raharris1973
Well-known member
What if the Soviet zones of Germany & Berlin and Austria & Vienna, as of May 30th, 1949 are ISOT to May 30th 1849?
None of the western zones of Berlin, Vienna, Germany, nor Austria are ISOT back. Importantly, no non-Germans nor non-Austrians are ISOT back, so no Soviet occupation troops nor Allied representatives or diplomats of any kind.
In this zone of Germany, the Soviets had forced the merger of the Communists and Socialists into the SED almost 3 years before, and manipulated the electoral machinery to set up a Communist People's Democracy. The GDR would not be established until October 1949, but the People's Congress to set it up was elected in May and Walter Ulbricht and Wilhelm Pieck were in place as SED Party leaders. The Volkspolizei and early versions of Volksarmee and Stasi already existed.
In this zone of Austria, Socialist Karl Renner was the leading political figure, and Socialists loyal to him were present throughout the administrative organs. He had also been compelled to appoint Communists to many positions throughout government as well.
When these areas, 'drop down' in May 30, 1849, either overwriting the Hohenzollern and Habsburg metropole and monarchs or encircling them in footprint of West Berlin or West Vienna, what happens in Prussia, Germany, Austria, and Europe?
The state of play of the 1848-1849 revolutions at this date can be gathered by looking here:
www.preceden.com/timelines/46791-the-revolutions-of-1848
But I will summarize the high points:
France's revolutionary situation internally is settled down and the Louis Bonaparte administration is consolidating its power taking advantage of its huge electoral mandate. He had been cautious in foreign policy until launching an intervention to restore the Pope's power in Rome starting in April to please his Catholic subjects.
In Italy, Austria has beaten down the Piedmontese twice and restored conservative regimes in states like Tuscany and restored the Pope's authority in Romagna. The Republic of San Marco still holds out, besieged in Venice, and will through August. The Republic of Rome still survives and will hold out against the French until the end of June.
In Prussia, the revolutions ended with anti-climax, with the Prussian King rejecting the "Crown from the gutter" offered by the Frankfurt Assembly in late April. - well, the ASBs just showed this guy, overwriting his core Brandenburg territory (plus all of Saxony, Mecklenburg, Brunswick, etc). However, Prussian and other German Confederation state troops were still engaged in battles in Jutland in the first Schleswig War.
Austria's situation was most complex (surprise, surprise):
Francis-Joseph had been crowned, the Vienna Reichstag had been dismissed, Prague had been retaken with the Pan-Slav Congress dispersed, Imperial forces occupied Budapest in January '49 and lost it again in April '49, as of the time of the ISOT, Hungarian rebels were still largely holding the Carpathian basin against Austrian and Russian and South Slavic invaders, and had declared a Republic on April 13th, but enemy forces were massing again for another round.
---
Stepping back from the broad European survey, we have several million 20th century Germans and Austrians dropped into the mix. They are tired, twice defeated, and war weary. Yet they have their hands on weapons far in advance of any of the regimes and rebels around them in terms of personal rifles, machine-guns, armored personnel carriers, vacant Soviet tanks and aircraft, artillery, and so on. They have the stocks and supplies on hand meant for the civilian populations and occupying forces, without the occupying forces, but none of the external supply networks intended to make up important food and energy deficits. There's supplies, scarce they may be, of medical equipment and drugs far in advance of the surrounding world, and mechanical and engineering and scientific knowledge even further in advance along with several valuable libraries.
The Communist-controlled SED starts with initial control of East Germany, and the Socialists, but with broad cooperation from Christian Democrats and Communists start in control of East Austria. East Austria has some oil recoverable with tech on hand and more oil recoverable by applying a combination known but not readily assembled and conveniently located equipment and tech.
The populations of these territories, especially Eastern Germany, weren't exactly liking life. And for the Austrians, the Marshall Plan, which made things more livable, just disappeared. But regime change does not offer a lot of promise. The world around them is antiquated by 100 years, and by 20th century standards, a pretty crappy place to live.
What happens politically in East Germany? Does the SED administration consolidate control while leading and channeling the population's activities towards physical self-preservation? Or was the SED so compromised as a tool of Soviet occupation, and the last 'native' government so identified with the Nazis that there is a grassroots popular uprising to restore the Nazi regime in East Germany? Or does grassroots pressure lead to a happy medium where the SED needs to back off repression and open up to democratic multiparty participation, and Nazis and the far-right little have only marginal support. Adopting old school monarchism seems outlandish, but can we rule it out?
Likewise in Austria, does Karl Renner keep legitimacy? Or is the area ripe for Nazi revival? Or do the Communists have some outside chance to seize power? Adopting old school monarchism seems outlandish, but can we rule it out?
I assume that the ISOT'ed states can, at a minimum, defend themselves from hostile takeover by downtime more conservative/reactionary regimes, based on their superior military tech. They will want to be able to trade with and access the outside world's resources soon though.
What will the downtime world think of these enclaves from the future. In particular, if East Germany stays explicitly Communist Marxist-Leninist, or if even a Democratic form of Socialism remains fundamental to the identity of East Germany or Austria, what would Marx, Engels, and the various members of the First International make of it?
None of the western zones of Berlin, Vienna, Germany, nor Austria are ISOT back. Importantly, no non-Germans nor non-Austrians are ISOT back, so no Soviet occupation troops nor Allied representatives or diplomats of any kind.
In this zone of Germany, the Soviets had forced the merger of the Communists and Socialists into the SED almost 3 years before, and manipulated the electoral machinery to set up a Communist People's Democracy. The GDR would not be established until October 1949, but the People's Congress to set it up was elected in May and Walter Ulbricht and Wilhelm Pieck were in place as SED Party leaders. The Volkspolizei and early versions of Volksarmee and Stasi already existed.
In this zone of Austria, Socialist Karl Renner was the leading political figure, and Socialists loyal to him were present throughout the administrative organs. He had also been compelled to appoint Communists to many positions throughout government as well.
When these areas, 'drop down' in May 30, 1849, either overwriting the Hohenzollern and Habsburg metropole and monarchs or encircling them in footprint of West Berlin or West Vienna, what happens in Prussia, Germany, Austria, and Europe?
The state of play of the 1848-1849 revolutions at this date can be gathered by looking here:
www.preceden.com/timelines/46791-the-revolutions-of-1848
But I will summarize the high points:
France's revolutionary situation internally is settled down and the Louis Bonaparte administration is consolidating its power taking advantage of its huge electoral mandate. He had been cautious in foreign policy until launching an intervention to restore the Pope's power in Rome starting in April to please his Catholic subjects.
In Italy, Austria has beaten down the Piedmontese twice and restored conservative regimes in states like Tuscany and restored the Pope's authority in Romagna. The Republic of San Marco still holds out, besieged in Venice, and will through August. The Republic of Rome still survives and will hold out against the French until the end of June.
In Prussia, the revolutions ended with anti-climax, with the Prussian King rejecting the "Crown from the gutter" offered by the Frankfurt Assembly in late April. - well, the ASBs just showed this guy, overwriting his core Brandenburg territory (plus all of Saxony, Mecklenburg, Brunswick, etc). However, Prussian and other German Confederation state troops were still engaged in battles in Jutland in the first Schleswig War.
Austria's situation was most complex (surprise, surprise):
Francis-Joseph had been crowned, the Vienna Reichstag had been dismissed, Prague had been retaken with the Pan-Slav Congress dispersed, Imperial forces occupied Budapest in January '49 and lost it again in April '49, as of the time of the ISOT, Hungarian rebels were still largely holding the Carpathian basin against Austrian and Russian and South Slavic invaders, and had declared a Republic on April 13th, but enemy forces were massing again for another round.
---
Stepping back from the broad European survey, we have several million 20th century Germans and Austrians dropped into the mix. They are tired, twice defeated, and war weary. Yet they have their hands on weapons far in advance of any of the regimes and rebels around them in terms of personal rifles, machine-guns, armored personnel carriers, vacant Soviet tanks and aircraft, artillery, and so on. They have the stocks and supplies on hand meant for the civilian populations and occupying forces, without the occupying forces, but none of the external supply networks intended to make up important food and energy deficits. There's supplies, scarce they may be, of medical equipment and drugs far in advance of the surrounding world, and mechanical and engineering and scientific knowledge even further in advance along with several valuable libraries.
The Communist-controlled SED starts with initial control of East Germany, and the Socialists, but with broad cooperation from Christian Democrats and Communists start in control of East Austria. East Austria has some oil recoverable with tech on hand and more oil recoverable by applying a combination known but not readily assembled and conveniently located equipment and tech.
The populations of these territories, especially Eastern Germany, weren't exactly liking life. And for the Austrians, the Marshall Plan, which made things more livable, just disappeared. But regime change does not offer a lot of promise. The world around them is antiquated by 100 years, and by 20th century standards, a pretty crappy place to live.
What happens politically in East Germany? Does the SED administration consolidate control while leading and channeling the population's activities towards physical self-preservation? Or was the SED so compromised as a tool of Soviet occupation, and the last 'native' government so identified with the Nazis that there is a grassroots popular uprising to restore the Nazi regime in East Germany? Or does grassroots pressure lead to a happy medium where the SED needs to back off repression and open up to democratic multiparty participation, and Nazis and the far-right little have only marginal support. Adopting old school monarchism seems outlandish, but can we rule it out?
Likewise in Austria, does Karl Renner keep legitimacy? Or is the area ripe for Nazi revival? Or do the Communists have some outside chance to seize power? Adopting old school monarchism seems outlandish, but can we rule it out?
I assume that the ISOT'ed states can, at a minimum, defend themselves from hostile takeover by downtime more conservative/reactionary regimes, based on their superior military tech. They will want to be able to trade with and access the outside world's resources soon though.
What will the downtime world think of these enclaves from the future. In particular, if East Germany stays explicitly Communist Marxist-Leninist, or if even a Democratic form of Socialism remains fundamental to the identity of East Germany or Austria, what would Marx, Engels, and the various members of the First International make of it?