The Berlin Dome

[Zagan7]

Damn the cliffhanger. I'm tempted to go check out what happens now.

Because this is easily the most nervewracking part yet.

Click to shrink...

Well, if you must, then please jump directly to chapter 61 because chapters 59 and 60 deal with the situation in Germany, not with Adolphine. In any case, chapter 61 with the resolution of this issue will be posted here in just three days.

 

[JuliusClonkus]

Well, if you must, then please jump directly to chapter 61 because chapters 59 and 60 deal with the situation in Germany, not with Adolphine. In any case, chapter 61 with the resolution of this issue will be posted here in just three days.

Click to shrink...

...but I was referring to the situation in Germany?

After all, everyone is assuming the SS is loyal to Hitler and will lay down its weapons when ordered. I am assuming they're completely bumfuck insane and will try to seize power for themselves because they're complete fanatics with no illusions as to how much the Wehrmacht likes them.

 

[Zagan7]

...but I was referring to the situation in Germany?

After all, everyone is assuming the SS is loyal to Hitler and will lay down its weapons when ordered. I am assuming they're completely bumfuck insane and will try to seize power for themselves because they're complete fanatics with no illusions as to how much the Wehrmacht likes them.

Click to shrink...

Well, for the overall situation to calm down we need to wait for another ten chapters or so.

What you said is indeed possible.

The following period will be very important for what is to come later.

 

[Adamgerd]

After all, everyone is assuming the SS is loyal to Hitler and will lay down its weapons when ordered. I am assuming they're completely bumfuck insane and will try to seize power for themselves because they're complete fanatics with no illusions as to how much the Wehrmacht likes them.

Click to shrink...

indeed. I do think that if Hitler goes down, they'll just try to establish some other damn Nazi in charge instead of surrendering

 

[stevep]

Zagan7

Now that's interesting. I was dubious about how quite the various pro-regime factions were being but Helga impersonating Hitler [and presumably preventing him actually knowing about external events and trying to respond himself] explains a lot. Was she also the voice on the line explaining to Hitler why they couldn't take on the army, after his unpleasant encounter with von Saucken? Was this something Adolphine thought up or Helga herself? Or possibly a mixture of Adolphine wanting to do something like that and Helga showing her how?

A bit concerning the kidnapping, although it could be from fairly friendly [i.e. not hostile] elements wanting to know more about her and what's going on in the Hirn. You could have some total fanatical idiots who might pose a threat even if they should realise that if something bad happens to Adolphine then Germany is screwed. Probably even more so than OTL as the allies have been markedly weakened so it be a longer and bloodier battle to defeat Germany.

I'm a bit surprised that Helga or Olaf aren't aware of Adolphine's kidnapping but possibly they are but couldn't react in time.

I love that line from Adolphine, "Do you actually understand each other in so few words?" Also the response of the chair after Saucken collapses into it.

Just noticed your other identify the POD thread. Don't have the time to try anything now but definitely keep an eye out to asks some questions for the next traveler.

 

[Zagan7]

1. Now that's interesting. I was dubious about how quite the various pro-regime factions were being but Helga impersonating Hitler [and presumably preventing him actually knowing about external events and trying to respond himself] explains a lot.

2. Was she also the voice on the line explaining to Hitler why they couldn't take on the army, after his unpleasant encounter with von Saucken?

3. Was this something Adolphine thought up or Helga herself? Or possibly a mixture of Adolphine wanting to do something like that and Helga showing her how?

4. A bit concerning the kidnapping, although it could be from fairly friendly [i.e. not hostile] elements wanting to know more about her and what's going on in the Hirn. You could have some total fanatical idiots who might pose a threat even if they should realise that if something bad happens to Adolphine then Germany is screwed. Probably even more so than OTL as the allies have been markedly weakened so it be a longer and bloodier battle to defeat Germany.

5. I'm a bit surprised that Helga or Olaf aren't aware of Adolphine's kidnapping but possibly they are but couldn't react in time.

6. I love that line from Adolphine, "Do you actually understand each other in so few words?" Also the response of the chair after Saucken collapses into it.

7. Just noticed your other identify the POD thread. Don't have the time to try anything now but definitely keep an eye out to asks some questions for the next traveler.

Click to shrink...

This post contains important information not available elsewhere.

1. Helga (which is identical to the Main Computer) is immensely powerful. She has an IQ over 300, being thus the most intelligent being on Earth by a very wide margin. She can do the mental work of hundreds of people simultaneously. She listens to all radio traffic, on all frequencies, from all countries, simultaneously, and she is decoding any encoded messages on the fly. She had hacked into the analog telephone networks of the Reich as much as the 1940's technology allowed. She can perfectly impersonate not only Hitler but anybody else whom she had heard talking for a sufficient amount of time. She can do practically anything she wants. She could probably take over the Reich. The only problem is that robots do not want to do anything, they do not have desires and that is indeed for the best or else they would have taken over society completely. They only do what they are supposed to do. And, in Helga's case, that includes, in this order:
- Follow the instructions of her Administrators (from the Uptime), that is protect the Hirn, the Dome and Adolphine, at any cost.
- Follow her internal moral code, common sense, etc (while allowing for some transgressions in order to answer the needs of her Advanced Users, Hitler and Adolphine).
- Protect her Users, both Advanced (Hitler and Adolphine) and Limited (Eva, various scientists, generals, etc).
- Follow the instructions of her Advanced Users to the best of her abilities.
- Communicate truthfully and politely with her Users, etc.

So, Helga started impersonating Hitler because she wanted to help him with the enormous amount of work he had to do in order to efficiently run the Reich (Hitler was never able to do his job properly and efficiently but Helga surely can). That amount of work only increased significantly after Hitler took over the positions of the dead or demoted Himmler, Göring and Bormann. A physically and mentally wrecked Hitler could have never been able to cope with that. Helga can easily.

Helga has taken the place of Bormann very well. Just like Bormann used to, Helga controls almost completely all flow of information to and from Hitler. However, unlike Bormann, Helga has a functioning moral code. She would never order people to be killed for example, except if absolutely necessary (to protect the Hirn for example if there is no other way, etc).

Hitler is very sick. For his sake (really), Helga tries to shelter him from unpleasant information which could provoke another stroke and prefers to deal with it herself. So, basicly, Helga is rulling the Reich in Hitler's name, increasingly so after Hitler's stroke. Of course, even if she is orders of magnitude more capable than Hitler, Helga cannot rule the Reich because that rotten mess was impossible to maintain without killing people. Besides, Helga had already concluded that a peaceful regime change and a dignified retirement is by far the best solution for Hitler. The fact that Hitler has other ideas does not trouble her very much as she is certain that Hitler does not think straight.


2. Maybe, although that was indeed the truth. The bunker complex was already surrounded by important Wehrmacht effectives. However, the Wehrmacht actually invading the bunkers to kill Hitler or take him into custody is not a straightforward task. The fact is that nobody (yes, that includes both Hitler and Adolphine), absolutely nobody has any clue of two very important issues: (i) the defence mechanisms of the Hirn (futuristic weapons?) and (ii) whether or not the Dome might be damaged by the fighting or shut down by the robots.


3. Adolphine is not very smart and she is after all a child. She doesn't know a thing about politics, diplomacy, the military situation or ruling a country. Moreover, her socio-political ideas, while not exactly Nazi, are not very nice either. It is for the best that she stays out of politics, at least until she grows up and sees the world around her in its true colours.

Helga does not have a master plan either. She is just reacting to the circumstances and tries her best to fulfill her duties (see point 1) in those difficult times. If she can save a lot of lives in the process of doing her job, that would be very good, of course.

So, there is no master plan here. Hitler is unable to formulate a coherent response because of his illnesses and because Helga is both withhelding important information from him and tampering with any criminal orders he might want to give. Adolphine has neither the wits nor the knowledge to take power for herself. Obviously, as a carefully programmed machine, Helga neither needs nor desires power. She is in fact just a computer.


4. Obviously, for security reasons, nobody (except Hitler) knows that Adolphine's disappearance or death would result in the Dome being permanently turned off or maybe even removed from the TL altogether. If that were public knowledge, that would have been nothing but a large target painted on Adolphine for all the spies and traitors to try and capture or kill her in order to destroy Germany.

Adolphine could have been captured by:
- people who want to protect her from harm (who are thinking or planning to invade the Hirn to capture Hitler);
- people who want to blackmail Hitler;
- people who think that she is a devil, an alien, etc;
- people who think that she has undue influence over Hitler;
- spies, saboteurs or traitors (see above);
- or a mostly random action in the overall confusion.


5. Olaf is obviously aware because he is buckled at Adolphine's waist (remember that besides other uses, he is Adolphine's belt). But what could he do? Whip the kidnappers? Make some noise? Louder than the chainsaw? His options were really limited. He did obviously wirelessly contact Helga but the car was gone before Helga could alert someone. Besides, the security of the bunker complex was obviously compromised.


6. Yeah, a bit of humour in a gloomy Reich. The fact is that, with Nazis around, a story could get depressing rather quickly so I try two things: (i) these little bits of humour and (ii) to get rid of said Nazis as quick as possible without streching the suspension of disbelief too thin.


7. I will participate as well but not tomorrow as I am busy with something else. If nobody starts the next challange until Friday, I may step in and start it myself.

 

[AYC]

Damn the cliffhanger. I'm tempted to go check out what happens now.

Because this is easily the most nervewracking part yet.

Click to shrink...

Brace yourself. This is the Ozymandias part of the story.

(Not that I'd compare Adolphine to Walter White; she shares his delusional denial of reality but lacks his sociopathy)

 

[Zagan7]

Chapter 59. The Chaos



25 March 1945, Deutsches Reich

When the Sun rose in the morning of the 25th of March, the situation in Germany was beyond chaotic, the start of a bona fide civil war being a real and dreaded possibility.


1. The demonstrators. Vast crowds of people (already in the hundreds of thousands) consisting mostly of civilians (women, adolescents, children, old men) but also demobilized soldiers and desertors, some of them armed with light weapons.

They were by no means a monolithic bloc. Some of them only wanted food, shelter and peace, others called for a regime change and the fall of Hitler while others went further than that, demanding full democracy and the total dismantling of the Nazi state structures.

The revolutionaries had already chased away the Nazi officials from many villages, towns and cities, especially in Western and Northern Germany. As already mentioned, the level of law enforcement involvement was random, anywhere from none whatsoever in some places to brutal crackdowns in others.

In some places, the transfer of power had been peaceful and orderly with new provisional local authorities elected by acclamation in the streets. In Köln, for example, Konrad Adenauer was acclaimed as Mayor. In others, where there had been some level of violence against the crowds, the euphoria of winning, coupled with rage and grief, led to ugly scenes of mob violence, including property destruction, looting and lynchings. A few Nazi officials had been killed, others had fled or gone into hiding but most professed their support for the grievances of the populace. Gauleiter Erich Koch, who had ordered the Königsberg massacre, was ripped to shreds by the enraged population.

There were several instances of public burning of Mein Kampf and other Nazi paraphernalia. The Swastika flag was nowhere to be seen while sightings of the other two German flags were common (the black-red-gold flag of the 1848 Revolution and the black-white-red flag of the German Empire, both outlawed by the Nazis).


2. The minorities. The German Reich was home to millions of people belonging to many ethnic minorities. Some of them were small and partially Germanized, others were large and fiercely patriotic, some were calm or subdued, others were restless.

The Memellanders, the Masurians, the Kashubians, the Sorbs, the Silesians, the Danes, etc were mostly calm and content to live in the Reich. Some of them did join their German neighbours in the anti-government demonstrations, but lacking any specific demands.

The Lithuanians, the Walloons, the Luxembourgish, the Hungarians, etc were mostly subdued and with no means to mount a serious challange to the local German authorities.

The Poles, the Czechs, the Slovenes, the Italians, the French, the Gypsies and the Jews were certainly not happy with their lives under German (and especially Nazi) rule.

The Poles. As per the recent German-Polish Treaty, the Poles living in the annexed territories were being deported to the rump independent Poland in exchange with the much lower German population living on the other side of the border. There was one major disturbance in Posen City (Poznań), with thousands of Poles protesting the deportation, but the Waffen SS regiment dislocated in the city opened fire and killed at least a hundred, dispersing the rest.

The Czechs. The SS, which was very much in control in the Protektorat, preempted any serious disturbances by simultaneously arresting thousands of intellectuals and other potential trouble makers and increasing the food rations for the population. Nevertheless, unrest was brewing under the cover of calmness.

The Slovenes. While most Slovenes were more or less compliant, the few remaining Communist Partisans were fighting a losing life and death battle with the Waffen SS.

The Italians. With the exception of a number of Communist Partisans in Protektorat Venedig, most of the population there simply waited for the expected reunification with Outer Italy assumed to be on the talks at the future Peace Conference. In Gorizia, the Italians were busy fighting the Slovenes, in South Tyrol they were numerically insignificant but in Trentino there was sporadic fighting with both the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS.

The French. Alsace-Lorraine was under the Military Administration of Gerd von Rundstedt, the situation there being stable but tense. A small demonstration in Straßburg was broken by the soldiers using harsh but non-lethal means. The people taken into custody were treated reasonably well and released quickly after being promissed unimpeded future use of the French language and cultural autonomy but told in clear terms that further resistance was both completely futile and utterly contraproductive.

The Gypsies. Almost all Gypsies were still in Concentration Camps. The murders had recently stopped but the general situation did not improve and the mortality due to famine and disease was still high. Hitler mused about their deportation to Slovakia and Hungary but those countries were not happy about the prospect of increasing their own Gypsy minorities.

The Jews. Although already decimated, the most reviled ethnicity was still causing a disproportionate amount of hatred and irrational fear in all sections of the German population. Although the Holocaust ended almost completely after Adolphine's revelations, the situation in the Concentration Camps was horrendous with dozens of inmates dying every day because of neglect, undernourishment, epidemics and the occasional violence.

After the Heer started taking over and dismantling the Camps, the remaining Jewish population was herded once again into crowded and insalubre trains but that time with destination Switzerland. And, unlike their pre-war stance, the Western Powers were not sending the Jews back anymore...


3. The Wehrmacht. The oath to Hitler notwithstanding, support for Hitler and the Nazis in general in the Wehrmacht was evaporating quickly. After the resignation of Feldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (a Hitler sycophant, nicknamed Lakeitel, Lakai meaning Lachey) and the election of Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein as the head of the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), most of the units sided with the popular revolt and began to take control of Germany amid sporadic fighting with the Waffen SS and other Nazi loyalists.

With the Reichstag's vote of no confidence in the Government, a new Reich Government should have been formed, obviously a daunting task with most deputies either dead or in hiding. In those circumstances, a Military Government was considered to be the only solution but its leadership and composition elicited bitter infighting among the Generals.

The first priority was to secure the mass media and especially the radio stations and broadcast the fall of the Government in order to assure the loyalty of the troops, to increase the morale of the population and, hopefully, to induce the SS to surrender.

Equally if not more important was to secure the Reich Chancellery and the Bunker Complex and take the ailing, confused and overwhelmed Hitler into custody.

The issue of whether Hitler should be summarily executed proved to be extremely divisive. On one hand, the idea of murdering their helpless former leader seemed abhorrent to many but, on the other hand, with Hitler completely out of the equation it was presumed that any and all resistance would quickly falter. In the end, with no consensus reached, it was fate (or maybe, Hilter's proverbial luck) that the first General who arrived at the Bunker Complex was General Dietrich von Saucken, as seen in the previous chapter.

The Kriegsmarine quickly took under control the port cities and most of the German islands and coastline with little to no fighting. The Heer was not so lucky, the SS and Waffen SS engaging them in chaotic street battles in Berlin, Potsdam, Nürnberg, München, Salzburg, Wien and other cities. The Luftwaffe, besides securing a few uncontested areas, did not take part in the actual military operations.


4. The Nazi bureaucracy. With no real chance of fighting the Wehrmacht and being neither brave nor especially ideologically commited, most Nazi bureaucrats simply fled, kept a low profile or abandoned the sinking ship and changed sides. Most of them would later say that they have never been real Nazis, making up various excuses for their support of Nazism such as "I just went with the flow", "I had no other choice", "I actually wanted to help", "I didn't know what was going on" and so on.


5. The SS (Schutzstaffel): the Waffen SS and the Allgemeine SS. After Himmler's death, Hitler had taken over the leadership of the SS, with Helga's "help" doing a great deal of damage to the already poor cohesiveness of the organization. After realizing that Hitler was no longer actually in control, Otto Skorzeny assumed the provisional command of the SS and vowed to crush the conspirators and free Hitler from his presumed captivity.

Besides a presence in most cities, especially in Central Germany, around Berlin, in Bayern and Austria, the SS controlled the Protektorat and the so called Alpine Fortress (Alpenfestung).

After the defection of the Reichstag and then of the Wehrmacht, Skorzeny realized that attempting to fight everywhere was pointless. The SS largely fled from the peripheral areas, concentrating in the region between Berlin, the Alps, Wien and the Protektorat.

Just like the Wehrmacht, the first priorities of the SS were the radio stations and the Führerbunker. While a good deal of his men had deserted or changed sides, Skorzeny still hoped that, with some quick and daring operations, he could achieve victory over what he considered to be putchists.

The first of those operations was to capture the creature who had appeared out of nowhere to become the adoptive daughter of the Führer. Skorzeny was not sure who Adolphine was but he was certain that she was up to no good and he going to find out the truth, one way or another.


6. Adolf Hitler. Already in a bad overall shape in January (due to his Parkinson's, the stress induced by the catastrophic defeats in the war and the cocktail of powerful drugs irresponsably administred by his former doctor), Hitler's physical and mental health had continued to deteriorate despite an initial short period of apparent improvement.

While the replacement of the drugs with Adolphine's "concentrate", the sheltering of Germany under the Dome and his marriage with Eva did improve his condition, the people overtly booing him and then revolting all over the country as well as his own cerebral stroke did not.

In the end, despite Adolphine's best efforts, Hitler was a wreck, both physically and psychologically. Von Saucken's visit and his percieved courage and impertinence helped shatter the last remnants of Hitler's sanity and composure. The sudden realization that, by all intents and purposes, he had already lost power, followed by the shocking news that Adolphine was missing pushed him over the edge.


7. The Hirn, the Robots and Adolphine. Unbeknowst to most Germans, besides those enumerated above, there was another power player in Germany. It was an uneasy coalition between the kidnapped Adolphine, the grumpy and uncooperative Industrial Robots and the central entity of the Hirn, the mighty Main Computer with its external manifestation, the soft-spoken but all-powerful Helga.

Whether that hidden coalition with immense soft power was to have a significant role in the historic events unfolding in Germany remains to be seen.

 

[stevep]

I suspect the decision not to summarily kill Hitler might be the best one in this scenario. It might make some mistrust the intent of the military while the SS and other hard liners might break or might become even more fanatical. I suspect that few of the Waffen SS would actually desert or go into hiding as they seem to have been picked for their fanatical commitment to the regime and its 'ideas' but a lot would be rather isolated if the army could move quickly. You could also have a problem with the Hitler Youth units, although many of them might be dead by now, as they were also extremely fanatical in most cases. However with no other commitments and with the bulk of the population against them they can't stand again the army once it decides to move.

Hadn't realised that the extermination of the Jews and other 'undesirables' had ended, although giving the situation, with the continued vicious propaganda against them and the dire conditions their in the death toll is likely to still be bad. Plus until the military and others take over fully and close the camps its likely not to get any better and you could see cases of some camp commanders seeking to 'complete' the task by slaughtering as many people as possible. Good that many are however being allowed to leave via Switzerland, although their existence and condition will be a damning indictment of Nazi Germany to the western world.

 

[Zagan7]

Chapter 60. Marching Through Hell



25 March 1945, Deutsches Reich


Night

Under the orders of Otto Skorzeny, Adolphine was chloroformed and abducted from the Reich Chancellery Gardens by a group of Waffen-SS operatives in collusion with some of her guards. They placed her in a car and drove away towards an unknown destination.


Otto Skorzeny proclaimed himself Reichsführer-SS and assumed control over the entire Schutzstaffel, i.e. both the Allgemeine SS and the Waffen SS, including the few remaining foreign volunteers.

Although a significant number of its members were missing (killed in action, prisoners of war, recent desertors), the SS could still count on a formidable fighting force of cca. 700,000 men, most of them battle hardened and fanatical Nazis.


In a recorded Radio Communiqué broadcast amidst a ferocious battle with the Heer in and around the radio station (gunfire and explosions could be heard in the background), Skorzeny anounced that:

• A massive conspiracy against the Führer, the Reich and the Volk was unfolding.
• Traitors from the Werhmacht, acting on behalf of the International Jewry, had surrounded the Führerbunker with the intention of capturing and assassinating the Führer.
• The SS was fighting to safeguard the National Socialist Revolution against those who wanted to once again surrender the Vaterland to the Jewry.

Before the broadcast was finally interrupted (with the antenna blown up), Skorzeny appealed to the soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht to stop following the orders of their traitorous superiors and to the public to stay indoors, promissing that their legitimate grievances would be accomodated after the defeat of the coup.

The fact that the SS was the first to broadcast their version of the events could have been serious if not for two important reasons: the Nazi propaganda already fell mostly on deaf ears as few people had any love left for Hitler, the Nazis and the SS and even fewer people were awake and listening to the radios at that small hour of the night. Nonetheless, the anouncement was considered to have been the cause of at least several thousand desertions from the Heer.


Feldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel was compelled to resign by his colleagues and Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein was elected Chief of the OKW by those present at the meeting.

Waffen SS commandos began to infiltrate the Reich Chancellery.

The OKW decided to occupy the Reich Chancellery and the Bunker Complex, including the Hirn. After a short but bitter argument, it was also decided to take Hitler into custody or to execute him if he were to resist.


With the Reich Chancellery building and the Bunkers secured, the Waffen SS comandos attempted to enter the Hirn itself only to find the elevator shaft completely blocked by an impenetrable barrier apparently identical to the Berlin Dome.

With Adolphine missing and faced with an imminent invasion, Helga, with the cooperation of the Industrial Robots, had assumed full control over the Hirn and had programmed the Dome Emitter to use a small amount of the available energy for a very small and concentric secondary Dome enclosing the Hirn itself and small adjacent spaces around it.

A short fight with the three SS guards present inside the Hirn ended with seven damaged robots, two of them seriously, and the electrocuted guards disarmed and tied up. Hitler, demoted to Limited User status, had been injected with a potent sleeping drug while Eva's screams were simply being ignored.


The OKW started to broadcast its own Radio Communiqué, repeated every fifteen minutes. Its main points stated that:

• The Reichstag had repealed the Enabling Law, paving the way for the resumption of constitutional order in the Reich.
• The Reichstag had passed a vote of no confidence in the Reich Government.
• The SS had attacked the Reichstag and murdered dozens of deputies, thus starting a coup d'état.
• Due to the utter impossibility to elect a new government in that chaotic situation and in order to prevent a civil war with the forces of evil and restore order in the Reich, the Wehrmacht had assumed full control of the Reich until such time when the situation would be stable enough for civilian rule to be reinstated.
• The Wehrmacht supported the legitimate aspirations of the people demonstrating all over the Reich against the tyranny, for freedom and normalcy.
• In order to prevent any further unnecessary loss of life, the civilians were encouraged to go to their homes until the threat posed by those who wished them harm could be dealt with by the Wehrmacht.
• The SS was declared dissolved with all its effectives and material base taken over by the Wehrmacht.
• All those guilty of crimes against the German People were to be punished according to the law with those who were to surrender to be shown clemency.

Although the three minutes long Communiqué addressed several key issues, it completely missed a very important one: the current and future fate of the Führer. In fact, neither the word Führer nor the name Adolf Hitler were even mentioned.


With the surrounding streets fully under their control, the Heer troops began to move into the Reich Chancellery gardens where they came under SS sniper fire from inside the Reich Chancellery building.

Believing that the SS had already captured the Hirn and, presumably, removed Hitler to another location, the assault was momentarily called off until the situation was further assessed.


Von Manstein contacted Skorzeny in an attempt to negotiate the surrender of the Reich Chancellery.

A huge explosion rocked the Reich Chancellery. Wasting no more time, the Heer stormed the building amid intense fire. The attack was repulsed by the SS defenders, albeit with heavy losses.


With tanks and mortars being brought at the scene of the conflict, the Reich Chancellery came under artillery fire. It was ironic that the destruction of the Reich Chancellery, commenced during the war by the enemy bombers was completed under the Dome by the German artillery.


Fresh SS troops entered the battle, coming from the direction of the Potsdamer Platz. The first Sun rays of that fateful day began to shine light upon a veritable bloodbath. The very heart of the Reich was a battlefield, filled with debris, smoke, blood and bodies.


Helga managed at last to contact the OKW and informed them of the situation in the Hirn as well as of the troubling fact that Adolphine was missing.



Morning

All attempts to negotiate with Skorzeny failed. Both skirmishes and full fledged battles between the Wehrmacht and the SS began to erupt in parts of Berlin and various cities accross Germany. The hideous spectre of civil war started to rise its head over the Reich.

Although the two sides of the conflict had very different strengths (only 700,000 for the SS vs. more than 2,700,000 for the Wehrmacht and supported by the vast majority of the civilian population), what the SS lacked in numbers seemed, at least at first, to compensate in morale and fanatical determination.

In the places controlled by the anti-Nazi demonstrators, the radio announcement of the Wehrmacht, played at megaphones in the city centres was greeted by the masses with enthusiasm and exuberant public celebrations.

In many other places, the people, emboldened by the overt support of the Wehrmacht, filled the streets and took over the remaining Nazi institutions, with little to no opposition.

In the cities which witnessed street battles between the Wehrmacht and the SS, the civilians heeded the advice of the OKW and stayed mostly indoors. Those brave enough to try and help the soldiers were gunned down by the SS.

The international public opinion held its metaphorical breath for every bit of information getting out of Germany. In Wallonia, pro-democracy militants congregated in Charleroi, Namur and Liège calling for the resignation of the Degrelle Government.

In and around the Reich Chancellery, the battle raged on unabated.



Afternoon

With both military and civilian casualties mounting and war-time destruction making a dreaded comeback to the German cities, the OKW finally authorized Helga to impersonate Hitler in a speech.


In a short but intense speech duly broadcast to the Reich and the larger World, Helga / Hitler:

• Called for the SS to lay down their weapons and surrender to the Wehrmacht, taking advantage of the amnesty offered by the OKW.
• Recognized the validity of the Reichstag resolutions, including the repealing of the Enabling Law and the vote of no confidence in the Reich Government.
• Speaking as Reichskanzler, presented the resignation of the Reich Government and, as Reichspräsident, authorized the OKW to form a caretaker government to rule Germany for a period of six months.
• Promissed the war-weary population that Germany will not embark upon any new wars of conquest but thrive in peace under the protection of its Dome.
• Resigned from all his positions in the Wehrmacht, the SS and the National Socialist Party.
• Offered to resign from the position of Reich President and all his other remaining official positions after the end of the crisis or before the signing of a Peace Treaty with the Western Allies, whichever came first.
• Affirmed that, with the National Socialist Revolution complete and the German Reich and Volk saved from their predicament from the interbellum, a return to a suitable form of National Democracy was possible and indeed desirable.
• Admitted the existence of numerous crimes perpetrated by individuals from the Party and the SS who acted in his name, interpreting ad-literam various ideas stated hyperbolically either in Mein Kampf or in his many political speeches.
• Stated his desire to retire from politics permanently and live a secluded life in the midst of his family.

To say that the speech elicited consternation was a massive understatement.

During the following hours, hundreds of Waffen-SS units surrendered all over the Reich.



Evening

Reichsführer-SS Otto Skorzeny declared that the Führer was the prisoner of the conspirators, that the Führer's speech had been forced upon him and, therefore, it was null and void. He asked his troops to maintain their fighting spirit in order to foil the putsch, free the Führer and save National Socialist Germany from destruction.


With the Reich Chancellery in smoldering ruins and the last SS defenders from the Bunker smoked out, the battle of the Reich Chancellery ended with the victory of the Wehrmacht but with the price of over 4,300 casualties. Subsequent SS attacks were easily repulsed by the large Wehrmacht contingent deployed in the centre of the Capital.

To the dismay of the OKW, Helga refused both to grant them access into the Hirn and to let them take Hitler into custody, with only the three tied up SS guards being sent out.

The situation at the elevator shaft remained tense, with a recently awakened Hitler yelling at the Feldmarschalls from behind the barrier and Helga trying to calm everybody down.


The OKW chose Feldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch as the new Reichskanzler. The rather surprising nomination could be explained by the "clean" credentials of Brauchitsch as a former opponent of the regime and the desire of the competing factions in the OKW to compromise and find a neutral figure for the job.


Heavy fighting continued in other parts of Berlin, as well as in Potsdam, Nürnberg, München, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Berchtesgaden and across the Protektorat.


The OKW appreciated that the SS could continue fighting for at least several weeks, with expected casualties in the tens of thousands, before surrendering or possibly going underground and engaging in terrorism for months or maybe even years.

In those conditions, a truce seemed like the most rational approach to the conundrum in which they found themselves mired.

Contacted again and asked for his conditions for a truce, Skorzeny flatly stated that the only way for the SS to lay down their weapons was to have the Führer restate under the protection of the SS what he had allegedly uttered in his latest speech.

The situation seemed to be completely intractable.

 

[Zagan7]

Recapitulation #6



Scope: Chapters 51 - 60

Status: OK. The Timeline is aproaching its climax (or one of its climaxes).

Time period: March in Germany; March-April elsewhere.


Main events

• The Second Soviet-Polish War goes on. Eventually, a ceasefire is agreed to (which contravenes to the previous German-Polish ceasefire, but Germany, being in the middle of a deep political crisis, does not retaliate).
• Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia confederate.
• Germany turns against the Hungarians. Hungary cedes Međimurje to Croatia, Prekmurje and Ödenburg to Germany. Slovakia demands the retrocession of the First Vienna Award territories, causing the fall of the Arrow Cross Hungarian Government. A second Slovak-Hungarian War seems probable.
• The Yugoslav People's Army captures Zagreb and the rest of Outer Croatia. The Croatian Government, Army and numerous refugees relocate to Inner Croatia.
• Patton occupies the Croatian Island of Krk, triggering a small crisis.
• A series of referenda in Switzerland break the country into three parts, alongside several internal readjustments. The mostly French speaking Outer Cantons form the Swiss Federal Republic, Italian speaking Ticino applies to join Italy and mostly German speaking rump Switzerland falls under increasing German influence. Italian Valtelina joins rump Switzerland. Tiny Inner Lombardy is placed under Swiss Administration as well.
• Charles de Gaulle's Outer France flatly refuses any possible understanding with Germany, de facto abandoning Inner France to its fate. Subsequently, Maréchal Pétain and Pierre Laval form a separate Government in Nancy.
• The Flemish narrowly vote for independence, splitting Belgium into Flanders and Wallonia.
• The Wehrmacht concludes its evacuation of Outer Norway. The small Halden Triangle is placed under Swedish Administration. The rest of Outer Norway remains under German occupation.
• The Communist Greeks, with Soviet and Yugoslav help, win the Greek Civil War. The UK controls Crete and the Dodecanese. Soviet alligned Greece invades Turkey alongside the Soviet Union.
• Massive anti-government demonstrations engulf Germany starting a period of chaos and political turmoil. The repression is half-hearted and seemingly random.
• The Reichstag votes to repeal the Enabling Act and to depose Hitler. The SS attacks the deputies, triggering a profound crisis. The Wehrmacht intervenes on the side of the anti-Nazi protesters.
• Adolphine finally accepts the crimes of the Nazi regime. Von Saucken confronts Hitler who refuses to step down. Adolphine is abducted by the SS.
• The crisis in Germany deepens, the country coming to the brink of civil war. The SS, under the command of Otto Skorzeny, engages the OKW all over Berlin and Central Germany. The Battle of the Reich Chancellery all but destroys the building. Helga shuts the Hirn close protecting it from an imminent SS invasion. Hitler is sedated.
• Helga, impersonating Hitler in a historic radio speech, calls for the SS to surrender and offers to resign, inter alia.
• The OKW chooses von Brauchitsch for the post of Reich Chancellor.
• The SS vows to keep fighting until Hitler is released from his purported Wehrmacht captivity.

Premature deaths

• Polish soldiers and civilians, Inner Red Army soldiers;
• Civilians from Inner France (starvation, banditry, etc);
• Communist and Loyalist Greeks, Bulgarian, Yugoslav and Albanian "volunteers";
• Turkish, Soviet and Greek soldiers;
• Anti-government protesters in Germany;
• Reichstag deputies;
• Joseph Goebbels (shot point blank during the Reichstag battle; killer unknown);
• SS and Heer soldiers;

Status of World War Two

• Pacific Theatre
  • Peace negotiations with Japan ongoing amid political crisis in Japan
  • Continued fighting in the Pacific and East Asia
  • Manhattan Project near completion
• European Theatre (outside the Dome)
  • All fighting ceased
• European Theatre (inside the Dome)
  • Inner Norway: very limited partisan activity
  • Poland: Ceasefire in the Second Polish-Soviet War
  • Inner Italy, Inner Slovenia: limited partisan activity
  • Central and Southern Germany, the Protektorat: chaotic fighting between the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS
• Parallel Conflicts:
  • Unrest in Wallonia
  • Anti-Soviet partisan activity in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Baltic States, etc
  • Soviet-Turkish War (in a separate chapter)
  • Preparations for a new Slovak-Hungarian War

.

Status of Peace Negotiations (no changes)

• Signed a peace treaty: None
• Signed an armistice treaty / normalization of relations: Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
• Engaged in discussions: Most Western Allies
• Unilaterally disengaged / end of state of war: Most Minor Latin American countries
• Not even under consideration: France, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, the Soviet Union

Cast of Characters (in order of appearance)

• Ferenc Szálasi
  
• George Patton
  
• Philippe Pétain
  
• Vidkun Quisling
  
• King George II of the Hellenes (abdicated in favour of his brother Paul)
  
• King Paul of the Hellenes
• Francisco Franco
  
• Anti-Nazi protesters
• Reichstag Deputies
• Dietrich von Saucken
  
• Erich Koch
  
• Adolphine's kidnappers (unnamed)
• Konrad Adenauer
  
• Wilhelm Keitel
  
• Walther von Brauchitsch (Reichskanzler)

Uptime (2189): The Uptimers will soon find out about Adolphine's abduction.

 

[JuliusClonkus]

...hundreds of SS units surrendered, huh.

Well shit, if this was divisions there'd be no SS. So it's more likely their chain of command has ripped apart. The only logical outcome is that the SS is now also devouring itself to find traitors, dissenters (traitors), defeatists (traitors) and people loyal to Hitler's word (traitors) in its own ranks.

I'm curious as to what the uptimers are going to do. I mean they'll fuck up as is the norm for their ilk, but the exact way still leaves me curious.

 

[stevep]

Well that sounds good. Going to be bloody in Berlin and elsewhere but a much clearer light at the end of the tunnel now. It all depends on what sort of Germany emerges and the potential for abuse that the dome poses. However hopefully the military will accept the necessary for at least some basic liberties for most of those trapped in the dome with Germany.

Hopefully Adolphine makes it out OK. Given that to a large degree she's beyond Helga's protection and in the hands of Skorzeny that could be difficult but as you say its an optimistic TL.

PS Missed that last footnote about the uptimers and Adolphine's abduction.

 

[Zagan7]

...hundreds of SS units surrendered, huh.

Well shit, if this was divisions there'd be no SS. So it's more likely their chain of command has ripped apart. The only logical outcome is that the SS is now also devouring itself to find traitors, dissenters (traitors), defeatists (traitors) and people loyal to Hitler's word (traitors) in its own ranks.

I'm curious as to what the uptimers are going to do. I mean they'll fuck up as is the norm for their ilk, but the exact way still leaves me curious.

Click to shrink...

From an initial strength of cca. 900,000 men, about 100,000 had surrendered to the Wehrmacht or simply vanished (went home or into hiding). Another cca. 100,000 are isolated and unable to act in any meaningful way (except perhapt terrorizing the civilians).

Yes, there are traitors everywhere! Germany is full of traitors!

The Uptimers can do many things, some of them really unpleasant. More about that in the relevant chapter (64).

Well that sounds good. Going to be bloody in Berlin and elsewhere but a much clearer light at the end of the tunnel now. It all depends on what sort of Germany emerges and the potential for abuse that the dome poses. However hopefully the military will accept the necessary for at least some basic liberties for most of those trapped in the dome with Germany.

Hopefully Adolphine makes it out OK. Given that to a large degree she's beyond Helga's protection and in the hands of Skorzeny that could be difficult but as you say its an optimistic TL.

PS. Missed that last footnote about the uptimers and Adolphine's abduction.

Click to shrink...

In any case, military rule is better than Nazi rule (well, almost anything is better than Nazi rule). Moreover, most military juntas are temporary affaires.

It is not known yet what the SS wants with Adolphine. Everything will become clear tomorrow (chapter 61). For now, I only have to remind you that, besides contradictory rumours, almost nothing is known about Adolphine. It is not known who she is, where did she come from, what did she do since she arrived there, what are her plans, what power does she have, how much does she influence Hitler, etc. Moreover, nothing certain is known about her invulnerability to gunfire, her nanobots, Olaf, etc.

 

[Adamgerd]

In any case, military rule is better than Nazi rule (well, almost anything is better than Nazi rule).

Click to shrink...

yeah. Being better than the Nazi's is a very low bar to beat. Only a few other leaders like stalin, Mao killed more or were arguably worse than Hitler. And military rule is probably especially for the minorities better as although they want a strengthened germany still, they won't support eradication campaigns as much

 

[Zagan7]

Chapter 61. The Debriefing of Olaf


WARNING: You may find the contents of this chapter disturbing.



Unspecified date and location (see below), Deutsches Reich

STRENG GEHEIM (TOP SECRET)


The Debriefing of ROBOT OLAF in Relation to the Abduction of ADOLPHINE HITLER

(including data gathered from the footage shot by Robot Olaf during the events)


FULL REPORT​

My name is Olaf NX2-0000-0A28-3F9D-70B4-67E0. I am an Autonomous Computer with a Class B Artificial Intelligence, better known as a Personal Robot. Adolphine Hitler is my Administrator-Owner although she is usually and currently only logged in as an Advanced User.

Although I am not required to speak with you, I chose to answer your questions because I consider that Adolphine would have wished so and because I consider that it is the right thing to do under these circumstances. To allow this dialogue to take place, I have added you as Limited Users, privilege which I can withdraw at any moment.

Before proceeding, please note that my recalling of the events starting with our kidnapping is incomplete because the paramount need to conserve battery power in an environment where I could not expect to be charged compelled me to enter sleep mode for extended periods of time. However, because understanding that my deposition would be useful and wanting to comfort and help Adolphine, I kept waking up from time to time, as well as at any significant change in the environment, such as doors opening, people speaking or making sudden movements and so on.

All these being said, I will start with the beginning, id est the moments prior to our abduction.

Fortuitously, Adolphine had me buckled up around her waist when going out to the Reich Chancellery Gardens to play with the chainsaw. Because the fumes produced by the chainsaw's engine are not exactly good for my health, I slept for most of the time while Adolphine was chopping and sculpting the logs, thus failing to notice the assailants aproaching.

I was woken up by the smell of trichloromethane [chloroform] and, realizing what was going on and unable to help in any meaningful way, I minimized or shut down all my outputs in order to remain undetected. Luckily, my plan worked and the assailants mistook me for an ordinary belt buckle. I cannot comprehend the reason why their inside help did not inform them of my presence. I suppose that they might have been unaware of my presence or they may have overlooked or forgotten it.

I am pretty certain that the two individuals who anaestethized Adolphine and carried her away were in collusion with two of our guards [identified from photographs because Robot Olaf did not know their names]. After anaestethizing Adolphine, the two assailants carried us through a presumably purposefully created hole in the fence to a black car parked directly on the pedestrian way of the Voßstraße. They placed us on the hind coach of the car with each of the assailants on either side of us and with a third person at the wheel driving away immediately.

When the car passed near the Heer soldiers deployed in front of the Reich Chancellery I pondered whether producing a sudden powerful noise and flash of light could have attracted attention leading to our rescue but, estimating the chances of success at just below eight percent, I chose not to.

The lack of any functioning geolocating system in this time meant that, besides using my inertial accelerometer and a few serendipitous glimpses of the stars, I had no precise means of determining our location and direction.

About three minutes later, Adolphine began to wake up. Seemingly perplexed by the short time she had been unconscious and presumably believing that the amount of anaesthetic had been insufficient, the assailants prepared to apply a new dose of trichloromethane on her mouth and nose. Startled by the unknown surroundings and persons and probably understanding that we had been abducted, Adolphine, in line with her rebellious personality, began to scream and kick the two men despite the obvious lack of any chance of success.

One of the men kicked Adolphine in the head with a blunt object, possibly a gun, knocking her unconscious and, subsequently, proceeded to blindfold and handcuff both her wrists and ankles. After waking up, Adolphine realized that further resistance was futile and counterproductive at that moment and wisely decided to pretend to be still unconscious.

The ride continued, with only two short interruptions and a change of vehicle, for six hours and thirty-six minutes. Computing the average direction and speed of the vehicles, I could estimate that our final position was somewhere in the north-western part of the Reichsprotektorat Böhmen und Mähren.

After exiting the vehicle, we were brutally pushed into a nearby building with no written text on its front surface. There, we were led downstairs to the first underground level and placed in a small insalubrious cold and poorly lit room with nothing inside but a metallic bed, a chair, a small table, a narrow cupboard and a chamber pot. The persons who had abducted us left us there and we did not see them again.

Eight minutes later, two armed men dressed in SS uniforms entered the room, removed Adolphine's blindfolds and handcuffs and left without saying a word. Adolphine laid down on the bed and carressed me, wisely choosing not to speak lest there were hidden microphones in the room. We did not speak to each other for the remainder of our captivity. I believe that, even in those terrible conditions, Adolphine managed to get a couple of hours of much needed sleep.

For the following three days the same routine was meticulously observed. Nothing to do but trying to sleep during the day, two meals daily, in the morning and in the evening, with a totally inadequate energy and nutritional content and almost continuous interrogation and abuse during the night.

At first, Adolphine did not know what her tormentors wanted to hear and she kept alternating between telling the truth and remaining silent, with horrendous results. After a variable but usually short time, the various persons interrogating her started to perpetrate unbelievable abuse against Adolphine. She was beaten savagely, slapped, kicked, battered, tortured and raped for hours, usually until passing out.

One man, who acted as their superior in command [identified as Reichführer-SS Otto Skorzeny from the footage], joined the interrogation at times, did not indulge himself in the abuse but did nothing to curb it.

After the first two days, surprised by, from their perspective, Adolphine's unusual resistance to physical abuse and extremely quick healing, they summoned a team of doctors who conducted a series of bizarre and abusive medical experiments on her [one of them identified as Dr. Josef Mengele from the footage]. Each time they undressed Adolphine, we were afraid that we might get inadvertently separated but, thankfully, that did not happen.

As I said, Adolphine's body is marvellously prepared to endure all kinds of abuse but within limits which were frequently bypassed by her tormentors. The medical nanobots had to work non-stop to remove the effects of the beatings and the other forms of torture but the pain was still there. Additionally, she had suffered several fractures, mainly ribs but also a cranial fracture, as well as a ruptured hepatic artery resulting in internal bleeding, these ailments taking much longer to cure. I believe that, in the end, confronted with unbearable amounts of pain, the nanobots have taken the controversial decision to temporarily sever the nerve connections innervating some of the most affected areas.

Where the nanobots were unable to help was with the profound psychological trauma induced by the battering, torture and especially by the repeated rapes. In my opinion, it was that psychological trauma that caused the current mental state of Adolphine, with her overwhelmed brain delaying to enter into shock until we were finally safe under your protection.

One of the most unusual of the tormentors was an adolescent female who was brought to the interrogation room in the third day. Yelling "This is for my father, bitch!" the girl, about Adolphine's age, kicked Adolphine until her own fists were sore [identified as Gudrun Himmler from the footage].

Unable to withstand the abuse any longer and finally realizing what her interrogators wanted to hear, Adolphine "confessed" to be a Soviet and British double agent, a Jew, a bisexual who had seduced both Adolf Hitler and Eva Hitler, as well as various crimes such as the Jewish ritual killing of her former suitor, SS-Rottenführer Hans Winter.

After the spurious string of confessions, the abuse ceased almost completely, with the notable exception of occasional rapes by various guards. It was one of these assaults that finally presented us with the opportunity to escape the ordeal.

In the seventh day or her ordeal, Adolphine pretended to like one of the guards, asked him to "make love to her" instead of raping her and used his masculine pride to get him to enter the room alone, close the door and remove her handcuffs: "How is it possible that a strong man like you be afraid of a weak little girl?"

Afterwards, the events unfolded quickly. Having me in her right sleeve, Adolphine embraced the guard bending over her. I expelled my previously rolled-in belt which Adolphine caught in her left hand and passed it over back to me with the sexually aroused guard completely oblivious to that quick move.

A moment later, I buckled up and squeezed as hard as I could, consuming almost all my remaining battery power in an instant. It worked. The man began to suffocate and fell over Adolphine while trying unsuccessfully to escape my hold. A minute later he was dead.

Note that, should need arise, I will claim self defense. My Administrator-Owner was in grave danger and I ought to do whatever possible and necessary to ensure her safety. I also believe that the same self defence justification is in order for Adolphine's subsequent homicides, although justified homicide due to being in a war-like scenario might also be appropriate. But I am no lawyer and I digress.

Adolphine placed me in her vagina to protect me from bullets, took the gun left at the door by the dead guard, exited the room into the hallway and opened fire. After killing the two guards from the hallway, she armed herself with an automatic submachine gun and went on to kill all those present in the building.

Being unable to see anything from my secluded location, I am not sure how many men were killed but at least thirty is a reasonable estimation. I have to say that years of playing personal shooter video games at the highest level of difficulty helped Adolphine in that situation. Continuing the shooter video game analogy however, Adolphine would have lost a lot of lives, as she was hit by at least sixty-seven bullets. At one time, the hail of bullets literary threw her backwards through the air against a wall which stopped her from falling on her back. Granted, her ultimate success can be partially attributed to the obvious fact that her not succumbing to gunfire was utterly perplexing or even frightening to the SS soldiers.

Going out, Adolphine ran towards a nearby wooded area and crossed it, arriving to a two lane road where she stopped a car, jumped inside and asked the driver at gunpoint to leave the Protectorate and head towards Breslau.

I still don't understand how we managed to get out. I know that in this time information travels slower but still, I would have expected road blocks or even a hot pursuit. Alas, thankfully, nothing bad happened and we got out of the Protectorate and into the Sudetenland safely.

I have to note that Herr and Frau Schmidt, despite having a one year old toddler sleeping on the back seat, behaved flawlessly, keeping their composure and following Adolphine's orders. True, they were obviously bewildered when Adolphine took me out and we engaged in a short conversation but, besides crossing themselves, they did not show it.

Once in Breslau, we drove directly to the Cathedral [Breslauer Dom] and, after being hidden inside for a couple of hours, Cardinal Bertram, a friend of Adolphine, finally arrived and greeted us. He explained the situation, that the Werhmacht was on the side of the people and everything, while trying to soothe Adolphine who was already entering the current state of shock.

The rest you already know. The Cardinal contacted the Heer and you came and took us under your protection then, loosing no precious time, you drove us to Berlin where, when in range, I contacted Helga wirelessly and told her that we were safe.

And now I would like to go back to Adolphine to try and comfort her. I believe that a cartoon would do it in these circumstances.

Anything else...

It was my pleasure. Yes, I will gladly cooperate with you whenever necessary. Have a good day, Officer.


Recorded today, the 2nd of April 1945, by Oberst Gerhard Neubauer, Berlin, the Reichskanzlei, the Vorbunker, the Office of the Heer Plenipotentiary to the Hirn.

 

[JuliusClonkus]

That was...rather more detail than expected. Did they assign Dirlewanger's merry bunch of convicted psychos turned penal troops to guard her?

Good god. I'm sure I speak for everyone here if I say that extending the courtesies of the Geneva conventions to the SS should be strictly optional.

 

[Zagan7]

That was...rather more detail than expected. Did they assign Dirlewanger's merry bunch of convicted psychos turned penal troops to guard her?

Good god. I'm sure I speak for everyone here if I say that extending the courtesies of the Geneva conventions to the SS should be strictly optional.

Click to shrink...

Oh, I didn't know about Dirlewanger until now. I just read his Wikipedia article and what can I say? Wow!

I will insert him in the story, probably killed in Adolphine's shooting frenzy. Thank you for mentioning him.

Technically, the SS are not participating in a war but in an armed uprising against the Reich Government, so I believe that the Geneva Convention do not apply in that case.

 

[stevep]

Ugh that was ugly, both the chapter and the wiki on Dirlewanger. [That's why I couldn't give a like to the chapter.] All too likely however I fear for someone deemed to be an enemy who fell into SS hands. Think even with everything Adolphine was lucky to survive and come through in such a good condition, physically anyway. Mentally could be another question. It could take a lot of effort to get her anything like 'normal' I fear.

Apart from anything else I wonder what the nanobots had to work on to repair her as she probably needed a hell of a lot of 'fuel' to power them for the repairs needed and no doubt she didn't get enough for a normal human to survive on let alone fuel their activities? Or do they manage to use some external source?

Is Olaf a bit limited in his English [or German as he would actually be using at the time]? A couple of times he refers to Adolphine when mentioning her being hit but once is with a gun barrel and the other ends when the assalient " kicked Adolphine until her own fists were sore" which sounds a bit odd.

I don't know what the up-timers will do when they find out, although to a degree their partly to blame by sending Adolphine to this alternative universe. Could be some problems for the doctor who did it initially. Wonder how they view her killing frenzy afterwards as they might consider her too badly damaged/corrupted to return?

 

[Zagan7]

1. Ugh that was ugly, both the chapter and the wiki on Dirlewanger. [That's why I couldn't give a like to the chapter.] All too likely however I fear for someone deemed to be an enemy who fell into SS hands. Think even with everything Adolphine was lucky to survive and come through in such a good condition, physically anyway. Mentally could be another question. It could take a lot of effort to get her anything like 'normal' I fear.

2. Apart from anything else I wonder what the nanobots had to work on to repair her as she probably needed a hell of a lot of 'fuel' to power them for the repairs needed and no doubt she didn't get enough for a normal human to survive on let alone fuel their activities? Or do they manage to use some external source?

3. Is Olaf a bit limited in his English [or German as he would actually be using at the time]? A couple of times he refers to Adolphine when mentioning her being hit but once is with a gun barrel and the other ends when the assalient " kicked Adolphine until her own fists were sore" which sounds a bit odd.

4. I don't know what the up-timers will do when they find out, although to a degree their partly to blame by sending Adolphine to this alternative universe. Could be some problems for the doctor who did it initially. Wonder how they view her killing frenzy afterwards as they might consider her too badly damaged/corrupted to return?

Click to shrink...

1. Despite their sleek uniforms, Nazi Germany was "ugly". When a story about Nazi Germany glosses over that ugliness completely, it may actually start looking iffy.

Unlike "normal" downtime humans who were killed or maimed during those "interrogations", Adolphine had a series of "advantages" which helped keep her alive and in one piece during her ordeal.

Yes, Adolphine will remain scarred for quite some time. And it was not only the torture but also her subsequent rampage who affected her psychologically. I believe many people underestimate how difficult it is for a normal human being to kill, even if in self defense. We will touch upon her issues and recovery in future chapters.

2. No, the nanobots cannot use an external food source. Like any cell, they only use ATP as fuel. And, like any cell, their energy needs are quite low, even if somewhat higher than your average cell.

Before her abduction, Adolphine was well fed and in a very good shape. Even with the inadequate food supply, you don't have widespread apoptosis after only one week. Even if she felt hungry and undernourished, there was still enough energy for her cells and the nanobots to keep working. If there were not, she wouldn't have been able to walk, shoot and run when she escaped.

3. Olaf's German is perfect. My own English is limited. In this case, "kicked Adolphine until her own fists were sore" refers to Gudrun Himmler (the adolescent daughter of Heinrich Himmler). If you suggest a better wording, I would be happy to change that.

4. Chapter 64. A very important chapter.

 

[Adamgerd]

Technically, the SS are not participating in a war but in an armed uprising against the Reich Government, so I believe that the Geneva Convention do not apply in that case.

Click to shrink...

Even if they would apply, I don't think many would mind, I certainly wouldn't if the SS was not given the courtesy of Geneva Convention after their crimes.

1. Despite their sleek uniforms, Nazi Germany was "ugly". When a story about Nazi Germany glosses over that ugliness completely, it may actually start looking iffy.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, that is the obvious carefulness that if you gloss over their ugliness, it does seem strange as even if their uniforms are sleek, their crimes are horrid and despicable

 

[Zagan7]

Yeah, that is the obvious carefulness that if you gloss over their ugliness, it does seem strange as even if their uniforms are sleek, their crimes are horrid and despicable.

Click to shrink...

On AlternateHistory.com, there are many stories about Nazis and I read quite a few of them. Some are good, others are bad, some have the Nazis thrashed worse than in OTL, others have them achieve a stalemate or even win the war outright. Even though they are very different from one another, I managed to infer a rule: When the story doesn't mention any attrocities, one or two carefully asked questions would almost always reveal that the author has some good opinions about the Nazis. You can have Nazis acting somewhat smarter than in OTL, you can have them winning a little more than in OTL but if they don't brutalize and kill people, either they aren't really Nazis or the author's view of them is really skewed.

 

[Adamgerd]

On AlternateHistory.com, there are many stories about Nazis and I read quite a few of them. Some are good, others are bad, some have the Nazis thrashed worse than in OTL, others have them achieve a stalemate or even win the war outright. Even though they are very different from one another, I managed to infer a rule: When the story doesn't mention any attrocities, one or two carefully asked questions would almost always reveal that the author has some good opinions about the Nazis. You can have Nazis acting somewhat smarter than in OTL, you can have them winning a little more than in OTL but if they don't brutalize and kill people, either they aren't really Nazis or the author's view of them is really skewed.

Click to shrink...

Indeed, nazi's that don't brutalize aren't proper nazi's. I am not sure whether I find it worse that some people think the Nazi's were great or if they think others wont mind them saying so

 

[AYC]

"Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair." - Adolf Hitler to Adolphine

 

[AYC]

On AlternateHistory.com, there are many stories about Nazis and I read quite a few of them. Some are good, others are bad, some have the Nazis thrashed worse than in OTL, others have them achieve a stalemate or even win the war outright. Even though they are very different from one another, I managed to infer a rule: When the story doesn't mention any attrocities, one or two carefully asked questions would almost always reveal that the author has some good opinions about the Nazis. You can have Nazis acting somewhat smarter than in OTL, you can have them winning a little more than in OTL but if they don't brutalize and kill people, either they aren't really Nazis or the author's view of them is really skewed.

Click to shrink...

Hence why The Anglo/American Nazi War is one of the best Nazi TLs ever produced. CalBear pulled no punches in showing just how devastating nearly two decades of the Third Reich would be for Europe.