Greater Nazi Reich

The **Greater Nazi Reich**, officially known as the **Greater Germanic Reich** since 1945, or the "Greater National Socialist Reich", is one of the two major world powers in *The Man in the High Castle*, the other being the Japanese Empire. With its capital in Berlin, the German Reich controls parts of Europe, parts of Africa, Nazi America (Composed of most of the former U.S.), and the Eastern parts of the Americas. The Nazi Empire is presented as the more powerful and technologically advanced of the two superpowers, and is in a state of *détente* with the Japanese. Under the Nazi Party, Germany has became a Unitary one-party state under a Authoritarian-Totalitarian Military dictatorship.

## History

In September 19, 1919, Adolf Hitler, a World War I veteran, joined a small political party at a beer hall in Munich, Germany. Under Adolf Hitler, the German Worker's Party (German: *Deutsche Arbeiterpartei*, abbreviated **DAP**) later was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (German: *Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei*, abbreviated **NSDAP**), or later on Nazi Party.

Hitler based the Nazi platform on reversing the Treaty of Versailles, restrengthening the nation, and on a stab-in-the-back (*Dolchstoßlegende*) notion that the German military did not "lose" the war but was rather betrayed at a critical moment by traitorous civilians (Communists, Jews), thereby causing the war effort to fail. These policies proved popular among those embittered by the Treaty. The Great Depression allowed the party's popularity to grow even faster as impoverished Germans flocked to Hitler's banner. The Nazi Party grew steadily until it became the largest political entity in the Weimar Republic in 1933.

Having more seats than any other party in the *Reichstag* (the legislative body of the Republic) Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor (*Reichskanzler*) in January 30, 1933. The NSDAP quickly moved to silence all opposition to its power by passing the Enabling Act of 1933. This act spelled the end of the Weimar Republic by granting Chancellor Hitler emergency powers, abolishing all other political parties, and stripping away almost all powers of the *Reichstag*. After the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg (who was all but a figurehead at this point) on 2 August 1934, Hitler merged the offices of Reichspräsident and Reichskanzler, and declared himself *Führer and Reichskanzler*, although eventually *Reichskanzler* was quietly dropped and Hitler was more commonly referred to as *Der Führer* (The Leader) thus making him the head of State and Government altogether. In this new government, Hitler wielded absolute power and German bureaucracy became a collection of factions "working towards the Führer": Hitler issued vague instructions on many policies and expected his subordinates to work the details out on their own.

In the mist of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment with massive military spending and extensive public work projects, such as the continued construction of the Autobahn (high speed highways). These acts boosted the regime's popularity. Driven by a desire to avenge the punishments of the First World War and its hated Treaty of Versailles, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive military actions (much to the dismay of many of the German military high command). First, in 1935, the state reintroduced mass conscription, transformed the Reichswehr (Reich Defense) into the Wehrmacht (defence force), and in 1936 it moved to occupy the Rhineland region (a demilitarized zone); both actions constituted direct violations of the Treaty. Then, in 1938, it annexed Austria (the 'Anschluss') and through the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland as well, a German-speaking region in Czechoslovakia, before conquering the rest in March 1939, pushing Europe ever closer to war. Finally, on September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, igniting World War II, as both France and the United Kingdom declared war against Germany to defend Poland's sovereignty.

It can be assumed the Second World War proceeded as it did in our timeline up until mid-1940, with Germany successfully conquering Poland by the end of September 1939, followed by Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France by June 1940. However, thanks to the assassination of Roosevelt in 1933, the U.S. was evidently less effective in World War II than historically. This resulted in the Nazis conquering the United Kingdom. After the success of Operation Sea Lion, the Nazis helped other countries, such as Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Finland, join the Axis. Vichy France became a Nazi-puppet State, and the Northern half of France was given to Vichy France. Syria and Transjordan gained independence, and they, along with most Middle-Eastern nations, joined the Axis. Many African colonies were ceded to Germany. In 1942, the Nazis successfully defeated the USSR and conquered all of European Russia.

By 1944, the Nazis had conquered Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In this alternate timeline, the Nazis succeeded in creating an operational atomic bomb, dubbed the "Heisenberg Device", by 1945. On December 11, 1945, the Nazis deployed one of these weapons on Washington D.C, obliterating most of the city and the whole U.S. Government. This cleared the way, for a German invasion, of the Eastern, and Mid-Western United States, and Canada. Simultaneously, the Nazis conquered Greenland. The Caribbean, all of Central America, and the Eastern Parts of South America. Simultaneously, Japan started conquering, the Western United States, Canada, and South America. In the Summer of 1947, the Greater Nazi Reich, and Japan, declared victory, and World War II was ended. Germany and Japan, divided the former United States, between themselves. The Eastern Parts of the U.S, became Nazi America. The Eastern Parts of Canada, became Nazi Canada. The Western Parts, of the U.S, and Canada, became the Japanese Pacific States. The area, between Nazi America, Nazi Canada, and the Japanese Pacific States, became the Neutral Zone.

The Greater Nazi Reich declares that Whites are "Aryans", it also considers Asians to be "honorary Aryans". The Reich employed a policy of genocide against "non-Aryans", especially Jews, Slavs and Black people. By the 1960s, none are present in Reich territory. But Black Africans are still present in Nazi-occupied Africa. The Reich does it's best to conceal any evidence of all it's exterminations. For example, children in schools are taught that Black people were resettled to their 'homelands' in Africa, and that they are working for the Reich.

In 1962, men such as Reichsminister Martin Heusmann and Oberstgruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich assassinated Adolf Hitler in an attempt to gain control for themselves, so as to start World War III against the Japanese . This, however, was uncovered by then Obergruppenführer John Smith. Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler then succeeded Hitler as the new and second Führer.

Political struggles followed suit. Reichsmarschall George Lincoln Rockwell, the leader of Nazi America, together with the Head of the ARBI J. Edgar Hoover, attempted to overthrow the newly promoted Oberstgruppenführer John Smith. However, Smith managed to turn Hoover to his side and overthrow Rockwell instead. Himmler states that he had been grooming Smith to take over as the new Reichsmarschall and that Smith was "very close" to being arrested. Smith was subsequently promoted to Rockwell's former position.

Time goes on but most of the leadership in Berlin is still doubtful of The American Reich as it is being led by an American. Noticing that Smith's loyalty is in question, Hoover and Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Goertzmann plan to overthrow Smith by presenting evidence of Smith's disloyalty. However, Smith also managed to turn Goertzmann to his side and both start to plan a putsch to overthrow Himmler, Hoover and the Berlin leadership.

The putsch was subsequently launched and was successful, and Goertzmann is now the de facto leader of the Nazi Reich. However, his deal with Smith included that Germany also allowed the American Reich to have full independence, under the rule of John Smith, while Goertzmann himself led the remaining parts of the Reich. Goertzmann adhered to the deal, and John Smith was now the first Reichsführer of The American Reich.

After the death of John Smith, the fall of the American Reich, and the United States being restored, the fate of the Goertzmann-led German Reich is unknown.

## Overview

### Territory

    Many world maps are shown throughout the series. One example is in Thomas Smith's classroom, at Fritz Julius Kuhn High School. Another map appears in the war room, in Berlin. According to these maps, the Nazis control the entirety of the continents of Europe, Africa, as well as the Middle East and European Russia. In addition, the Reich controls Iceland, Greenland, Iran, the majority of North America, Central America and the Caribbean islands, and sizable territories on the east coast of South America, including Venezuela, Guyana, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, and the eastern half of Brazil.

On all these maps, Germany, it's puppet states, and it's allies, are colored in red. But the puppet states' countries, and Allies, were never shown, or mentioned, in the series. Cuba, however, was shown in The New Colossus, when George Lincoln Rockwell was exiled there, from Nazi America. Cuba was shown, to be a part, of the Greater Nazi Reich.

### Society

#### Education

Antisemitic legislation passed in 1933 led to the removal of all Jewish teachers, professors, and officials from the education system. Most teachers were required to belong to the *Nationalsozialistischer Lehrerbund*(NSLB; National Socialist Teachers League) and university professors were required to join the National Socialist German Lecturers. Teachers had to take an oath of loyalty and obedience to Hitler, and those who failed to show sufficient conformity to party ideals were often reported by students or fellow teachers and dismissed. Lack of funding for salaries led to many teachers leaving the profession. The average class size increased from 37 in 1927 to 43 in 1938 due to the resulting teacher shortage.

Frequent and often contradictory directives were issued by Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick, Bernhard Rust of the Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture, and other agencies regarding content of lessons and acceptable textbooks for use in primary and secondary schools. Books deemed unacceptable to the regime were removed from school libraries. Indoctrination in Nazi ideology was made compulsory in January 1934. Students selected as future members of the party elite are indoctrinated from the age of 12 at Adolf Hitler Schools for primary education and National Political Institutes of Education for secondary education. Detailed indoctrination of future holders of elite military rank is undertaken at Order Castles.

#### Role of women and family

Women are a cornerstone of Nazi social policy. The Nazis believe in a patriarchal society, in which the German woman would recognize that her "world is her husband, her family, her children, and her home". The National Socialist Women's League, is the women's section, of the Nazi Party. The Nazis believed, that the ideal German man should work, and provide for their families. Whereas, the ideal German woman should stay home, and care for the children. However, despite these expectations, some women worked in Hospitals, Doctor's Offices, Schools, etc.

#### Health

Nazi Germany has a strong anti-tobacco movement, as pioneering research by Franz H. Müller in 1939 demonstrated a causal link between smoking and lung cancer. The Reich Health Office took measures to try to limit smoking, including producing lectures and pamphlets. Smoking was banned in many workplaces, on trains, and among on-duty members of the military. Government agencies also worked to control other carcinogenic substances such as asbestos and pesticides. As part of a general public health campaign, water supplies were cleaned up, lead and mercury were removed from consumer products, and women were urged to undergo regular screenings for breast cancer.

Government-run health care insurance plans are available, but Jews were denied coverage starting in 1933. That same year, Jewish doctors were forbidden to treat government-insured patients. In 1937, Jewish doctors were forbidden to treat non-Jewish patients, and in 1938 their right to practice medicine was removed entirely.

By 1962, the mandatory euthanasia of "cripples and the terminally ill" appears to have been instituted in all of the Reich's occupied territories and puppet states, such as the former United States. This was likely a public and expanded version of *Aktion T4*, the Reich's euthanasia program designed for the mass murder of people with genetic defects and disabilities, as they would be seen as a burden to the Reich.

#### Environmentalism

Nazi society has elements supportive of animal rights, and many people are fond of zoos and wildlife. The government took several measures to ensure the protection of animals and the environment. In 1933, the Nazis enacted a total ban on vivisection (The dissection of a living animal). But, dissection of dead animals, especially for educational, or research purposes, was still allowed.

The Reich Forestry Office under Göring enforces regulations that requires foresters to plant a variety of trees to ensure suitable habitat for wildlife, and a new Reich Animal Protection Act became law in 1933. The regime enacted the Reich Nature Protection Act in 1935 to protect the natural landscape from excessive economic development. It allows for the expropriation of privately owned land to create nature preserves and aided in long-range planning. Strong efforts were made to stop air pollution.

### Flags and Emblems

The Nazi flag was designed by Hitler as his party's flag in 1920. It features a simple red field, with a white disk, and at the center: a black swastika at a 45 degree angle.

The Nazi swastika is a prominent symbol in the Reich, appearing on many properties and civil products such as phone booths. Soldiers (especially those of the SS) and police officers wear swastika armbands. Nazi officials typically wear a lapel that has the swastika on it. It represents the Aryan race and the Black Sun.

Presumably, Nazi puppet regimes incorporate the swastika in their flags as well. The flag in use for the Nazi-controlled portion of the former United States is similar to the old "Stars and Stripes" flag, except the swastika now adorns the blue field in the former place of the white stars that represented the forty-eight states.

SwastikaEmblem of the Reich
### Politics and Policies

The Nazi German Government is a Unitary Nazi one-party fascist state under a Authoritarian-totalitarian Military dictatorship. There is little freedom of speech or press. The media is regulated to promote Nazi principles and ideologies. Schools, youth groups and other educational institutions are also designed to serve this purpose amongst the young. Possession of outlawed or “degenerate” media is met with harsh punishment. Religion is controlled by the Nazi Party. Christianity, although not encouraged, is allowed in Germany and it's empire. Some churches can be seen, in Berlin, Germany. The Nazis never made, any condemnation on religion, either in this timeline or historically. Adolf Hitler was raised Catholic, but when he was an adult, he became a lapsed Catholic.

National Socialist ideology combined racial hygiene (racial purity), Anti-Semitism, eugenics, and Pan-Germanism with the goal of creating a German hegemony over the world. Racism, particularly Anti-Semitism, was a core pillar of the regime. The Nazis promoted what they called the "Aryan Race" or "Master Race", which was an ideal superior human, identified by light blue eyes, light blonde hair, light white skin and a tall stature height. These people were descendants of Scandinavia (Swedes, Danes, etc.), Western Europe (Germans, Dutch, British, etc.), and Southern Europe (Italians, Greeks, etc.). *Untermenschen* (sub-humans) included Slavs, Gypsies, Africans, Native Americans, and especially Jews, or "People of Jewish blood." All these peoples were not considered worthy of life, and were only meant to be exterminated. The Reich declared that all Asian people are "honorary Aryans".

Chillingly, the Nazis have (very likely) all but completed their "Final Solution" in their territories, leaving ethnic groups such as Jews, Slavs, and Romani nearly extinct. So far all scenes in Nazi-controlled America do not indicate that any non-white, non-Aryan people (save for the Japanese) reside there at all. Other peoples deemed unworthy of life by the Nazis included the mentally and physically disabled, homosexuals, and "social misfits."

### Economics and Technology

    The Reich adopts the National Socialist Mixed Economics, a system made by corporations and intense public intervention, and invests resources from other territories to fulfill technological problems and military campaigns. It is the leader of technological development in the world as evidenced by its advanced jet aircraft, monorails, rocket transportation and modern automatic firearms such as the G3 battle rifle and the MP5 Sub-Machine Gun (that appear to predate in this world their development in our own. However, throughout the series; WWII-vintage German small arms like the Mauser Kar98K bolt-action rifle and the MP40 Sub-Machine Gun were still used by.

    GNR soldiers and SS officers in The American Reich and, quite possibly; the *Wehrmacht* in the rest of the Reich. There is a possibility that elite units of the SS are armed with the G3 and the MP5 while regular German forces still use the Mauser Kar98K and the MP40, and the fact that it is in sole possession of a nuclear arsenal.

This technological development has some basis in real life, as Nazi Germany were pioneers in a number of fields such as rocket science and jet technology. The Nazis also developed the first assault rifle and relay computer.

A scene in The Man In The High Castle shows the Nazis using LSD (developed in our world by a Swiss scientist in 1938 and further researched by the CIA in the 1950's) as an interrogation drug, although it is unsuccessful.

The GNR also carries out various experimental and unethical research via the Ahnenerbe Institute, led by Dr. Josef Mengele. One of the Institute's most important projects is Die Nebenwelt, a device intended to create portals to alternate universes so that the Reich can invade and conquer them.

The Reichsmark is currency of the Reich. It was originally introduced in 1924 as a permanent replacement for the Papiermark. This was necessary due to the 1920s German inflation which had reached its peak in 1923.

## Notes & Trivia

* Ever since World War II ended, The Greater Nazi Reich had two putsches, one by Martin Heusmann and another by Wilhelm Goertzmann.
	+ It is possible that Wilhelm Goertzmann may have been inspired by Martin Heusmann's putsch and Heinrich Himmler's rise to power, which possibly led to Goertzmann's putsch against Himmler and his Nazi loyalists.
* Assuming the rise of Nazi Germany in this world is similar to its rise in ours, the seeds from which the Reich would grow were sown with the end of World War 1 and the Treaty of Versailles, on June 28, 1919. Being the primary belligerent of the losing side, Germany suffered harsh and humiliating terms, including crippling war reparations, near complete disarmament, numerous territorial concessions, and admission of guilt for causing the war.

### Divergences with Our World

* Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is still alive as of 1962 and is mentioned as an "old war hero", having served as the first Reichsmarschall of North America. In our world, Rommel died in 1944, forced to commit suicide after he was implicated in a plot to assassinate Hitler. The cover story for this was that Rommel succumbed to injuries in a failed Allied assassination attempt. Rommel was among few Axis commanders, others included Isoroku Yamamoto and Reinhard Heydrich, who were directly targeted for assassination by Allied planners.
* Reinhard Heydrich, portrayed by Ray Proscia, is still alive 20 years after his real life death. Heydrich was a particularly brutal figure among the Nazi elite, Hitler even referred to him as the "man with the iron heart". Around 75% of the deaths in the Holocaust can be attributed directly to Heydrich. In *The Man In The High Castle*, Heydrich was tasked with the enslavement of Africans, in the German African Colonies.
* JFK International Airport in New York is called "Lincoln Rockwell International Airport". In our world, George Lincoln Rockwell was the founder of the American Nazi Party.
* Werner Heisenberg, presumably under the German nuclear weapon project (German: *Uranprojekt*), developed the atomic bomb which the Nazis use to end the war in the United States. In our world, Heisenberg is most well known for developing Quantum Theory and the Uncertainty Principle. While Heisenberg was a member of the German nuclear program, he was not one of its greater contributors.
* Generalplan Ost would most likely have been successfully enacted in this universe. The Western USSR was likely be carved up as Reichskommissariat Ukraine, Reichskommissariat Kaukasien, Reichskommissariat Ostland (The Baltic States, and Belarus), and Reichskommissariat Moskowien (All of European Russia). Parts of Poland, were annexed into Germany, while the other parts, became the German-Ruled "General Government."