December 11, 1937
Berlin, Northern Germany, Frankfurter Zeitung Berlin Branch
“Good morning. Welcome to the Frankfurter Zeitung (Frankfurt Newspaper) Berlin Branch, Captain Schacht.”
“Good morning, Reporter Jung.”
I gave a simple greeting to a smiling, welcoming Claudia and was led into the building.
Hmm- the building is much bigger than I thought.
Everyone is so energetic… and they look busy.
In 21st Century Korea, the paper newspaper was something for the older generation, and I used to read news articles mainly on my smartphone or the internet.
But the status a newspaper holds in this era is completely different from that of the 21st Century.
Even though I knew it in my head, visiting such an energetic and massive newspaper company in person was impressive in its own right.
“Thank you for readily accepting the invitation.
Oh, by the way. Did you read the newspaper I gave you yesterday?”
“Yes.
Well… it was interesting.”
Yesterday, when I said I had never read the Frankfurter Zeitung, Claudia had handed me a copy with a look of utter shock, as if she’d been struck by lightning.
I was bored, so I read it before going to bed.
In modern times, time would fly by just surfing the web or playing games at night, but in this era, there was such a lack of entertainment that even reading a newspaper was quite fun.
“Honestly, I was truly, genuinely shocked. Former Minister Schacht is part of our newspaper company’s core readership, but for his son to have never read it, I wondered if our paper was going to be okay.”
Even though I was interested in Germany's history, I hadn't delved deep enough to know about its newspapers, but this Frankfurter Zeitung was one of the most prestigious daily newspapers in Germany.
Among them, it was a liberal, pro-business, and conservative newspaper.
In other words, a newspaper that was a perfect fit for the tastes of people like my father, Hjalmar Schacht, a typical example of Germany's wealthy class and a successful businessman who believed in the market economy.
I definitely remember seeing it at my father’s house.
Though I didn’t read it then.
“Well… I was in Spain for a long time.
Haha.”
The truth was that Dietrich was such a loafer, and for Yoon Sung-il, who flew here from the 21st Century, a paper newspaper was not something he was used to reading.
“Hmm~ Should we work hard and expand into Spain too?”
“Haha.”
But saying it was interesting wasn’t just empty words.
The articles and editorials in this newspaper carried quite objective and relatively broad-spectrum pieces, instead of the provocative, eye-catching articles I used to read in Korea.
It was the complete opposite of propaganda newspapers like ‘Der Stürmer’ that the Nazis churned out.
In fact, from what I saw of the editorials, there were many articles that subtly satirized the Nazi Regime while offering relatively neutral commentary on the affairs of other countries.
It fell just short of openly provoking the Nazis, but it showed a disposition that they had no intention of publishing a newspaper that would blind the public to the Nazis’ liking.
The fact that such a media company was still functioning properly in Germany under Nazi rule was quite surprising and amazing.
“So, is Second Lieutenant Habenstein… no, is Mr.
Habenstein doing well?”
“That- I think it would be better for you to hear from the person you’re about to meet.”
Claudia replied with a soft smile, then knocked on the door in front of us and announced to the person inside.
“Branch Manager, it’s Jung. I’ve brought Captain Schacht.”
“Ah, thank you.”
As I entered through the door Claudia opened, a middle-aged man called the Branch Manager approached and offered a handshake.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Captain Schacht. I’m Lutz Habenstein.
I’m in charge as the Branch Manager of the Frankfurter Zeitung’s Berlin branch.”
“Ah, it’s a pleasure.
Branch Manager Habenstein. I am Army Captain Dietrich Schacht.”
Habenstein means…
“Please, have a seat. Do you like coffee?”
“…Yes, please.”
“Sugar?”
“Just one is fine.”
No, I feel like I was somehow swept along.
A man who was a Branch Manager made and handed me coffee so naturally that I accepted it without thinking.
“Excuse me, but if you’re a Habenstein…”
“Ah, that Julius fellow is my nephew.”
“Ah, I see. Um… is he doing well?”
Someone suffering from severe PTSD would have trouble with daily life…
Lutz Habenstein gave me a slight smile.
“That child is doing alright in Frankfurt. Thank you for your concern.”
“…Is that so.”
“When that child was staying in Berlin for a while, he told me all sorts of stories.
He was very grateful to you, Captain. That’s why I wanted to meet you at least once when I heard you had come to Berlin.”
Honestly, having just become a Company Commander, I think it was something close to self-satisfaction.
“Thank you, Captain.
If it weren’t for you, that child might still be blaming himself for being a coward.”
Still, the fact that among the things I did in that gutter, there was at least one thing to be thanked for, felt pretty good.
“…No, not at all. Thank you for letting me know.”
------------------------------------------------
In return, Branch Manager Lutz Habenstein promised quite an extraordinary favor.
He promised that whether it was a tip for an article or an editorial, if I requested it, it would be published in the newspaper with top priority after the editor-in-chief’s review.
This is completely different from reporters covering stories to their own liking and then the media company publishing them in the newspaper to its liking.
Borrowing my father Hjalmar Schacht’s name, getting a single editorial published in a newspaper company wouldn’t be difficult, but this wasn’t a favor that borrowed my father’s name, but one purely for Dietrich Schacht.
Of course, since I had a financial tycoon like Hjalmar Schacht as a father, there was surely some investment in me as a future client—but still, I was certain this was a connection that would definitely be helpful someday.
“This way, Captain Schacht.”
“Ah, thank you.”
And at the place Claudia guided me to in order to greet the editor-in-chief in advance, I came face to face with another man I had not expected at all.
“You’re Captain Schacht? A pleasure. I am Theodor Heuss, the editor-in-chief.”
“A pleasure to meet you for the first time, Editor-in-Chief Heuss. I am Dietrich Schacht.
…Mr. Heuss?! Ah, no, Member of Parliament? Oh, my apologies!”
Heuss, who was older than the Branch Manager, chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
“Well, I’ll be, there’s a young person who still remembers me. It’s quite alright.
I’m just an ordinary journalist now.”
Theodor Heuss, a former Member of Parliament of the Weimar Republic's Reichstag (제국의회), was a figure who lost his parliamentary seat after the passage of the Enabling Act (the law passed on March 24, 1933, that granted all of parliament’s powers to Hitler).
He was working here? I shook his hand, feeling dazed.
“…It’s an honor, Editor-in-Chief Heuss.”
“Haha, a pleasure to meet you too. I heard the story from the Branch Manager.
If there’s anything we can do to help, just say the word at any time.”
Of course, I could tell this wasn’t some common tabloid, but the editor-in-chief, Theodor Heuss, is no ordinary politician!
He is the man who, after the war, would mediate between liberal figures, unify them to found the Free Democratic Party, and become the first President of West Germany.
The mere fact that such a person was here made my trust in this newspaper company skyrocket.
I still needed to get closer and figure these people out a bit more, but on second thought, it wasn’t just the conservative royalist aristocrats and the military who held animosity toward Hitler and the Nazis.
No, rather, if I wanted to oppose Hitler and avoid war, not just end it, I shouldn't just wait for the von Kleist Group but prepare for the future.
No matter how Stauffenberg and the participants of Operation Valkyrie, who attempted to assassinate Hitler at the end of the war and failed, were lionized by later generations, in their own time in Germany, they were treated as traitors.
Even if they had succeeded in killing Hitler, the coup d'état would have had a high probability of failure.
Regardless of their intentions, to the public, Hitler and the Nazis were the great leadership guiding the Fatherland.
A coup d'état that fails to gain even minimal understanding or support from the populace cannot succeed.
No matter how much knowledge a modern person might possess, there is an absolute limit to what a single individual can do against the Nazi Regime that has a firm grip on the populace.
To not have thought of that and focused only on dealing with Hitler, had being in the military turned my brain into that of a militarist? I had gotten my direction wrong, very wrong.
“How was it? You don’t regret making time for this, do you?”
After finishing a not-so-short conversation with Branch Manager Habenstein and Editor-in-Chief Heuss, I couldn't help but smile naturally at Claudia’s question as she escorted me to the entrance.
Ah, honestly, at first, she gave off the impression of a beauty straight out of Nazi propaganda, an Aryan, so I had tried to openly avoid getting involved.
Who would have known that an action taken in the Condor Legion, which might have been nothing more than self-satisfaction, would lead to such a connection?
“I see.
Thank you very much for today.”
When I spoke with gratitude for the precious realization she had given me today, her eyes widened, and then she smiled and extended her hand.
“Not at all, I think we’ll be seeing each other often. I look forward to working with you, Captain Schacht.”
“…Likewise, Reporter Jung.”
It was a handshake with the first connection who might just become a comrade on this bleak path ahead.
-
January 9, 1938
Berlin, Northern Germany, Wedding Hall owned by the Wehrmacht
“Congratulations, Field Marshal!”
“Hahaha, thank you. Thank you.”
The face of Werner von Blomberg, Minister of Defense in Hitler’s Cabinet and an honorable Field Marshal of the German Army, was full of smiles.
Having lost his wife in 1932 and raised five children alone in loneliness, he had taken Erna Gruhn, who had been assisting him as his secretary, as his wife.
His beautiful wife was 26 and he was 59, so the age gap was severe, but this was an era where no one could say anything about an Army Field Marshal taking a younger wife.
“Haha, Eva.
Try to smile a bit more.”
“I’m embarrassed…”
Two high-ranking Nazi officials, also with smiling faces, approached the lovey-dovey newlywed couple.
“Haha, congratulations, Minister of Defense. Today is a very joyous day for Greater Germany.”
“The Führer! It is an unparalleled glory to have you grace us with your presence on this joyous day!”
Hitler, who had greeted Blomberg warmly, turned his gaze to Erna Gruhn with a broad smile on his face.
“Oh, a very beautiful bride.
I wish you a happy life together.”
After speaking, Hitler performed a kiss on the back of Erna Gruhn’s hand and left, never dreaming that he would one day be ashamed of that very fact.
“Ah, Colonel General Göring. Thank you for coming.”
“Congratulations, Field Marshal Blomberg. I’m glad you won’t be lonely anymore.”
“Hahaha, thank you.”
“…I do hope you two will be happy together for a long time.”
Göring paused before speaking, looking at Blomberg and his wife in a strange way, but Blomberg was simply overjoyed and replied with thanks.
Göring casually dealt with the figures saluting and trying to flatter him from all sides as he stepped outside the wedding hall.
“Senior.”
Seeing Himmler, who had been waiting for him, approaching with an unpleasant smile, Göring also smiled with pleasure.
“Are you sure about it?”
“Hahaha… would you like to see for yourself?”
Göring took the document envelope Himmler offered and opened it.
“Ooh… such a sordid affair… for a man who is an Army Field Marshal of this Greater Germany…”
“Is it not deplorable, Senior?”
The evidence Himmler handed over contained the criminal record of the mother of Blomberg’s new wife, Erna Gruhn, who was caught engaging in illegal prostitution, and provocatively shot photos of Erna Gruhn herself that were like pornography.
“Shameless, absolutely shameless. To think she was smiling demurely like the most virtuous bride in Germany after all this.”
“And what about the Army Field Marshal who was happy with such a woman by his side?”
Both of them were speaking as if they found it pitiful, but their faces were smiling.
“What about Fritsch?”
“Haha, that side is also prepared without a flaw, Senior.”
“Hahahaha! Good, absolutely brilliant! The obstacles will be gone now. It’s a truly joyous day for the great Greater Germany!”
Watching Göring, who had just come from congratulating the marriage, laughing with excitement, Himmler also wore a repulsive smile.
A few days later, the German military was thrown into an uproar.