Chapter 134. The Wedding's Who's Who
In this chapter we will present the participants at the 1st of May 1949 wedding of Adolphine and Heinrich.
The Bride
Adolphine Fürstin von Hitler (19, née Heimat)
Adolphine had changed significantly during the four years lived in the Reich.
Four years previously she was a prisoner of conscience in a dystopian future. Now she was a
Fürstin regnant, a presumed
éminence grise of the German Reich and one of the most influential, powerful and richest women in the World.
At nineteen years old, Adolphine had blossomed into a strong, confident and charming young woman. Her slim and tall body (65 kg / 180 cm), large green eyes, anthracite black hair and a barely noticeable hint of oriental features made her quite attractive.
Adolphine was in a great physical shape and quite good at sports and all kinds of physical activities. She was a fast runner, swimmer and cyclist, a good climber and an excellent diver. She was also very resilient to sustained and arduous physical effort, heat, cold, discomfort and pain. The medical nanobots were obviously helpful there.
In November 1948, shortly after Heinrich had finished his military service, Adolphine left active service in the Wehrmacht, being placed in reserve with the rank of
Stabsfeldwebel (the highest
Unteroffizier rank and the highest rank achievable without attending a Military Academy). Her basic training had been in the special forces. She was an excellent sniper and had good command of most weapons available to the Wehrmacht. She could drive almost any land vehicle, including tanks, sail a small boat, pilot an airship or a glider and jump with a parachute.
Adolphine had finished the thirteenth grade the previous year and had passed her
Abitur with a very good score. The professors had strongly suspected that she had cheated but had been unable to prove anything. Naturally, Olaf had been left outside the examination room and she had been checked for any other hidden robots but doubt still lingered. After all, uptime technology was so unbelievably advanced that anything was deemed possible.
Adolphine was very good at English (foreign language), good at German literature and grammar, history, geography and social sciences, decent at mathematics and physics and mediocre at chemistry, biology, economics, French and other subjects. Besides the school subjects, Adolphine could also speak "European" and knew some basics of (downtime) computer programming.
Adolphine had no intention at the moment to continue her studies in a university but Olaf continued to teach her useful bits and pieces from various fields of knowledge.
Adolphine was not very bright but she was not stupid either, her IQ being a little over one hundred. In fact, most of her initial incompetence in helping the Nazis can be attributed to three factors: her lack of formal education, her grotesque indoctrination by her neo-Nazi parents and, last but not least, the very difficult nature of the problems raised by Heisenberg, Hahn, Zuse and other scientists.
Four years later, Adolphine had a rather solid general culture, her initial indoctrination had mostly faded away and she cleverly avoided subjects such as nuclear physics, quantum mechanics, rocket science and others. Not being anywhere near scientists or hardcore Nazis anymore also helped.
After her bizarre performance at the 1946 Nürnberg Rally, Adolphine grew less interested in politics. She was no longer a
National Socialist. Maybe she had never really been one. She could not even be considered a
proper conservative in the middle of the 20th century. She had military training (not exactly a
proper gender role for a woman), had sex before marriage, lived with her boyfriend, considered religion to be rather unimportant (while nominally a Christian) and tolerated sexual minorities
as long as they kept it private. She wasn't even a usual Nationalist for that period, as her allegiance to the
White Race instead of just the
Volk was widely considered absurd.
In fact, Adolphine's personal opinions about her political positions differed markedly from how the other people viewed her. She used to consider herself as the
true, unadulterated, National Socialist (not anymore though), a Conservative and a Nationalist. From the point of view of those who knew her, she was none of those and actually impossible to properly characterize from a political point of view.
Another interesting change was that Adolphine was significantly less odd and socially awkward, having learned to suppress her outbursts and to behave properly in polite society.
All in all, it can be said that Heinrich had hit the jackpot. At least that was the general impression, both in the Reich and abroad.
The Groom
Heinrich Prinz von Bayern (27, House of Wittelsbach)
Heinrich was a tall and handsome young man, bearing a little coincidental resemblance to Adolphine.
He was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, a very old German Royal Family which had reigned in Bavaria since 1180.
Heinrich was the fifth in the succession line to the Bavarian throne after his older brother Albrecht and his four children, so his prospects of ever acceding to the throne were close to zero.
Heinrich did not have a chance to attend university because he had spent most of his adult life in exile, in a Nazi Concentration Camp and, finally, in the military service. He intented to study archaeology, starting that autumn.
Heinrich was an amateur writer, having written a couple of short stories as well as his memories from the exile and subsequent captivity.
In 1949, he was writing a dystopic alternate history novella with the point of divergence being that the Nazi Dictatorship did not fall in the summer of 1945, Hitler managed to quell the revolt and remained in power, resulting in massive internal and international changes. The book, published the following year, would be very successful, sparking an alternate history craze both in the Reich and abroad.
Adolphine's Adoptive Father
Adolf Hitler (60, former
Führer of the German Reich)
Following the 23rd of April 1945 self inflicted gunshot which obliterated his brain, a
Computer Core inserted into Hitler's empty cranial cavity completely controlled his brainless body. Besides Adolphine, no other human was aware of Hitler's condition, although several people would eventually begin to suspect it.
According to the 1945 agreement with the OKW, Hitler was forbidden to:
- leave the Obersalzberg (Hitler) Sonderkreis;
- engage in politics (join a political party, attend political rallies, deliver political speeches, etc);
- talk with the mass media or publish anything without prior approval from the OKW.
During the four years spent in Obersalzberg, Hitler received various guests, either Nazis or Fascists from other countries, who were invariably disappointed by Hitler's inexplicable change of heart towards the Nazi Party. Basicly, Hitler simply reiterated his position from his 2nd of May 1945
Statement.
[...] with the National Socialist Revolution successful and complete and the German Reich and Volk saved from their predicament, the National Socialist Party and Movement, having achieved all their aims, are no longer needed and the German Reich should return to a form of National Democracy apropriate for the conditions prevalent in our Reich and the spirit of our Volk.
Although Hitler was basicly a robot and couldn't feel boredom, he, nonetheless, chose to fill his time with various activities in order to maintain an appearance of normalcy and help keep the charade going. Thus, he went on long walks, usually alone with Blondi, sometimes with Eva or with Adolphine, painted 27 paintings which sold very well (despite being considered of rather poor quality by the art critics) and lived a healthy family life with his blissfully unsuspecting wife and children.
More importantly, Hitler wrote his memoirs,
Diktator des Deutschen Reiches, and a heavily annotated version of
Mein Kampf. There, he tried to explain some of his original ideas as
hyperbolic electoral propaganda taken ad literam by deranged people and turned into a nightmare. Both books were published, albeit without several paragraphs discussing atrocities and mass murder which the Reich Authorities were not yet ready to acknowledge. The uncensored editions would only become available after the events of 1997.
Hitler's Family
- Paula Hitler (53, younger sister)
- Angela Hammitzsch (65, widowed, née Hitler, elder half-sister)
- Elfriede Maria Hochegger (39, née Raubal, niece), Angela's daughter (her other daughter, Geli, had committed suicide in 1931), with her husband, Ernst, and sons, Heiner (4) and Helmut (2)
- Peter Raubal (18, great-nephew), Angela's grandson from Leo Raubal Jr. (prisoner of war in the Soviet Union since 1943, assumed dead)
Hitler was not very close to his sisters and he tried to keep them away as much as possible lest they suspected that something was not what it seemed to be. Nevertheless, they had some limited contact, mainly short visits at Christmas and Easter.
Obviously, his estranged half-brother Alois Hitler Jr. and half-nephew William Patrick Hitler were not invited.
Adolphine's Adoptive Mother
Eva Hitler (37, née Braun, Adolf Hitler's wife)
With a bland personality and relatively mediocre intelect, Eva was not remarkable in any other way besides being Hitler's wife. Already mother of two,
Klara Hitler (3) and
Valküre Hitler (1), Eva was again pregnant, awaiting twins in October.
Eva's relations with her husband, younger sister and adoptive daughter were excellent, leading to a generally pleasant and tranquil atmosphere at the
Berghof. She spent most of her time either with her children or engaged in various leisurely activities. Eva missed travelling but the presence of an increasing number of small children and her husband's interdiction to leave the Sonderkreis largely precluded that.
Eva's Family
- Friedrich Braun (Fritz, 70, father)
- Franziska Braun (Fanny, 64, née Kronberger, mother)
- Ilse Braun (40, divorced, no children, elder sister)
- Gretl Fegelein (33, widowed, née Braun, younger sister), with her daughter Barbara (4)
Gretl and Barbara lived at the Berghof. Eva's parents visited the Berghof frequently to spend time with their daughters and granddaughters. Ilse visited them as well, albeit less often.
From all the close relatives of Adolphine and Heinrich, Gretl was the only one who was still a member of the Nazi Party. Gretl and Eva had voted with the Nazis in the last two elections. However, their Nazi beliefs were not especially strong.
Heinrich's Family
- Rupprecht, King of Bavaria (80, House of Wittelsbach, father)
- Antonia, Queen of Bavaria (49, House of Luxembourg, mother)
- Albrecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria (44, elder half-brother), with his wife Maria (45) and children: Marie Gabrielle (18), Marie Charlotte (18), Franz (15, heir) and Max (12)
- Irmingard (26, younger sister), with her fiancé
- Editha (24, younger sister), with her husband and daughter (2)
- Hilda (23, younger sister), with her fiancé
- Gabrielle (22, younger sister), as maid of honour (see below)
- Sophie (14, younger sister), as maid of honour (see below)
Heinrich had numerous uncles, aunts and cousins, both paternal (Wittelsbach / Bayern) and maternal (Luxembourg). Some of them (31, with their spouses and children, if any) attended the wedding. Others declined the invitation.
Officiating Priest
Cardinal
Adolf Bertram (90,
Roman Catholic Church)
Adolphine's wedding was the last important event officiated by the frail and aging Cardinal and the last time he left Breslau. He died the following year, aged 91.
Witnesses
- Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein, Chief of the OKW (61), for Adolphine
- Wilhelm III, Deutscher Kaiser (67), for Heinrich
While von Manstein gladly accepted Adolphine's invitation, it took a significant amount of political capital and several rounds of complicated negotiations to persuade the German Kaiser to accept Rupprecht's.
Maids of Honour
- Helga Suzanne Goebbels (16), Adolphine's best friend (who was living at the Berghof)
- Gabrielle Prinzessin von Bayern (22)
- Sophie Prinzessin von Bayern (14)
Best Men
- Three close friends of Heinrich
Adolphine's Guests (with their spouses, if any)
Friends
- Helga Suzanne Goebbels (16), as maid of honour (see above)
- Hildegard Traudel Goebbels (Hilde, 15)
- Holdine Kathrin Goebbels (Holde, 12)
- Four Officers from the Obersalzberg Defence Force
Magda Goebbels and her other three children did not attend the wedding as their relationship with Adolphine was still strained after Helga Suzanne's
defection. However, Magda allowed Hilde and Holde to attend the wedding.
Acquaintances
- Konrad Zuse (38, computer scientist)
- Werner Heisenberg (47, physicist)
- Otto Hahn (70, physicist)
- Ida Noddack (53, physicist)
- Leni Riefenstahl (46, media icon)
- Cardinal Adolf Bertram (90), as officiating priest (see above)
- Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein (61), as witness (see above)
- Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch (67, former Reich Chancellor)
- Großadmiral Karl Dönitz (57)
- Hjalmar Schacht (72, former Reichsminister)
- Konstantin von Neurath (76, former Reichsminister)
- Other 18 people from the German Reich (politicians, militars, scientists, etc)
Reich Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Former Reich Chancellors Ludwig Kaas and Kurt Schumacher and many other people whom Adolphine had met and interacted with declined Adolphine's invitation.
Celebrities
- Anni-Frid Haase (Frida, 4, née Lyngstad) with her father, Alfred Haase (30) and maternal grandmother, Arntine Lyngstad (Agni)
- Norma Jeane Mortenson (Marilyn Monroe, 23)
- Elvis Presley (14) with his parents
- Unity Valkyrie Mitford (34)
- Other 17 people from within and outside the Reich
Using her vast collection of music and films from the 20th century and with important help from the robots and the competent authorities of the Reich, Adolphine had identified, located and contacted a number of people who had become well known in the Uptime history.
Marilyn Monroe, who was still far from her later amazing success, was delighted by the screening of her would be film
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and the attention received from the German officials. Elvis Presley's family was more reluctant at first but compelling audio and video evidence finally convinced them.
Anni-Frid Haase (
Frida) was born in Norway on the 17th of November 1945. She is the most famous of the cca. 12,000
war children conceived in German occupied Norway during World War Two by German soldiers and Norwegian women in the Nazi
Lebensborn Programme.
After the Wehrmacht evacuated Norway during April 1945, Synni Lyngstad, then pregnant with Frida, remained in Norway, while her boyfriend, Sergeant Alfred Haase, returned to the Reich. Synni died of kidney failure before Frida's second birthday, leaving Frida with her grandmother, Arntine Lyngstad (
Agni). After being found by Adolphine's investigators, Agni and Frida moved to the Reich and Frida was reunited with her father.
Little Frida sparked an interesting philosophical discussion, the very interesting question being:
Is this child the same human being with the singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad from the other history? Or are they merely sisters, forever separated by the vastness of space-time in two parallel Universes?
Downtime Frida had the same parents with Uptime Frida, was concieved on or around the same date and certainly during the same ovulation of Synni, probably from the very same ovum, some time in the middle of February 1945, less than one month after the Berlin Dome sudden appearance changed history. She was born just two days apart from Uptime Frida, looked almost the same, had the same name, liked to sing and seemed talented, etc.
Adolphine and most people passionately insisted that they were the same person while the robots and other people argued that the probability that she had been conceived from the same sperm cell was minuscule given the extremely large amount of sperm cells which raced to fecundate the ovum and, therefore, the Frida from Uptime was, at best, a fraternal twin of the Frida from Downtime.
Adolphine had been fascinated from her Uptime childhood with the tragic story of Unity Mitford, a young woman who had been a committed Nazi since she was a little girl, just like Adolphine had been at that time.
After the normalization of the Reich's relations with the United Kingdom, the German authorities offered their help to the Mitford family, promissing to do their utmost to restore the health of Unity. Almost two years later, in February 1948, Unity Mitford was finally allowed to return to Germany to undergo surgery and have the bullet removed from her brain.
Eleven German brain surgeons, six industrial robots and three thousand medical nanobots operated on Unity for ten hours in one of the most spectacular surgeries performed so far in the Downtime World. The surgery was an astounding success and, after three more smaller interventions, Unity was free from the bullet which had caused her untimely death in the other history.
After her release from hospital at the end of a long convalescence, Unity visited the Berghof. More than nine years had passed since she had last seen her idol, Adolf Hitler. When she finally met him again, Unity was unable to utter a word, kneeled and cried for minutes to the embarrassment of all those present.
Adolphine planned to ask Unity to live in Obersalzberg but, faced with a very negative reaction from a jealous Eva, she changed her mind and only invited Unity to her wedding. Unity didn't return to England but asked for and received German citizenship and spent the rest of her life in the Reich.
Apart from their relatives,
Adolf and
Eva Hitler did not invite any guests to the wedding.
Besides the three
best men,
Heinrich invited other 19 of his friends (some with their spouses).
King Rupprecht's Guests
It was decided that King Rupprecht convey the invitations to the royalty of the Reich and of the rest of Europe, as well as to representatives from the countries with a republican form of government.
German Royalty
- Deutscher Kaiser Wilhelm III (67), as witness for Heinrich (see above), with his wife Kaiserin Cecilie (63, House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
- Imperial Crown Prince Louis Ferdinand (42) with his wife Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna (40, House of Romanov)
- King Hubertus of Prussia¹ (41) with his wife Queen Magdalena (30, House of Reuß)
- Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (29), to represent the Grand Duchy instead of his parents who declined the invitation
- Grand Duke Louis Napoléon of Alsace-Lorraine (40)
- Prince Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein (43 years old) with his wife Princess Georgina (28)
- 15 other non-ruling German Princes (with their spouses, if any)
1.The Prussian Provinces of East Prussia, Pomerania, Brandenburg, Lower Silesia
The House of Württemberg and the House of Baden declined the invitations as did most of the deposed German monarchs.
The Hohenzollerns were allegedly talked into attending the wedding by the OKW. Jean of Luxembourg was Heinrich's maternal first cousin, Louis Napoléon was usually avoided by the German royalty and wished to integrate and Franz Joseph II used any opportunity to promote his tiny Principality lest it be forgotten by the wider public.
European Royalty and officials from other European countries
- King Mihai I of the Romanians (27)
- Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor (55), with his wife Wallis (53)
- Duchess María del Carmen Franco (22)
- Jozef Tiso (61, President of Slovakia)
- Minor officials from Croatia, Latvia and Estonia
Most of those invited declined the invitations. Other countries besides Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Croatia, Latvia and Estonia were not represented in any capacity.
The reasons for the partial boycott of the wedding were multiple:
- Most normal, decent people abhorred the idea of sitting at the same table with Hitler and exchanging pleasantries with him at his daughter's wedding. Although most details were still sketchy, by 1949 Hitler was widely regarded as a mass murderer and most citizens from the formerly Nazi occupied countries hated him with a passion.
- Although usually not ostentatiously displayed, the Hitler Sonderkreis abounded with Nazi paraphernalia, from its very name to its Swastika flag and Nazi coat of arms. Those alone made most people feel uneasy or even repulsed. The Sonderkreis was like a Nazi time capsule, a tiny portion of Third Reich which survived the 1945 fall of the Nazi regime.
- Some royal families regarded Adolphine as an uppity commoner and her ennoblement as a farce. Therefore, they wanted to have nothing to do with her.
- Many people from outside Germany hated the Berlin Dome and, consequently, also Adolphine whom they considered responsible for the current state of affairs where the German Reich dominated Europe politically, militarily and economically.
- The German Kaiser reluctantly accepted to attend the wedding but categorically refused to put any pressure on other royal families. Moreover, the Reich Government completely ignored the wedding and the other ECN members felt free to ignore it as well.
- The presence of unsavoury guests such as Edward VIII, Wallis Simpson, Jozef Tiso and Unity Mitford or unknown would be celebrities from another history further complicated the situation.
Adolphine was somewhat saddened by the numerous refusals but she managed to get over it and take active part in organizing her wedding.
The actual wedding and its aftermath will be presented in the next chapter.
