Timeline of the Europabund

**1936:** The Rhineland Crisis. Under Hitler, the Wehrmacht moves into the demilitarised Rhineland, violating the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact. France hesitates due to British equivocation and a false intelligence report claiming that the German force in the Rhineland is large enough to require an expensive general mobilisation to overturn, but the French War Minister, Louis Maurin, has access to informal intelligence sources within the German military and realises that the German force is small. Maurin persuades the French Cabinet to organise *Operation Pharamond*, a limited occupation of strategic locations in the western Rhine by three French divisions. This move is unpopular in France and even more so in the UK, which sees France as the aggressor. However the Wehrmacht is not prepared for even a limited confrontation with France, and after a few days stalemate, the Wehrmacht withdraws. While France becomes more isolated internationally, internally Pharamond is seen as successful by most of French opinion except the communist party.

Inside Germany there are several days of chaos and rumours that Hitler did or did not order the withdrawal from the Rhineland. On March 20 - ironically the same day as the German revolution of 1848 - Wehrmacht officers arrest Hitler, Hess, Goebbels, Goering, Himmler and many other senior leaders. The official charge is that Hitler colluded with the French to withdraw from the Rhineland. Wehrmacht commander in chief Ludwig Beck announces that an ad hoc committee of senior Generals will govern Germany.

Protests break out in several parts of Germany, mostly among Nazi party street fighters, but are swiftly crushed by the military. The Nazi party remains formally legal but its members are shut out of power with the exception of a few mid-ranking Nazi officials who remain in office, notably foreign minister Konstantin von Neurath. Many ordinary Germans are happy that a war with France and the UK has been averted. The Weimar constitution remains formally in effect (as it was under the Nazis) but is effectively suspended.

In June, Neurath and French foreign minister Pierre Flandin meet in Geneva to sign a treaty regularising the demilitarisation of the Rhineland on a bilateral basis. French troops begin to withdraw although nominal garrisons remain in place.

A few days before Yule, Beck hands over power to an "interim government" headed by Justice Minister Franz Gurtner. Gurtner, whose cabinet is made up of industrialists, military officers and high ranking technocrats, with a few mid-ranking ex-Nazis remaining in office (von Neurath is still foreign minister), says that Germany needs a new constitution, but it will take time to prepare for and hold a constitutional convention. Until the convention takes place, Hitler and his ministers will be held pending trial.

**1936-1940:** The "Christmas years", named after Gurtner´s "Christmas government". Martial law remains in effect. The Berlin Olympics go ahead as normal with the Nazi symbolism hastily removed. Persecution of Jews, Social Democrats and Pacifists slows down somewhat, although Roma and Communists are still harassed. Nazi organisations such as the SS are dismantled although their members are generally not punished. The Nazi military buildup continues. France continues to lightly occupy the Rhineland. Tensions with Poland rise over Danzig but with the Germans in Danzig are effectively repressed by the Polish dictatorship. The UK and France sever their alliance and France reduces its commitments to Czechia and Poland, instead focusing on direct diplomacy with Germany. In Austria the Austrian nations decline in strength without German support.

**1940:** After years of deliberation which have been largely peaceful, and martial law has remained in effect, a Convention on the Basic Law is held in Frankfurt. The delegates are almost all men, drawn from all over Germany but exclusively from the upper class, with many being church leaders, former military officers, conservative academics and cultural figures, and business leaders. Former Nazis are represented but are a relatively small group. There are a handful of Social Democrats and Liberals. Monarchists are well represented and is there is speculation that the monarchy will be restored, if not under Wilhelm II (who is known to be terminally ill) then perhaps under his heir as Wilhelm III, or another Hohenzollern such as Prince Oskar or Prince Waldemar. Several Bavarian delegates made a surprisingly strong case for Ruprecht of Bavaria as head of state. Many mourned that Hindenburg was no longer available, and it was perhaps for this reason that his son and former aide, Oskar von Hindenburg, was chosen as head of state. The powers of the Presidency were greatly reduced from the Hindenburg era, with substantial power given to the various regions, in a desire to avoid the sort of adventurism that brought Germany to the brink in 1936. The red-black-gold flag is abandoned in favour of a return to the black-white-red Imperial flag, and the word "republic" does not appear anywhere - the text of the Basic Law simply describes the "German state", but the state that arises is often described as the "German Reich" even in statements by government officials. Von Hindenburg appoints Carl Goerdler, a former mayor of Leipzig and Finance Minister under von Papen, as the new Chancellor. Elections are held in summer of 1940, but the franchise, which is extremely attenuated and indirect (based to a large degree off the Imperial-era Prussian franchise) results in a near clean sweep for candidates who support the government in the new Reichstag. A few hardline Hitlerist or social-liberal candidates are elected from Munich, Saxony, Berlin and Hamburg, but several of them are prevented from taking office due to legal technicalities, personal scandals or, in one case of a left-socialist candidate from Berlin, being arrested for being a Soviet spy on trumped up charges.

**1941:** Large numbers of people arrested under the Hitler era are released. There had been earlier releases but the 1941 release has the character of an amnesty although the government does not call it this and there is no announcement. The situation is confused as many guilty of relatively minor "crimes" remain imprisoned, and some serious criminals or convicted foreign agents are released. The government does not offer any support or restitution to former prisoners, so many are forced to live much humbler lives than they led before being arrested, and many emigrate, a process which is permitted, but not supported.

The Reich main office for security under Admiral Wilhelm Canaris established, taking over the responsibilities of the various Hitler-era security services, although military intelligence remains separate (even though Canaris himself is a former military intelligence officer). His deputy is another former military intelligence officer named Reinhard Gehlen.

Hitler, Hess, Goebbels, Himmler and Goering, as well as several other Nazis and some pro-Nazi senior military officers, such as Werner von Blomberg, are put on trial. The crimes are various but the emphasis is heavily on corruption and violation of various procedural laws that remained formally in effect during the Nazi era - the charge for which they were arrested in 1936, of colluding with France, is absent. The trial, heavily followed in the international press, becomes something of a spectacle, with Hitler and Goebbels giving long, protracted defenses of themselves. Despite some disruption by pro-Nazi street activists, they are found guilty and sentenced to moderate jail sentences. They are imprisoned in a specially constructed prison in Sigmaringen castle.

In Romania, a conflict breaks out between the Hitlerist Iron Guard and political forces loyal to the King and his appointed Prime Minister, General Antonescu. Antonescu appeals to Germany and France for assistance but neither is able to provide it - Germany is too consumed with its own internal issues and sceptical about interventions, while France does not want to antagonise Germany. The civil war drags on for several months and results in exceptional violence, including *pogroms* against Romania´s large Jewish population of a severity not seen since the days of the Russian Empire. Hungary takes advantage of the chaos to move troops into Transylvania, although they do not occupy the whole area lost in 1920. Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia protest but do not act.

**1942:** The Iron Guard regime takes control of Romania - the King flees to Italy. In order to avoid a Hungarian-Romanian war over the territory Hungary still occupies, the two countries submit the issue to Germany for arbitration. Despite some debate, Goerdler agrees to mediate. Talks begin in Nuremberg, presided over by von Neurath. Although the talks are officially bilateral, France, Italy, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia are all closely involved, as the question concerns not just the Hungarian-Romanian border but the whole issue of the post-Great War borders of Europe. Eventually a settlement is agreed to by which Hungary is permitted to retain part of Hungarian Transylvania in exchange for an agreement not to seek any future border modifications. Italy, France and Germany collectively agree to guarantee the existing borders of all three countries - although it is the German guarantee that both Bucharest and Budapest are most interested in. A secondary effect is that the Iron Guard regime in Romania is solidified and legitimised, something which will cause problems later on.

**1944:** Iceland declares independence from Denmark, concerned by Denmark´s increasing alignment with Germany and not wanting to be caught in a potential German-American conflict. The Danish government concedes independence but the Treaty of Copenhagen guarantees that Iceland will not host any military forces hostile to Denmark.

Germany detonates a nuclear bomb, codenamed *Barbarossa*, on the sandy and thinly inhabited Curonian Spit, East Prussia.

**1945:** Austro-German treaty is signed recognising a special relationship between the two countries and the goal of eventual union. Von Neurath retires soon afterwards and is replaced as foreign minister by Albert Speer (previously Minister for Industry).

The USA detonates a nuclear bomb, codenamed *Trinity,* in New Mexico.

**1946:** Gehlen takes over from Canaris as head of the security office. He will remain in office for nearly 26 years and become very influential, leading to the office being named the "Gehlen-amt" even after he retires.

**1947:** A grand European summit is held in Aachen with all western European governments except Switzerland participating, as well as Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia. Speer is the chairman of the conference and gives several speeches on European unity. An agreement is made to move towards a "Europa Bund". The signing of the Aachen treaty establishes a permanent international secretariat, whose goal it is to establish a legal framework under the principles agreed in Aachen, namely:

* National sovereignty *(Pacifism, Fortress Europe)*
* European global leadership *(Imperialism)*
* Traditional European culture *(Family, Art, Aristocracy, Anti-democracy)*
* Christianity *(Anti-semitism, Anti-zyganism)*
* Economic self-sufficiency for the continent *(European free trade, imperialist economics)*
* Law and order *(Anti-revolutionary values)*

**1948:** Goerdler resigns and is replaced by Hjalmar Schact, his Finance Minister. Although holding no formal office, Goerdler joins General Beck, Gehlen, von Papen and several other less public figures in a *camarila* which is believed to hold the true authority, whatever the formal constitutional reality. Speer also resigns, and is appointed ambassador to Paris.

**1950:** Strasbourg as chosen as the capital city of the Europa Bund, complete with a European Assembly, a Secretariat, a Supreme Court, and various other institutions. 24 December 1950 is considered the foundation date of the Bund.

Although the Frankfurt Basic Law allows the head of state to remain in office for life, Hindenburg is getting old and bored and wants to retire. According to the Frankfurt Basic Law, a convention must be held, and it is duly assembled with due pomp and circumstance. However there is little debate, as the *camarila* has already agreed that HIndenburg´s replacement will be Graf Carl-Hans von Hardenberg, a Great War veteran who had been active in religious and farming circles. Von Hardenberg assumes office with due pomp and ceremony but exercises even less political authority than his predecessor.

**1953:** An Austro-German confederation within the Europa Bund is established, granting shared citizenship, combining their military and diplomatic services. Several Austrian military and diplomatic leaders will go on to become prominent in service to the Reich.

**1955:** Chancellor Schact resigns and is replaced by Speer, who after six years in Paris had been working as an architectural consultant.

**1956:** The death of a Romanian diplomat in Hungary at the hands of a Jewish Hungarian student leads to a massive outburst of anti-semitic violence in Romania, worse even than the 1941 pogrom. German news organisations in Bucharest record the violence, which causes mixed reactions within the Reich. Some Germans view the Romanian Jews as having brought this upon themselves, while others are reminded of the excesses of the Hitlerist regime. The fact that Romania is an ally of Germany, having recently received substantive German economic aid to develop its energy infrastructure, is embarrassing to the government. Germany does not condemn the violence, although it does discretely arrange for a few Romanian Jewish intellectuals and businessmen to be granted asylum, and turns a blind eye to refugees who manage to escape Romania. The Romanian government clamps down on the most egregious outbursts of public violence, but the plight of the Romanian Jews remains severe and several lesser outbursts of violence continue over the years.

**1958:** Graf von Hardenberg dies in office. He is replaced by Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, a former Finance Minister under Goerdler and participant in the 1936 coup.

**1962:** Hitler dies in prison aged 73. Hess, Himmler, Goebels and Bormann remain imprisoned, Goering having already died in 1951. Lower ranked members of the Nazi government have been quietly released into house arrest during the 1950s.

**1963:** The Icelandic Missile Crisis. German intelligence sources reveal that the United States has been placing nuclear tipped missiles in Iceland. These missiles have the potential to strike the coast of Europe and possibly reach Germany proper. Speer demands that the USA withdraw its weapons and places a naval embargo around Iceland to prevent future deliveries of weapons material. The USA declares the embargo illegal, but after back channel negotiations in Berlin, an agreement is reached by which the USA withdraws its nuclear weapons from Iceland in exchange for Germany withdrawing its own nuclear missiles from the Azores. Despite the trade off this is domestically seen as a major diplomatic victory for Speer, increasing his popularity, although it also raises fears of nuclear war and motivates Speer to begin pursuing arms control agreements with the USA.

**1968:** The Austro-German confederation is renamed the Greater German confederation and more tightly integrated. Austria is now effectively another region of the German state, although one that enjoys greater autonomy and some ceremonial independence (e.g. its chief executive is still permitted to use the title of State President, as opposed to Minister President).

The nuclear restriction treaty (NRT) is signed, attempting to restrict the development of nuclear weapons to existing nuclear-weapons states.

The artificial satellite *Wanderer* launched by the Luftwaffe, is launched, marking the first time a human-made object has left the earth´s atmosphere. Plans are underway for human spaceflight in the early 1970s.

**1970:** von Krosigk, who is 83 years old, decides to retire. For the first time there is controversy, as Speer aims to replace him and potentially become a more political President. Speer clashes with the *camarila*, which is centred around Gehlen (von Papen having recently died, and Beck and Goerdler passing during the 60s), but is not able to become President despite some popular support for the idea. Instead, the Head of State is Dietrich von Hildebrand, a conservative Italian-Bavarian academic theologian known for opposition to the modernisation of the Church. Since von Hildebrand´s family were "only" ennobled by the Bavarian monarchy in the early 20th century, he is seen in many ways as the first non-aristocratic head of state, compared to von Krosigk, von Hardenberg and von Hindenburg, all of whom came from very long aristocratic lines.

The conflict between Speer and the *camarila* weakens the Chancellor politically and he resigns a few months later. Speer´s resignation is seen as the last of the 1936 generation (he was involved in the 1936 action in a relatively low-level capacity). This turns out not to be the case, as his replacement as Chancellor is War Minister Henning von Tresckow. Tresckow isa Great War veteran and former aide de camp to Beck, and was also involved in the 1936 action. Speer goes to work with his son´s architecture business as a consultant. The Foreign Minister, Hans-Herbert Herwarth von Bittenfeld, a close ally of Speer, also resigns, and is replaced by the young Bavarian academic Heinz Kissinger. Kissinger´s appointment is startling to many as he is the first senior German politician of Jewish heritage since Rathenau.