Germany's Stalin and Russia's Hitler

Chapter 2: The failed revolution of the East

While Germany erupted after World War One in chaos, the Russian Empire was during the First World War in total chaos. There were many subsequent governments within a short amount of time, who never seemed to get the right foot hold. The most growing movement came with an interesting and rather surprising promise compared to other movements: PEACE! We are talking about the Bolsheviks with their prominent leader Lenin.

However in this timeline Lenin would never gain the same fame as he did originally and Stalin would be totally unknown. It should be noted that most battles if  not all, of WW1 would be the same and also the fact that the Bolshevists came for a short, significant time to power should be clear. The Brest-Litovsk treaty was concluded and set up many new states free which we know as Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The Caucasus states had short free days, but were to re-annexed later. For a short while the independent states were mere satellites of Germany. After the German defeat Poland emerged as regional power and filled the void. 

The upset among the Russian nationalists was huge, as Ukraine and Belarus were seen as core part of Russia, of the old Kievan Rus. This feeling was used by the White Army to recruit new soldiers. Slowly but surely the more nationalist character of the White Army became clear and the support for the Tsar was a secondary thought among very convinced monarchists. Cossacks were the early ones who opposed the Bolshevik rule. The Don republic, as the one of Kuban came in touch with the White Army. All of them formed step by step a more unified force and became the Russian National Forces, who coordinated attacks with others, such as pro-German militias, independentist forces, Ex-Green Army members and the anarchists of Nestor Machno.

Kolchak, the first leader of the White Army, was shortly removed, as many generals thought his ideas were ineffective and that after beating the Bolsheviks, they could deal with the national minorities and various leftists. So already in 1918 Denikin and other generals formed a military council, in which he became the head of. Denikin and the White Army used the divide and conquer tactics, which proved to be efficient. Only in the later years some Russians were still upset by losing the territories and saw the year 1917 as huge betrayal by the 'Jews' and the Fifth column. Kerensky and the Duma never became powerful again and the Tsar was ignored by Denikin. He saw the Tsar family as inefficient and also as reason why Russia declined in power. He lead an authoritarian government style, but tolerated Belarusian and Ukrainian independence.

The same year the White Army was able to retake Moscow as they concluded a temporary alliance with Nestor Machno. Nestor Machno, the leader of the anarchist, and his troops drove the Bolsheviks from the Ukrainian territory away, while the White Army focused on other weak points. The White Army left Machno Nestor, Symon Petlyura and his Polish allies to their own in the Ukraine. In Belarus with Pyotra Krecheuski, Jan Sierada, Stanislaw Bulak-Balachowicz and Poland as well the rest which was left of the Red Army, there were many factions who fought for power. In Ukraine Symon Petlyura imposed himself and destroyed the anarchists and became an ally of Poland. Belarus saw more insurrections and Stanislaw Bulak came in terms with Sierada. Sierada remained president of the unstable republic, whereas Bulak-Balachowicz became supreme commander of the Belarusian army. However rumours were spread, where Sierada was just a puppet of Bulak.

All of this was seen as favourable by Denikin, for him it was a matter of years to retake old Russian territories. Cold conflicts could be exploited by the future Russian government. Kerensky died without any further explanation, the tsarist family fled all over the world, mostly to London/Belgrad. In 1919 Denikin proclaimed the Russian People's Republic and the military council became the official government, the Duma was re-activated, had soldiers and ex-soldiers as parliamentarians, however their role was only a consultative one. The Red Army retreated further and further to the wasteland of Siberia and moved their capitals constantly. It took still some more years to completely destroy them and around 1923 there were no more official incidents linked to the Red Army and Bolshevism.

The RPR was now busy in reactivating the economy, but also social reforms were undertaken. It was clear that the government would only be supported if it offered something to the population in exchange. The RPR forced just as the Bolsheviks, all national minorities to use the Cyrillic alphabet and all children were sent to school and had  to learn Russian. This was partly due to the nationalists, who feared that the minorities, by retaining their language, could split off from Russia. Russian Orthodoxy was also strengthened. The government took specially care of the alimentation of the population, as for them this was the key to have physically strong soldiers. Holodomor was never heart off in this timeline.

There was however a group of soldiers/parliamentarians  who pushed for more consequent and more nationalist policies. They were inspired by Benito Mussolini and asked for a corporatist state and the reestablishment of the old imperial borders, as fast as possible. Additional spending should be done in technology and education, which would improve Russia, wasn't it seen as backwards because of the Jews and the fifth column.  This group was known as Russian Fascist Organisation and was founded in 1925. On contrary to other fascist movements there was no charismatic person at first.  First leader Prof. N.I. Nikiforov, wasn't popular, but due to his ties with the government, they tolerated him and even gave him some important positions. It was only much later with Konstantin Rodzaevsky and Anastasy Vonsyatsky, where fascism gained more popularity among the people. Denikin didn't see them as thread until they forced him to step down. Officially it has been said, that the power has been transferred into younger hands. The military, after the years of peace, wasn't any more dominant. Most generals were sympathetic to fascism and welcomed Rodzaevsky and Vonsyatsky, as they were seen as leaders who are inexperienced and easy to control.

Quite the opposite happened...Rodzaevsky imposed himself as only leader and he killed most generals who took part in the Russian Civil War. Like that he could promote new generals, officers etc, who would depend on him, as they made a huge step forward in their career because of Rodzaevsky. Vonsyatsky would become the second man of the state, similar to Goebbels in OTL Germany. Even though both had some differences, what united them was the thought of taking revenge to anyone and everyone who was seen as guilty for Russia's decline. Dark times were coming to the Jews and some of them were deported in Gulags in Siberia. Not only them...also 'bolshevists' (everyone who was too critical, too strong to deal with by legal means etc) were deported in the long, far-away and harsh wastelands of Siberia, a hell on Earth in which nobody could escape from.

Gothic Invasion

This series will show an alternate timeline where Justinian the Great doesn't attack the Ostrogoths and the Ostrogoths as the Visigoths would become dominant powers in Europe.

What if the dinosaurs never perished?

What if the dinosaurs never perished? Would there still be humans? Would the mammals survive? Would there be a 'dinosaurid'? This and much more will be covered in this video.

Germany's Stalin and Russia's Hitler

Chapter 1: Europe's new chance?

After the so-called Great War Europe was pretty much everywhere in chaos. Many soldiers returned from the fronts, most didn't return at all and were for now in another place. Germany in particular was in a great state of chaos. The Emperor abdicated, as well as all the other monarchs in Germany, the population was alienated from the ex-elite and the politicians of left and right were totally upset. None of the war goals were met and everyone felt betrayed. On the 9th of November the evolution went further and two declarations of the Republic were made, one by Philipp Scheidemann who was a German social-democrat. The other proclamation was done by Karl Liebknecht, who hold extreme-left views. Karl Liebknecht wasn't however the only figure who would become important. Rosa Luxemburg was another key figure and both initially were comrades of Philipp Scheidemann? Later however their paths were interrupted as Liebknecht and Luxemburg didn't agree on the war. For them it was a purely imperialist war and nothing else.

Firstly however Scheidemann and his government were seen as legitimate one by the world. Liebknecht's idea of transforming Germany in a council republic was rejected. Nevertheless he and his followers didn't give up and continued their struggle. Germany had internal problems and there were always some street fights, between the jobless pro-monarchy soldiers, left-wing paramilitary, right-wing, etc. The left, especially the ones around Liebknecht were initially euphoric about the so-called Bolsheviki in Russia. During the months it became very unlikely that they would achieve something. Also in Hungary a certain man called Béla Kun tried to make big changes.

In 1919 more changes were to be seen in Germany especially. Without any Bolshevist threat from the East, the extreme right didn't become as important as in our timeline. Also Scheidemann would see other groups as threat and not the 'Bolshevist' as they became non-existent in Russia. Here in this alternate timeline, the left increased its support throughout the months. The Spartacist uprising in this case was more a different uprising of the extreme-right. The clash between the actual government and the groups around Liebknecht and Luxemburg came after the signature of the treaty of Versailles. Bavaria in April 1919 already became a socialist council state and an armed uprising against the governmental forces took place all across Germany. The extreme-left gathered around the KPD which was founded in January 1919.

The treaty of Versailles was seen as imperialist aggression and as purest form of capitalist exploitation. Germany had to pay a huge price for peace. However for many Germans this wasn't peace...it was slavery. They had to pay so much that their economy could only crash if nothing was done. Over the weeks the KPD could gain new members and many of them fought in the Rotfrontkämpferbund. For most countries this was seen as German problem and with the absence of Soviet Russia, they cared more about their own business and were tired of war. The Rotfrontkämpferbund had the immense advantage of a strong enthusiasm. Jews and ethnic minorities were also allowed, whereas nationalist or imperialist forces didn't have that advantage. Later in 1920 Scheidemann and his government abdicated as well and Liebknecht, Luxemburg and their KPD formed a new government, based a bit on the Bavarian model. Most of the country had to be put down with the newly formed Red Army. Also the internal struggle in the KPD became somewhat obvious especially when Liebknecht became sick. He saw Luxemburg as worthy successor, she had an immense prestige and was one of the key figure of the November revolution. However a shining star, Ernst Thälmann would cross these plans.

When Liebknecht died in 1924 the fight in the KPD was more open and many members were against Luxemburg and found that a woman couldn't lead a country, she was a capitalist spy and also Thälmann put pressure on many members as he was the general secretary and hold many personal information.  Luxemburg was in favour of an international revolution, whereas Thälmann favoured communism in one country and the slow but steady formation of a bloc, if the time was right. Hungary was already a potential ally. During congresses Luxemburg's position became isolated and she fled from Germany and went into exile. Thälmann had now all the buttons to keep the leadership in his own hands and he did so. Many people of the old guard ,,disappeared'' or had some ,,scandals'', accidents were common as well. Also many went to the KZ's who were primary established for the counter-revolutionaries, capitalists or imperial loyalists. Now in the end of the 20's old communists who firstly put the others in prison were also now there.

The year of 1934 marked another highlight in Thälmann's leadership. The old Rotfrontkämpferbund became somewhat defunct and he favoured now the Rothelme. The leader of this paramilitary group Willy Leow was arrested and convicted for counter-revolutionary activities and the planning of a (Rosa-)Luxemburgian terrorist organisation. Old generals were shot with Leow on the same date. Leow's last words were: ,,Für unser kommunistisches Vaterland'' and he showed the fist sign.

Thälmann became the undisputed and sole leader of the 'communist fatherland'...

Alternate World War 2

A communist Germany? A fascist Russia? All of that after World War 1, leading to a much different World War 2 and Cold War? If these questions seem interesting for you, catch a look into my new video and enjoy. Don't forget to comment, like and subscribe!

Future of Europe

In this video I will briefly show what the future of Europe or at least some countries could look like. This video will cover many independentist movements, unionist idas and irredentist ideologies that exist today. Enjoy this video :)

Changes

What if Rome never fell?

A very popular topic, not only among fiction writers, but also scholars and professors debate about it. This video is not part of a series, it is a presentation about my own point of view, of how Rome fell in the first place, what should be changed and what could be the consequences of a surviving Rome. Watch, subscribe and take part of the discussion!

What if the Central Powers won World War 1?

World War One was recently very much discussed, especially last year, where the outbreak was commemorated. In this series Germany and her allies win this war, rather unsuprisingly, as Russia is weak, due to intern problems, United Kingdom and France are all alone facing the German superpower and the US elite are against an entry of war and support a German-dominated Europe, for economical reasons. Shortly after the Great War, Austria-Hungary faces a collapse and fascism rises in places like France and the United Kingdom. What happens next?

What if the Soviet Union won the Cold War?

A very classic series! The third one is about a different Cold War and how the USSR could have won against the USA. Before showing the timeline after 1990, the series start with other key points, such as no Sino-Soviet split or a successful communist uprising in Persia. The series is divided into 7 videos, with 3 possible endings. See for yourself how our world could be much different!

What if Germany won World War 2?

My second, and by far, most popular series. Here I show through maps and some points, how Germany or the Axis, could have 'won' World War 2. I say 'won' because a total domination would be by far impossible. A stalemate between several powers and the apparition of several blocs seem more likely. Find out what a world like this would look like.

What if Belgium failed?

Enjoy one of my first alternate history series. It is divided into 11 parts, making it my longest series and you can also find an alternate ending to it.To make things short, this video is about Belgium, who as state fails and ceases to exist and all the speculative consequences that derive from that. Don't take it to seriously!

Who I am

I am Dany a youtuber from Luxembourg, whose main interest lies in alternate history. My youtube channel is Althistory Luxembourg. I am currently 22 years old and study, obviously, history at university here in Luxembourg. I live in the capital city in a wealthy suburb. My origins are Polish-Portuguese and I speak Luxembourgish, German, French, English, Polish, Italian, some Czech and a little Latin. My girlfriend is Peruvian and she studied archaeology, which is close to history. My other interests besides alternate history are history itself, reading, politics, computer games, travelling, etc :) Have a nice day.