Chapter 20: The Chess Situation (1)
The Games were scheduled to take place in Berlin on 1 August 1936.
It was well after six o'clock in the morning, and people were already bustling about. Photographers from all over the world had long since made their preparations for departure; each of them had his own work to do. There were many scenes to be photographed on this first day: the procession of athletes from various countries, the arrival of the torchbearer at the stadium and the lighting of the Olympic flame, Hitler's address at the opening ceremony, the release of hundreds of pigeons, and the playing of a hymn composed by Richard Strauss in the Berlin main arena; the world would hear the voice of Germany.
Thirty more cameras were invested to shoot so many scenes, and sixty photographers participated in the opening ceremony. The sky was filled with shooting balloons, and people entered the main venue early.
Prior to this, the Congress for the Defense of the Olympic Idea was held in Paris, France. Attendees included representatives from France, Spain, the United States, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. The congress called on people to oppose holding the Olympics in Berlin and actively strive to move the venue to Barcelona.
A wave of protests swept the world, a struggle committee was set up in New York, and some European countries explicitly stated that they would not participate in the Berlin Olympics and actively supported the holding of the Barcelona Olympics. In July, athletes from 20 countries including France, Britain, the United States, Switzerland, Sweden, Greece and others gathered in Barcelona to prepare for the sports meeting on July 18.
Hitler felt insulted and promised not to use force, publicly ordering the Foreign Ministry to protest. On the other hand, he also dispatched personnel to Barcelona to prevent the opening of the "pseudo-Olympics", and after various means, the sports meeting in Barcelona was stillborn. The International Olympic Committee considered that its integrity had not changed its original intention, and the Olympics were held as scheduled in Berlin, which made Hitler loudly declare that he had again preserved the rights and interests of Germany.
The international community's move this time made Hitler feel a crisis, he publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the international community in multiple speeches, and when facing the National Assembly, he also expressed his dissatisfaction with various countries making such an unexpected move.
The games closed on August 16. The host nation topped the medal count with 33 gold, 26 silver and 30 bronze medals. Hitler took advantage of the occasion to deliver a speech in which he confirmed the superiority of the German people with their excellent results.
Only three months after the convention, Hitler announced the establishment of the 4th and 5th Panzer Divisions of the German Wehrmacht and ordered troops to move towards the Austrian border. This time Hitler did not intend to expose the panzer divisions prematurely. He ordered the 1st Panzer Division to advance towards the Belgian and Dutch borders, hiding in Aachen and on the borders of Belgium's Antwerp and the Netherlands' Eindhoven, ordering the 2nd Panzer Division to strategically relocate to Magdeburg, ordering the 3rd Panzer Division to depart from Berlin and head to Cottbus for concealment, coordinating with the 8th Army Corps in Breslau to defend against Czechoslovakia or prepare to attack at any time!
The events in Paris had stirred Hitler's nerves, and he believed that it was necessary to speed up the pace, because other countries now had hostile intentions towards Germany, if action was slow, Germany would be hit by other countries before preparations were made.
Germany must get more resources before suffering a blow, and the actions of annexing Austria and Czechoslovakia must be advanced!
Since Hitler's last coup attempt in Austria failed, Austria was ruled by Schuschnigg. Like Dollfuss, Schuschnigg did not want his country to be at the mercy of Hitler.
Hitler threatened Schuschnigg that he had to hand over the national government to the Austrian National Socialists within a week. During this time, Hitler continued to exert military pressure on Austria. Nevertheless, Schuschnigg still protested.
Hitler felt the urgency of time, hoping to quickly resolve Austria's issues before Italy and England reacted, and instead accused Schuschnigg of persecuting Austrian National Socialists, escalating tensions rapidly. To ease tensions, Schuschnigg announced a plebiscite, allowing the Austrian people to decide for themselves whether they wanted to remain independent from Germany.
On the eve of the Austrian plebiscite on March 12, 1937, Hitler feared that the plebiscite might not be in Germany's favor. Therefore, Hitler ordered the troops to quickly cross the German-Austrian border and soon occupied the Austrian capital Vienna. On the same day, Hitler announced the establishment of the Austro-German Alliance. Thus, Austria was annexed and became a province of Germany in the east.
Austria was annexed under Hitler's threat of force, and the process was completed in what was called a peaceful manner. Hitler easily achieved strategic success, while Britain, France and the United States did nothing but make weak protests, thinking that it was natural for two neighboring countries speaking the same language to form an alliance.
In early April 1937, Britain, France and the United States successively recognized Germany's annexation of Austria, withdrawing their embassies in Austria and replacing them with consulates in Vienna. Hitler's adventurous actions were successful again, he was overjoyed, after gaining Austria's resources, he did not want to stop, his eyes were on Sudetenland!
……
Just as Hitler was holding a celebratory banquet, Xuyang saw someone he didn't want to see at all, and that person's name was Heinz.
Xu Yang didn't know how Hines had entered the Third Armored Division's base, and he didn't want to know. Hines' sudden appearance made him tense for a long time, the source of his tension was one sentence: I plan to assassinate Hitler.
Xu Yang knew that his family had gotten into huge trouble, as Hains held a check for 500,000 marks signed by Harl. Hains' purpose was very simple, he had been waiting for many years and was looking for an opportunity to avenge Rome. The doctor diagnosed him with cancer and it was already in the final stages, there was no time left to wait.
Haines was not threatening, he seemed calm and collected. "Whether or not I succeed, all evidence of our relationship will die with me." He lit a cigarette with the burning check, "You won't be implicated, and what you have to do now is give me one word; are you willing to see it?"
Xu Yang remained silent, Ruike stood beside him, Joseph concentrated on watering the potted plants, and for a moment the office was extremely quiet. Oppressively quiet...
Haines said: "I know what you and your family have been doing. You've been at it for over a decade, long before Hitler came on the scene, preparing the way so that you could gain power. You're an ambitious man, and now I can make your dreams come true. Once he's dead, Germany will be yours, the Strack family's."
Xu Yang spoke up, his eyes sharp, and asked: "What kind of agreement did you reach with Poland?"
Hains sneered, "Isn't it your tacit consent? Don't tell me you don't know anything, the cooperation with Poland was still arranged by your Junkers!"
Xu Yang fell silent again, he really didn't know anything.
Haines suddenly became somewhat neurotic, "Tell me, tell me quickly!!!!"
Xu Yang was unclear, "What did you tell me?"
"Heinz roared, 'Tell me, what will Germany become under your Junker leadership!'"
Xu Yang suddenly felt that all of this was ridiculous, he stood up, "I don't understand why you came here, I just want to tell you one thing: Don't do stupid things!" He had learned to smoke and looked more like a man. "I don't know what they (Junker, National Defense Army) want to do, if you came here to ask me this question, I can clearly tell you: He has not yet completed his historical mission, cannot die just like that!"
Joseph's carefully tended potted plants fell to the ground, Rick was choked by smoke and coughed violently, both of them looked at Xuyang with incredulous faces, as if they were looking at a fool.
Heins was taken aback, then immediately put on a mocking expression. "Ha! Foolish Junker pride, what can you do? Your father, and even the entire Junker family are not something you can control. Things have already been decided, and I've gotten the answer I wanted." He turned to leave, stopping at the door. "Keep your distance from him for a while."
Xu Yang and Ruike, Joseph looked at each other and smiled, everything was self-evident.
Does Xu Yang really know nothing? He thought: Perhaps I am a typical case of having done something wrong but still wanting to be virtuous.
