Germany

## Commune of Germany

"Proletarier aller Länder vereinigt Euch!"

13% Catholic

18% Muslim

7% Jewish

16% Other

The **Commune of Germany** (*Gemeinde Deutschland*), previously known as the **German Reich** (*Deutsches Reich*) and the **German Soviet Republic** (*Deutsches Räterepublik*), and also referred to as simply **Germany** (*Deutschland*), is a nation from ICN Season 2, played by Gaia Grìbhinneach.

## **GERMANY'S PERSONALITY**

### **Behavior**

Germany is a very "stark" and rich country, her most defining characteristic being her workaholism, being a serious and efficient country with a major work ethic. She does not tolerate any mistakes she makes, is a neat freak, and happens to have a rather pessimistic and cynical nature. But to look at Germany as nothing but a "Sauerkraut" is a huge misconception. If the phrase "Work hard, play hard" could be personified into a country, it may very well be Germany.

She used to speak with a thick accent, which sometimes made it hard to deduce what she's saying, but she eventually lost her accent. She sometimes tends to go on long rants when getting into an argument, and doesn't like admitting when she's wrong. Despite this, she does know how to temper her ego and be charismatic when she needs to be, whether that be attempting to gain a new ally or secure a trade deal.

Germany does have a more pleasant side, normally only shown to allies and countries who share her cause. She's sarcastic in a friendly way, constantly joking around with allies, and tends to get overprotective of them. She's somewhat of a loose cannon, constantly threatening imperialism on all who oppose her, though she rarely carries through with these actions. She dislikes liberal nations, seeing them as "filthy centrists," as well as Fascist nations, seeing them as ruthless genocidal dictators. She has an easier time negotiating and communicating with Communist nations, being one herself. She has a love/hate relationship with France, admiring their sheer size and strength, as well as their communist nature, but used to hold a grudge against them for their possession of Alsace-Lorraine, which Germany used to deem "rightful German land." Her favorite food is *Sauerbraten,* which also serves as the nation's national dish, and she's a fan of sports, and even organized her own version of the Olympics, dubbed the *Spartakiad*. As well as this, she plans to build a thriving tourism industry, hoping to show to people the beauty of Germany.

### **Appearance**

Germany's appearance is that of a red circle, with eyelashes and small beauty mark. She used to be a black circle with a crossed red sword and hammer, reflecting the flag of the ruling party at the time and the symbol of Strasserism. As well as this, she almost always looks somewhat annoyed.

HEX Palette for Germany is shown below.

* Body - ED1D26
* Outlines/Beauty mark - 000000
* Eyes - FFFFFF

## **HISTORY**

When it first began, Germany took an alt-history take on the Third Reich, with Strasserism being the dominant ideology instead of Nazism. It was more worker-oriented and socialist than it's real life counterpart, and had plans to reclaim the land once owned by the old German Empire, complete with colonies. Eventually though, it capitulated to a rebel Soviet faction after two civil wars and a general strike, becoming the German Soviet Republic, whose state eventually withered away and formed the Commune of Germany, an anarcho-communist federation of German communes.

### **Background**

Before the start of the modern Reich, Germany was known as the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic faced numerous problems, including hyperinflation, political extremism (including violence from left- and right-wing paramilitaries), contentious relationships with other nations, and a series of failed attempts at coalition government by divided political parties, aswell as severe setbacks to the German economy. The government printed money to make payments and to solve the economic setbacks, but the resulting hyperinflation led to inflated prices for consumer goods, economic chaos, and food riots.

The National Socialist German Workers' Party (*Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei*, NSDAP), commonly known as the Nazi Party, was founded in 1920. It was the renamed successor of the German Workers' Party (DAP) formed one year earlier, and one of several far-right political parties then active in Germany. The Nazi Party platform included destruction of the Weimar Republic, radical antisemitism, and anti-Bolshevism. They promised a strong central government, increased *Lebensraum* ("living space") for Germanic peoples, formation of a national community based on race, and racial cleansing via the active suppression of Jews, who would be stripped of their citizenship and civil rights. The Nazis proposed national and cultural renewal based upon the *Völkisch* movement. The party, especially its paramilitary organisation *Sturmabteilung* (SA; Storm Detachment), or Brownshirts, used physical violence to advance their political position, disrupting the meetings of rival organisations and attacking their members as well as Jewish people on the streets. Such far-right armed groups were common in Bavaria, and were tolerated by the sympathetic far-right state government.

When the stock market crashed on 24 October 1929, the effect in Germany was dire. Millions were thrown out of work and several major banks collapsed. The Nazis prepared to take advantage of the emergency to gain support for their party. They promised to strengthen the economy and provide jobs. Many voters decided the Nazi Party was capable of restoring order, quelling civil unrest, and improving Germany's international reputation. After the federal election, the party was the largest in the Reichstag, holding 230 seats with 37.4 percent of the popular vote.

### **Tensions Within The Party**

Although the Nazis won the greatest share of the popular vote in the two Reichstag general elections, they did not have a majority. The Nazi Party therefore led a short-lived coalition government formed with the German National People's Party. Under pressure from politicians, industrialists, and the business community, the former President of the Weimar Republic appointed the leader of the Nazi Party as Chancellor of Germany. This event is known as the *Machtergreifung* ("seizure of power").

About a month after this, the Reichstag building was set afire. Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, was found guilty of starting the blaze. The Nazi Party proclaimed that the arson marked the start of a communist uprising. The Reichstag Fire Decree, imposed a day later, rescinded most civil liberties, including rights of assembly and freedom of the press. The decree also allowed the police to detain people indefinitely without charges. The legislation was accompanied by a propaganda campaign that led to public support for the measure. Violent suppression of communists by the SA was undertaken nationwide and 4,000 members of the Communist Party of Germany were arrested, and intimidation tactics as well as the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree were used to keep several Social Democratic deputies from voting against Nazi policies.

After the Nazis banned both the Communist and Social Democratic parties, as well as labor unions, enough was enough. Seeing the direction the Nazi Party was heading, a new group formed within it: The **Combat League of Revolutionary National Socialists** (German: *Kampfgemeinschaft Revolutionärer Nationalsozialisten*, **KGRNS**), more commonly known as the **Black Front** (German: *Schwarze Front)*. The Black Front believed the original anti-capitalist nature of the NSDAP had been betrayed by the current Nazi Party. The Black Front was composed of radical members of the NSDAP and many members of the SA, who intended to cause a split in the main party. The organisation published a newspaper, The German Revolution, and adopted the crossed hammer and sword as its symbol. Believing the current party to have betrayed its original ideals, a "Second Revolution" was initiated by the Front, their goal being to remove the Nazis from power and usher in a new, revolutionary government. The SA, whose size was numbered at 3 million, combined with numerous workers' militias, easily overthrew the old Party regime in a bloodless coup and brought the Black Front into power, with Heide Felgenhauer as the new leader.

The new government freed many communist political prisoners, rescinded the Reichstag Fire Decree, and rejected many of the old Nazi Party policies, including *Lebensraum* and racial cleansing, instead focusing on nationalization and redistribution of wealth, nationalism, and workers' rights. It also legalized the formerly banned Communist and Social Democratic parties, as well as labor unions. The new regime also abolished the symbols of the Weimar Republic—including the black, red, and gold tricolour flag—and adopted reworked symbolism. The previous imperial black, white, and red tricolour was restored as Germany's official flag, defaced with a wheat wreath and crossed hammer and sword, reflecting the state's new revolutionary socialist ideology.

## **RELATIONS**

Praesent erat felis, semper at suscipit in, tincidunt vel lectus.

### **Friends**

**France** - A great and powerful ally.

**Samply Guy** - You're awesome!

**Sample Nation** - You're awesome too!

### **Neutral**

**Ipsum Lorem** - Dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit!

**Sample Nation** - You're okay.

### **Enemies**

**Dolor Sit Amet** - **FUCK YOU!! I HATE YOU SO MUCH!!!**

**Consectetur** - He's allied with filthy Dolor Sit Amet! Screw you!