Crumbling Reich: A Weimar Republic Game (Gameplay Thread)

[Devout Centrist]

February Campaign Platform

Economic Policy:
1. Nationalization of the Commanding Heights of the Economy
2. Rational Management of Large Enterprises
3. Guaranteed Employment to All Adult Germans
4. Establish a Reichsbank for small merchants and Farmers
5. Establish a Land Bank for German Farmers
6. Free and Universal Healthcare to all German citizens
7. Establish Universal Childcare and Maternity Leave
8. Investment in the Private Economy through Stimulus Spending
9. A 40 hour workweek
10. A Minimum Wage
11. State Support for the Trade Union Movement

Social Policy:
1. An Immediate Ban on Der Stahlhelm and Other Anti-Social Groups
2. A Ban on Nazi Political Activity
3. Continued Progress towards Ethnic and Gender Equality.
4. Support the Efforts of Private and Religious Charity

Foreign Policy:
1. Work Towards Rapprochement with the International Proletariat.
2. Aid the German Road to Socialism through Peaceful Diplomatic Relationships.
3. Binding Referendums in Lands Lost in the Capitalist Great War
4. Negotiate within the League of Nations
5. Solidarity with Germans outside of Deutschland

[Devout Centrist]

Who is a German: Thälmann Travels to Potsdam

Brothers, sisters, countrymen, I ask you: who is a German? What makes us Germans? Is it the beer we drink? Is it the food we eat? Is it the land we tread on? Is it the blood that courses through our veins?

A century ago, our forefathers stood in this very spot and asked themselves the same question. Only they were not called Germans. They were Swabians and Prussians, Bavarians and Hessians, Frisians and Saxons. The Great Powers of Europe conspired to make Germany simply a geographic expression, devoid of meaning to anyone but mapmakers.  

What those men did not realize is that Germany is not a place, but a people. All of the power and principalities of the crowns of Europe couldn't withstand the will of the united German people. Their wealth and privilege couldn't stop the tide of national awakening and their evil machinations were cast asunder by our triumphant ancestors.

Today, we Germans call ourselves many things: Catholic or Protestant. Jew or Gentile. Farmer or Miner, Clerk, or Craftsman. But whatever we may call ourselves, we are all ultimately Germans. Whether we live in Kiel or Munich, Baden or Hesse, Österreich, Czechia, or elsewhere, we are united by our national heritage.

The capitalist class has tried to divide us with petty titles and pauper's wages for far too long. For the working class to truly thrive in this nation, we must recognize our common brotherhood as Germans. We stand together as one people, united in one cause.

The only pathway to national unity is through German Socialism. As proud Germans, we are all equals. No Monarch, Fuhrer, or Factory Owner can withstand the indomitable will of the German people. When the miners of Thuringia stand with the farmers of Bavaria and the factory workers of the Rhine, we shall see the day where the forces of greed and division are finally destroyed.

Together, we can build a new Germany, without despair and destitution. Brothers and sisters, this is our common struggle.

[Devout Centrist]

Ending the Depression: Thälmann Rallies Workers in Hamburg

Comrades, who built the German economy? Was it built by the speculators on Wall Street? Was it built by Kaiser Wilhelm? Was it built by 'Fuhrer', er, Vice Chancellor Hugenberg?

No! You built it with the sweat of your brow and the strength of your arms. Your hands built the cars we drive, just as the farmer reaps the crops we eat and the miner extracts the coal we burn. Without you there would be no economy.

The capitalist class and their allies in the political establishment have robbed you of your rightful wage for over a century. Now they insist that we must let the robber barons loose on this nation and let them 'build' an economy for us.

Hugenberg and his thugs have proposed the most outrageous anti-worker and anti-German legislation in the history of our Republic. They want to put you back in the chains of serfdom and auction you off to their capitalist masters. They want to eviscerate public assistance for the poor and cut unemployment benefits to the bone. In short, they are no different than the Hunger Chancellor of yesteryear!

And what do we say to them, brothers and sisters? To them we say NO! We will not let the powers of wealth and privilege steal your hard earned wage any longer. We will not let them rob you of your rightful reward for your sweat and toil. We will not let them trample on your right to organize, to speak freely, and to live freely.

This election is a watershed moment in our national history. The choice is clear: either we choose destitution and humiliation under Von Papen and Hugenberg, or we embrace national revival and prosperity under German Socialism! The working people of this country will no longer be trampled by the power of the political elite and their capitalist masters! We will boldly march together under the banner of German Socialism!

[Devout Centrist]

Fighting for the Germans Abroad: Thälmann Visits Liegnitz

There is a specter haunting Germany, comrades: the specter of defeatism. Fourteen years ago, our nation and our people suffered a humiliating defeat in the capitalist Great War. We lost so much more in the War than just blood, land, and treasure. We lost our national spirit!

Versailles stripped us of ancestral German lands, some of which have been German since time immemorial. So many of our brothers and sisters now exist outside of the Reich, with no means to return home or to determine their own destiny. Brothers, we cannot allow them to suffer in absentia. We must make their cause, our cause.

They are members of the German proletariat just as you are. Each of them toils day in and day out, hoping to gain the unique freedom that comes with German solidarity. In foreign lands, they often are subject to worse treatment than their brothers in the ethnic majority, simply because they are different!

If elected, the KPD will work tirelessly to empower the German worker, both at home and abroad. We will fight for the peaceful and equitable return of hose lands lost during the Great War. We will negotiate fair and equal treatment for German minorities in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere. We will not rest until the German people are made whole again.

In a similar fashion, we must extend the same sympathies to our brothers and sisters who are not German. To those Poles, Czechs, Frenchmen, and others that live in our lands, I say this: you are our brothers too. Your cause is our cause, and we will all go forth as one under the banner of socialism.

For though the German people enjoy a special relationship with one another, you share in our struggle. As working people, we are all united under the Red Flag.

[Devout Centrist]

Statement from Ernst Thälmann on 'Fuhrer' Hugenberg's Economic Plan

Does the tinpot Fuhrer have any shame? A year ago, during the reign of the Hunger Chancellor, Herr Hugenberg was pushing to expand social welfare programs and pledged an immediate end to austerity. Now, a year later, he is calling for cuts to public welfare, massive tax cuts for speculators and capitalists, and a brutal crackdown on German trade unions. This spectacular hypocrisy cannot go unpunished: Herr Hugenberg is no friend of the worker, the farmer, or the craftsman. He is a front man for the capitalists, hell bent on selling our nation to speculators in London, Paris, and Wall Street. We urge the people of Germany to ignore his false promises and baldfaced lies.

[Devout Centrist]

Ending the Campaign: Thälmann Delivers his Final Address at the Berlin Sportpalast

Brothers and Sisters, thank you for such a warm welcome this evening! With the end of the campaign in sight, now is the chance to make our final case to the people of Deutschland.

I stand before you as a man who has spent his entire life fighting for the working people of this nation. As a child, I saw firsthand the intense hardship that comes with being a working person in this country.

My father worked as a farmhand for the first twenty years of his life, tilling the soil for a manor house outside of Bremen. He ardently believed in the value of hard work, but every day he would harvest far more wheat and barley than his daily pay reflected. Later in his life, he owned a small pub in Hamburg, making a living selling drinks to hardworking dockworkers. He faced economic hardships all his life, and his story is no different than the millions of men and women who work for a living across this nation.

For too long, the capitalist class has robbed the working man of their rightful pay and their rightful place in society. Their economic power has consigned our brothers and sisters to poverty, hardship, and destitution. Comrades, it is unjust that a man who works so hard should earn so little! So many of our families starve while the powers that be enjoy unprecedented prosperity.

But listen to me, brothers and sisters: we have the power to transform our country and build a better Germany! We refuse to accept failure of the capitalist system. We refuse to tolerate the corruption of the political and economic elite. Instead, we will chart a new course under the banner of German Socialism!

We pledge ourselves to economic recovery! The political elite of Wels, Hugenberg, and Von Papen have proven themselves incapable of ending the depression that grips Germany. Under the KPD, Deutschalnd will have new leadership that is capable of sustaining a broad working class recovery! We will support our farmers, our miners, our shopkeepers, and our workers through rational management. No longer will powerful factory owners or manor houses trample on the factory worker or the small farmer. We pledge to provide a livable wage to every German worker and full time employment to every adult German!

We pledge a return to national unity! A KPD government will unite the German people, both within and outside of the Republic. We will stand together as one, against the capitalists and the political elite. We will revitalize the political life of this nation by enshrining the rights of the German worker into the Constitution. We will create a worker’s Republic, where farmers and factory workers alike have a powerful voice in the Reichstag.

Brothers and sisters, through German Socialism, we can build a nation and a government that is worthy of its people. With you as my witness, I promise to lead Germany into a red dawn of socialism, one which will end our national destitution and humiliation. Comrades, let us go forth tomorrow and vote for a better future and a better Germany!

[Devout Centrist]

The KPD is dismayed by claims of electoral malpractice. Free and fair elections are crucial in any democracy and we cannot allow even the hint of impropriety at this critical hour.

We urge the Interior Minister to guarantee a free and fair vote. We demand nonpartisan volunteers and election workers be dispatched to every understaffed polling place at once.

[Devout Centrist]

Victory! The KPD Celebrates a Momentous Vote

I want to send my sincere gratitude to the millions of KPD volunteers, activists, and supporters who made this amazing campaign possible. You deserve all of the credit for this historic victory and I am so thankful for your generous support these past few months.

The cause of German Soclalism grows stronger by the day. More and more Germans are awakening to the failed leadership of the political and economic elite. We are building a mass movement of everyday German workers across our country. Our cause represents nothing short of an end to poverty, destitution, and exploitation. We are united by our struggle, our values, and our shared national heritage.

Brothers and Sisters, thank you for your support in this campaign. The struggle continues, the hope lives on, and the cause of German Socialism shall never die!

[Devout Centrist]

Thälmann Addresses the Reichstag

Comrades, Brothers, Gentlemen: I am honored to stand before you at this new opening of the Reichstag.

We have much work to do if we are to regain the trust of the German worker. The capitalist Depression marches on, with no sign of relief for the millions of men in the unemployment line. We have suffered through four years of brutal economic destitution and desperation. I urge my colleagues to support the National Recovery Act!

We need to make massive investments in our nation and protect our workers from the oppressive influence of foreign speculators. Our bill would end the Depression, bring millions of idle men back into the workforce, and provide a livable income for every German. It would banish the twin vultures of deprivation and poverty from our land. Brothers, now is not the time for austerity! We must give the people food, not wretch it from their hands! Join me in supporting the National Recovery Act

Now I must turn my attention to more contentious matters: some have proposed a referendum on the status of the Monarchy. We oppose this proposal. Brothers, we live in a free Republic! We cannot allow the opportunity for the old Kaiser to return and pillage our lands anew.

More specifically, we call out the Social Democrats for their support of this measure. Their leadership publicly supported the imperialist Great War, a product of the Monarchist system and the Kaiser's militarism. Friedrich Ebert himself stood with the Kaiser time and time again, even calling in Monarchists to put down working class demonstrations in 1919. By calling a referendum on the Monarchy, they may well prefer Kaiser Wilhelm's rule to working class solidarity.

Above all, brothers, let us protect the working man, the farmer, and the destitute. They, too, are our brothers and I support any measure that supports them. Thank you.

[Devout Centrist]

The KPD votes Ja

[Devout Centrist]

The KPD votes Ja. We urge the Reichstag to approve our national recovery bill as soon as this measure passes.

[Devout Centrist]

I am furious that the Reichstag has rejected our modest proposal to rebuild the German economy and save the German worker from the brink of starvation! Why is it that Right is willing to support the German farmer, but not our hard working laborers and their families? I'll tell you why: because they're bought and paid for by the factory and mine owners! They are hapless pawns ripe for capitalist oppression, pure and simple.

Germany will only recover when the working men of this nation recover! We will not allow the capitalist class to rob the German people of their rightful wage any longer. We reject starvation! We reject poverty! We reject the failure of the German political class to protect the people of this nation from foreign speculators and capitalism.

We cannot allow the incompetence of Chancellor Von Papen and his loyal lapdog Hugenberg to stonewall economic recovery. The capitalist Depression will only worsen until the Government takes this crisis seriously.

[Devout Centrist]

Betrayal! Ernst Thalmann Speaks on the Reichstag's Decision

Today’s vote by the Reichstag is nothing short of a complete betrayal of the working man in this country. I am shocked that so many of this democratically elected body are willfully entertaining the thought of inviting the Kaiser’s son back into our Republic!

Have you men lost your minds?! The old Kaiser led us down the path of national humiliation. He and his capitalist cronies robbed the working man of their bread for over thirty years! I have no doubt that his son would mean more of the same.

The Social Democrats, in particular, should be ashamed. They have, once again, chosen wealth and privilege over the working men of Deutschland. If this referendum passes, Otto Wels will be the man responsible for a national tragedy.

Nevertheless, the Reichstag has made their decision and we must respond. The KPD will join the Social Democrats in urging that the people of Germany vote Nein in this referendum. Say no to the Monarchy! Say yes to Democracy!

[Devout Centrist]

Let me be clear: The KPD supports the Republic! The KPD supports democracy! We believe that, through socialism and marxism, we can build a true democracy that protects the working people of Deutschland from capitalists, militarists, and monarchists.

The monarchy would put the workers of Germany back in chains. We cannot allow the crowned heads of old to return to our Republic under any circumstances.

[Devout Centrist]

OUTRAGE! Ernst Thalmann Speaks on the Referendum Results

Courtesy of Wikimedia

Comrades, Brothers and Sisters, our worst fears have been realized: the reactionaries have voted to overthrow our democracy and install the old Kaiser as our monarch!

This result is an outrage! When this matter was brought before the Reichstag, I made it clear that calling for a referendum on the monarchy was a foolish move that would surely benefit the decadent Kaiser and his militarist enablers. Yet many of our liberal brothers and sisters failed to heed my warning!

We have reaped a bitter harvest, brothers and sisters, because of their actions! It was a grave mistake to put our trust in the goodness of the reactionary right and their monarchist allies! The result is now clear: Our Republic has been sacrificed at the Altar of imperialism and militarism by Herr Hugenberg and Von Papen!

Today, I am forming an All-Union Republican Front for the salvation of the Weimar Republic. We will take all available, democratic steps to protect our nation and our democracy. Whatever legal methods are available, we shall use them to prevent the return of the monarchy to Deutschland. I am calling on every Republican German, be they communist, socialist, liberal, or otherwise, to join our grand union! Together we will shake the foundations of the militarist order and make a bold stand for the revival of democracy in Germany.

Comrades, I stand with you as your brother. Together we can defeat the Kaiser’s men and return this nation to its Republican roots. I will walk with you every step of the way. Brothers and sisters, we stand together against all forms of oppression!

For the Republic! For Democracy! Solidarity Forever!

[Devout Centrist]

Statement from Ernst Thalmann

The Chancellor admits that the Interior Ministry is complicit in massive voter fraud and suppression. Such a crime constitutes an act of treason and the KPD will be looking very closely at Herr Hugenberg's actions over the past few days. We call for an immediate vote of no confidence in Herr Hugenberg.

[Devout Centrist]

Your statements make a mockery of our people and they are clear proof of voter fraud on your part!

The return of the Kaiser clearly benefits International speculators and the capitalist class. They conspire to rob the German worker of their livelihoods and their hard earned pay. The Kaiser will make good on his promise to crush the spirit of the German people and throw away their lives on the battlefield. All in service of war profiteers and capitalists. This is treason of the highest order! You have betrayed the German people, Chancellor.

[Devout Centrist]

You rigged the vote in favor of war profiteers, International capitalists, and the bloodthirsty militarists of 1914. Your own words brand you a traitor.

[Devout Centrist]

Victory! Thalmann Addresses Supporters Outside the Reichstag

Courtesy of Wikimedia

Comrades! Brothers and sisters! We have won a great victory today! Together we have defeated the forces of militarism and monarchism. Our All-Union Republican Front has won the day. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the millions of working men and women who joined us on the streets.

We have struck a tremendous blow for the working people of this nation. Together we said NO! to the Kaiser and his lackeys. We said NO! to exploitation by capitalists and foreign speculators! We said NO! to rule from ancient Monarchs. You have so much to be proud for, brothers and sisters. I cannot overemphasize this.

Nevertheless, our struggle goes on. Right now, I am calling for new Reichstag elections. The people must have their voices heard in the halls of power! Together we will deliver a working class majority to the Reichstag, one that will protect your voice and your vote! Together we will end our national humiliation at the hands of monarchists and capitalists. Brothers and sisters, let us continue to fight!

[Devout Centrist]

Chancellor von Schleicher must call elections immediately. There is no excuse for delay or dithering. The people of Deutschland demand to have their voices heard.

[Devout Centrist]

Statement from Ernst Thalmann

Herr von Papen has finally let the mask slip! The disgraced ex-Chancellor admits his and Herr Hugenberg's complicity in mass voter fraud. The KPD is calling for Alfred Hugenberg to be stripped of all government offices and titles immediately.

In addition, we are calling for a full and total investigation into voter fraud committed during the referendum. If evidence of mass voter fraud is found, Herr von Papen and Herr Hugenberg must be tried for treason against the German People.

[Devout Centrist]

When it comes to mass voter fraud, we have just one question: What did the Chancellor know and when did he know it?

[Devout Centrist]

I would remind the ex-Chancellor that the KPD is defending the German people from mass voter fraud and treason committed by Herr Hugenberg.

We have no interest in violence because our Republican system works! We are on the cusp of deposing the Interior Minister and uncovering his dastardly plot to crush the democratic will of the German people! I hope Herr von Papen will join us in calling for a vote of no confidence in Herr Hugenberg. His disgraceful leadership of the Interior Minister has humiliated Deutschland for far too long.

[Devout Centrist]

The KPD, in its capacity as the defender of the Republican Left, is calling for a general strike against the illegal Hugenberg coup. We will have a full statement out shortly.

[Devout Centrist]

A Speech from Ernst Thalmann

Courtesy of Wikimedia

Brothers, Sisters, Comrades, to the entire German Volk: I speak to you today not as a mere politician or a communist ideologue, but as a friend and a brother.

You no doubt have heard much about the events of the last few days. Alfred Hugenberg, the former Interior Minister, has seized power by means of an illegal coup. He has incapacitated President Hindenburg and has attempted to wrest control of the country away from the Reichstag. Such a move represents nothing less than a complete and total betrayal of the German people.

I cannot emphasize this point enough: Hugenberg and his supporters in the Reichs Police have unilaterally taken power from the rightful President of the Republic. He is attempting to overthrow the democratic order, and replace it with a fascistic state. One where all will be forced, at gunpoint no less, to pay homage to Herr Hugenberg and his allies.

Had Herr Hugenberg taken power democratically, we would not have stood in his way. But he has illegally and cruelly taken power from the Reichstag and the President. This action cannot be allowed to go unpunished. The entire German nation must rise as one and castigate the traitors into the dustbin of history. There can be no compromise with the fascist menace.

The KPD has embarked on a great General Strike to end Herr Hugenberg’s reign of terror. We can deny the people of this nation no longer. We demand freedom. We demand bread. We will not allow a man controlled by foreign interests, capitalists, and speculators to steal our Fatherland away from us.

I am asking every German man and woman to do their patriotic duty and take to the streets. Herr Hugenberg must resign. The German worker must have bread. We must end this national humiliation.

Should Herr Hugenberg attempt to suppress the will of the people, we will respond in kind. The people of Deutschland have nothing to lose but their chains. We will act decisively to secure the rights of the German farmer, the German worker, and the whole German Volk.

In my capacity as head of the KPD, I promise to protect the workers and strikers from all threats, foreign and domestic. The Rotfront will stand guard against any attempts to stop the demonstrators.

Let us stand together, once more, as brothers and sisters united against the fascist enemy. I have no doubt that we shall emerge victorious once again! Now, may God protect you and may God protect the whole German Volk.