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墨書 Inktalez
March 1926
Germany The First Infantry Division Stationed
Unlike the lazy scene a year ago, the station of The First Division is no longer desolate, but full of passion and vitality.
Many soldiers are diligently training under the warm sunshine, while the officer stands to the side with hands on hips, observing and occasionally walking over to correct their movements. "Move quickly! Maintain proper posture! Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime." It is a fact that the Seeckt 100,000 National Defense Forces plan has cultivated a high-quality group of officers. At least, there is already a shadow of modern military construction in the future. As long as their salaries are sufficient, they will be elite.
"It seems there's no need for me to personally come and supervise; you and Bock have managed The First Division very well." Strasser put down the binoculars and couldn't help but sigh. He was currently on the top floor of The First Division, discussing future plans with Rommel and others.
"This is just a task that we are supposed to complete; your achievements are much greater than ours," Rommel complimented.
In fact, what Rommel said was not without basis. After an open conversation between Strasser and Goebbels, this spokesperson for the National Socialist Party pledged his complete loyalty to Strasser. To prove his sincerity, Goebbels handed over his leadership position in the Ruhr to Strasser's brother, Otto.
Coincidentally, Strasser was worried that his brother would become idle and corrupt while hanging around with Albrecht in Berlin, so he decided to send them to the Ruhr to organize the work of the National Socialist Party.
Strasser issued a stern order to these two young men: if they could not maintain the National Socialist Party's position in the Ruhr, they would be sent to Austria to attend an adult university.
In addition, Strasser urged Goebbels not to outright reject Hitler's invitation, but rather to adopt an ambiguous stance that would give Hitler the impression that there was hope in winning over Goebbels. This could send misleading signals to Hitler at critical moments, which might prove significant in the future.
After addressing his concerns, Strasser began to consolidate the power of the Nazi Party in the north, absorbing many northern Nazi Party members under his leadership.
Of course, the absorption was selective; Strasser rejected any party branches backed by major entrepreneurs and wealthy capitalists. He only accepted those composed of workers and the petty bourgeoisie.
Meanwhile, Strasser did not forget to create trouble for the South. Since Hitler wanted to win over Goebbels to weaken Strasser's power, Strasser decided to set his sights on Rom.
After the first batch of new weapons from the Krupp Company arrived in Germany for the First Infantry Division, Strasser immediately loaded a large truck with the outdated weapons that were being replaced and ordered a convoy from the First Infantry Division to head towards Bavaria.
When the convoy led by Strasser reached the headquarters of the stormtroopers in Bavaria, the sentry at the entrance had his mouth agape as if he could fit an egg inside.
Upon hearing the news, Rom was astonished by Strasser's grand gesture, especially when he heard Strasser say that each style of weapon would be sold to him for a symbolic price of one Mark. This homosexual immediately regarded Strasser as his Messiah, kneeling on the ground and holding Strasser's hand while weeping profusely.
Then, Strasser gladly accepted the invitation and spent the entire night talking privately with Rom at the headquarters of the stormtroopers. No one knew what they discussed.
When they left, Rom personally escorted Strasser out of the stormtroopers' headquarters, where thousands of stormtroopers gathered to bid farewell to their Jesus.
Upon hearing the news, Hitler erupted in a fit of rage, knocking down and shattering all the decorations in his office. His hysterical shouts could be heard even through the thick door. "Strasser, you bastard! You're undermining me again!" Hitler even threw his beloved fountain pen in anger.
If it weren't for the fact that Hitler still needed to win over Rom's stormtroopers, and considering that Strasser had brought one of the most elite battalions of The First Infantry Division as bodyguards during his trip to Munich, it is hard to say whether Hitler would have ordered his SS troops to carry out an assassination attempt.
However, soon Hitler could no longer afford to be angry; both he and Strasser had to prepare for the upcoming Congress elections. Therefore, during Christmas at the end of 1925, many people were not feeling very secure.
Strasser believed that he could use this Congress election to develop from a local leader into an influential force across Germany, and indeed, that was the case. In the spring of 1926, during the Congress elections, the National Socialist German Workers' Party won one million six hundred thousand votes, surpassing the German Democratic Party and the Bavaria Party to become the sixth largest party in Congress.
Due to the requirements of the Weimar Republic's constitution, only parties that received more than five percent of the votes could enter Congress. The National Socialist Party received six percent, just above this threshold, which meant that Strasser could form a coalition with other parties to take power.
Of course, this one million six hundred thousand votes included those from Bavaria. Despite tensions between Berlin and Bavaria, there were no signs of a split, which surprised many people.
Even though he faced severe crackdowns from the government of the state of Bavaria, Hitler managed to persuade Bavarian Prime Minister Herd to lift the ban on his public speeches through his oratory skills. With his extraordinary charisma, he garnered six hundred thousand votes in the election.
Regarding this result, Bavaria was naturally delighted, and many party members considered it a great victory for the Nazi Party. However, for Hitler, it was infuriating that his vote count was lower than that of the opposition within the party.
Yet, Hitler himself could not do much to Strasser, as his influence within the party was not as strong as Strasser's, and he did not hold as many seats in Congress. The armed forces were also inferior to Strasser's; the armed forces in Bavaria were not directly under his control, and the stormtroopers led by Rom were estranged from him. As for Hindenburg's promised National Defense Forces, they had yet to materialize and remained nothing more than an empty promise.
Not long ago, Hitler personally visited Röhm. Although Röhm warmly welcomed him out of camaraderie, when Hitler proposed placing the stormtroopers under party leadership, Röhm promptly threw him out the door.
Thus, Hitler's only advantage over Strasser was his support from President Hindenburg, the de facto emperor of the Weimar Republic. However, this advantage was not stable; Hindenburg had more than just Hitler in his hand, and he wasn't even a trump card. The support he received was limited to propaganda.
Hitler was well aware that Hindenburg only feared Strasser; he was of no concern to him. If sacrificing himself could eliminate Strasser, Hindenburg would undoubtedly do so without hesitation, as he had no fondness for this subordinate of his.
Therefore, with nowhere to vent his anger, Hitler could only publicly denounce Strasser as a traitor in the party newspaper of Bavaria. Of course, Berlin quickly responded with enthusiasm, and both sides accused each other of heresy, enjoying the exchange of insults immensely.
In fact, Strasser had considered directly sending someone to eliminate Hitler, just as he had arranged for Coy to take out President Albert. However, the circumstances did not allow for it. The death of President Albert was an outcome that all factions in Germany could accept; everyone was tacitly aware and chose not to investigate further. This is how the National Socialist Party managed to evade scrutiny. If a serious investigation were to take place, a significant portion of the National Socialist Party would end up in prison.
At this time, although Hitler was just a minor player compared to President Albert, he had the backing of President Hindenburg. If Strasser sent someone to assassinate Hitler, he believed that the next day Hindenburg would order Congress to ban the National Socialist Party and then command the armed forces to imprison him; Seeckt and Ludendorff would not be able to save him.
One can only say that after the October Revolution in Russia, European countries had become frenzied in their prevention of Bolshevism. Not to mention the Communist Party of Germany, even the economically left-wing National Socialist Party led by Strasser was not tolerated. These capitalists only allowed reformists like the Social Democratic Party to come to power.
Strasser understood that he could not follow Hitler's path to power because gaining office through parliamentary elections required support from the bourgeoisie; otherwise, it would be impossible to win under rules set by others.
The future of the National Socialist Party he leads is inevitably tied to the bourgeoisie behind Hindenburg and World War I, so he must seek more military support. "It seems I need to gain more power from General Siket," Strasser has already set his goals for the next steps in his actions.
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