining neighborhood harmony, etc., and the community administrator would be responsible for supervision.

Rudolph quickly signed his name, and Bruce led him upstairs to his house. After opening the door, Rudolph looked around inside and out. The house wasn't big, but Rudolph was quite satisfied. It was enough for his family of four.

“Mr. Rudolf, because the government has limited resources at the moment, this house is rented. You will need to pay five percent of your salary as rent each month. Of course, these funds will be used to maintain the entire community. Rest assured, our government will definitely provide completely free housing in the future.”

"These are the departure times and stops for the community bus. The car factory will not allow its workers to be unable to take the bus. You are free to choose whether to take the community bus to the factory every day, and it is completely free, including for your family."

“Mrs. Rudolf, this is the apartment building’s maintenance schedule. A major mission of socialism is to liberate women from the home. The maintenance of the apartment and some community activities require the help of female comrades. As for the children, the community school is fully open to them.”

It can be said that once you become a professional worker, you won't have to worry about your future. The factory will take care of everything for you. The goal is to bind workers and the factory together and make them understand that their work is for themselves.

How can we get everyone to work conscientiously and not slack off? We need to make them realize that every screw they tighten is for their future life. If they are lazy, the factory will not make any profits, the community will not be able to function properly, and they will be the ones who suffer.

Bruce explained the community's regulations to Rudolph in detail, covering everything from housing and healthcare to education. Rudolph listened attentively, as he had never heard of such a thing before. Although they were both mechanics, his life had never been as wonderful as it was now, where he didn't have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter and could devote himself entirely to his work.

"Is this what socialism is?"

The children were already playing inside. As they were saying goodbye to Bruce, Rudolph couldn't help but ask at the door, "Is this what socialism is like? It's so damn wonderful! We're all a little overwhelmed."

"Haha, of course not. This is just the life that the people should enjoy. This is how the people's life should be. We have just taken this life back from the Junker aristocracy. The real socialist life has not yet begun."

“Mr. Rudolf, socialism is not just about cheap housing and healthcare, and communism is far more than just beef stew with potatoes. It is a much more progressive era, where everyone can live a life richer than the emperors of the past, both materially and spiritually. That is what we are truly pursuing.”

"What a wonderful era!"

"Of course, wouldn't a world built with our own hands be wonderful?"

Bruce waved goodbye to the children in the house and said to Rudolph, "This is just the beginning. The real socialist life is far from over. Living in such a world would be a wonderful thing."

482. Gathering is a pile of shit.

The collapse of the German Empire was probably the most bittersweet event for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After decades of vying with their brother for German legitimacy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was undoubtedly the happiest when their brother was killed by his own people.

Emperor Karl originally wanted to take this opportunity to see if he could take back Bavaria, but due to the situation in Austria-Hungary and the things that were happening in Germany at the time, he ultimately chose not to take action and watched as Bavaria was liberated by the revolutionary army.

It was a mixed blessing. The disappearance of the German Empire was a good thing for Austria-Hungary. The loss of regional hegemony allowed it to extend its reach further in a short period of time, and Austria-Hungary could make more policy decisions regarding the Balkans.

The war between the Ottomans and the French Republic has dragged on until now, and even after the German Civil War has ended, the two countries have not yet reached a ceasefire. What is certain now is that Kemal did not survive that assassination attempt. This father of modern Turkey left the stage of history far too early, before he could fully realize his potential in this world.

The Ottoman Empire was in political turmoil, but they still showed no intention of reconciling with France. In France, Pétain was also not in a good position. The two countries were still at war, but the front lines had returned to their pre-war state. Neither side had the strength to organize a counter-offensive; they were just exchanging words on the border.

The chaos in the Ottoman Empire was a good thing for Austria-Hungary, as it eliminated two strong targets for intervention in the Balkans. Russia, wanting to get involved in the Balkans? It'd better deal with its domestic revolutionaries first.

Karl did consider intervening during the German Civil War, as another communist regime would not be a good thing for Austria-Hungary. However, he was overwhelmed by domestic problems. Why was the situation in Hungary always so bad?

Maintaining the empire alone was exhausting for Karl. Austria-Hungary was too busy to interfere in German affairs and could only watch helplessly as Wilhelm II fled to Africa in a small boat.

Maintaining an empire is difficult, especially when the neighboring regime is still a communist regime. Now, Austria-Hungary not only has to be wary of Italian socialists, but also of the spread of the German socialist movement to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The German revolution gave the Austro-Hungarian revolutionaries great confidence.

After the economic crisis that broke out in Germany spread, Austria-Hungary was also severely affected by the crisis. Although Germany and Austria-Hungary were not on good terms, they were still brothers and had a lot of cooperation in the economic field.

Germany's economy was the strongest in the world, and no one expected it to collapse. A large number of Austro-Hungarian investors flocked to Germany's capital market in search of opportunities, but none of them escaped the terrifying vortex after the German economic crisis broke out.

Austria's brief post-war economic boom was interrupted by this crisis, and its economy began to decline across the board. The reason why Austria was the dominant power in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was because it had money and could use the market and money to control the member states of the empire. This crisis left Austria unable to take care of itself and completely destroyed the economic ties between Austria and other member states.

The member states began to stir up trouble. Many of these member states had economies that were not as good as Austria's and were more affected. Workers took to the streets to protest, riots broke out throughout the empire, and calls for independence grew louder. More and more member states wanted to break away from the Austro-Hungarian family, and the entire empire was on the verge of collapse.

Germany is gradually recovering and emerging from the shadows thanks to the efforts of the workers' parties. Seeing this, the workers of Austria-Hungary naturally want to fight for power. Besides the Gestapo, Germany also has the Stasi.

Efforts to restore Germany's economy and infrastructure did not mean they would not export revolution; the Stasi were more than happy to give the surrounding imperialist countries something to do.

Emperor Karl is very busy now. This emperor is really a thankless job, as he has to maintain the entire empire and deal with all kinds of political parties and workers who take to the streets every day.

The German revolution led to a sudden rise in political parties in Austria. People seemed to become more politically conscious overnight. The power of the working class was growing, and another force was also growing. With the success of the German revolution, a large number of National Party members fled to Austria for refuge through various means.

Germany is now under communist control, and the communists are naturally quite dissatisfied and want to make a comeback. A significant number of core members of the National Party have come to Austria to revive the organization and have joined forces with local Austrian political parties.

These guys are a mess when they're together, and scattered when they're apart. Austria is a good place for the National Party to take root and flourish, especially after it combined with their native Unified Aryan Party.

The United Aryan Party is a new type of political party that combines religion and mysticism. It is very popular in Austria because its theories are very advanced and completely different from other political parties. To put it bluntly, they tell very interesting stories, attracting many people to watch, and thus their influence is naturally greater.

The United Aryan Party had some influence before, but people just listened to it for fun. Aryans, pure blood, God. Now that Austria's economy is on the verge of collapse, this party's influence is growing. What's even more frightening is that this party has now merged with the National Party, which fled from Germany.

The two sides hit it off immediately. Germany's defeat did not mean that the National National Party's theory had failed. The National National Party's emphasis on one nation, one government, and one leader resonated strongly with the Unity Aryan Party, and coincided with their slogan of one empire, one religion, and one bloodline.

The National Party was, after all, the ruling party in Germany at the time, with a tight organizational structure. Their organizational system greatly increased the influence of the Aryan Unity Party. The Aryan Unity Party and the National Party, one was good at telling stories and the other was good at winning people's hearts, came together to form a party that could both tell stories and make you rich. Who wouldn't like that?

What was the current situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire? Internally divided and facing powerful enemies, what was necessary for its survival? It had to fight for land under the sun and unify Austria and Hungary. They adopted the slogan "Might makes right." They aimed to reshape the national character of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the iron-blooded discipline of Prussia.

It has to be said that German tactics were a complete knockout blow to Austria-Hungary. The National Party quickly found its footing in Austria-Hungary. Although their party leaders were all wiped out, their roots were not severed. These people were still trying to rescue their leader in Austria. Nuremberg prison was attacked several times by members of the National Party.

These two parties turned Austrian politics upside down. The merged Aryan National Party saw its membership surge by 20,000 in a single day at its peak, which was quite alarming.

It was so terrifying that even Karl was frightened. How frightened? So frightened that this emperor actually chose to cooperate with the Austrian socialist party to weaken the influence of the Aryan National Party.

Cooperating with a socialist party, of course, not with the Austrian Communist Party, that would be like hanging your head on a lamppost.

The obvious choice was to cooperate with the more moderate Social Democratic Party; Emperor Karl did not want this so-called Aryan Party to drag the whole of Austria into the abyss of destruction.

483. Fighting in the arena

Karl was, after all, the King of Austria-Hungary, and naturally he would not discuss cooperation with radical socialists.

After the success of the German revolution, the Austro-Hungarian socialists seemed even more excited than the German Communist Party, almost all of them busy "popping champagne" to celebrate the German revolution as if they had won.

The German revolution emboldened Austrian socialists, who, belonging to the same German family, believed that the German revolution would accelerate the Austrian revolution.

The success of the armed revolution made some Austrian socialists even more determined. The probability of success for an armed revolution was much higher than that for reformism, and it was also much faster.

This caused a split in the Austrian socialist movement, as reformism and radical revolutionaries could no longer remain in the same camp.

A portion of the radical left wing of the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPD) chose to leave and form the Communist Party of Austria, leaving mostly moderate reformers in the SPD.

As an enlightened monarch, Karl needed a party to challenge the Aryan National Party. The Social Democratic Party was a very good contender, with its strong party influence and the exodus of radicals, which removed a destabilizing factor. Karl needed such a party to pull Austria back from the brink of spiraling out of control.

The National Party is indeed a game-changer in Austria, especially given the current state of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where the lack of a dominant ethnic group has brought the country to the brink of disintegration. In such a situation, it is necessary to find something even more important than ethnicity to unite the vast majority of people.

The Unified Aryan Party originally started out based on religion. Since ethnicity was unreliable, they relied on things like Catholicism. The Unified Aryan Party was initially just a branch of Catholicism, a small sect, and only later gradually developed into a political party.

From the very beginning, it was somewhat obsessed, incorporating the theories of the National Party. If you call it obsession, it's more like a cult. The Aryan National Party, cloaked in religion and mysticism, what else could it be but a cult?

With official backing, the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPD) developed at an astonishing speed, quickly establishing a dominant position within the government. However, compared to the rapidly growing Aryan National Party, its momentum still seemed somewhat weak, as the Aryan National Party's growth rate was simply astonishing.

Religion combined with lineage can always give people a spiritual high. Revolution and reform are nothing compared to the thrill of being God's chosen people.

The Aryan National Party cleverly chose to avoid the complex ethnic situation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, instead adopting a completely new interpretation to create a new nation—the Aryan nation.

The Aryan National Party has a very clear classification system: it recruits some people and then attacks others, creates enemies, and then wins over those who should be won over.

As the saying goes, "Great scholars will defend me." The propaganda booklet of the unified Aryan party, "What is the Divine Bloodline," describes the characteristics of Aryans in great detail, including their pupils, hair color, teeth, and bones.

This kind of propaganda can easily create illusions. Many people, after seeing it, will naturally relate it to themselves and exclaim, "My God, this is exactly me!" They will automatically put themselves into this sacred bloodline system.

The official body of the Aryan National Party has an organization called "Sacred Bloodline," which specializes in identifying so-called Aryans. For a very small fee, it is possible to determine whether you are an Aryan.

Every day, long lines of people form. Most importantly, it can not only test bloodline but also purity, showing you just how "pure" your bloodline is.

Some people of pure blood are even awarded certificates. Ordinary people have never seen such methods before and are completely fooled. Many professional medical experts endorse the Aryan Party, and the number of people who believe it will only increase.

People only believe what they want to believe, and they really don't care what the truth is. Just think about it, if you're a person who's just struggling every day, and then you get tested to see if you have Aryan blood and are even given a certificate, then your identity suddenly becomes "special".

Becoming an "Aryan" also has its advantages. You can enjoy many benefits from the Aryan National Party. The current economic situation is not good, so the Aryan Party has become a warm family. With the support of the National Party, the entire party is becoming more and more tightly knit. It not only has paramilitary organizations, but also controls many factories and enterprises, showing a trend of becoming a state within a state.

Liebenfels never expected that the German Civil War would bring so many benefits to his party, which had only a little fame and little influence. The Aryan National Party is now at its peak in Austria and has a large number of supporters.

Because the National Party originated from Germany and fled to Austria, the Aryan National Party is mainly popular in Upper Austria, which borders Germany.

In Linz, Tyrol and Salzburg, more than 20,000 people participated in a large-scale Aryan National Party march. Liebenfeldt personally attended the opening ceremony of the rally and very publicly announced his candidacy for parliamentary elections, aiming to make Austria-Hungary a sacred, indivisible, unified empire.

His actions were far more radical than those of the Nazis. If that Mustache guy had actually had such a political party in Austria back then, he probably wouldn't have gone to Germany.