Crumbling Reich: A Weimar Republic Game (Gameplay Thread)

[Brother Jonathan]

Our Present Crisis, and The Need for Ausnahmezustand

A brief essay by Prof. Carl Schmitt, published in Kreuzzeitung

The great challenge of our time manifests in myriad ways; at the heart is a political dysfunction from which emanates the economic and social upheavals that have marked our nation and many others in these times. Economic malaise and social discord are both the inevitable consequences of a system of government that fails to allow for decisive action, and that creates diffuse centers of power, flowing from tedious and shifting wells of “popular legitimacy”, rather than a central source of authority that acts as the moment requires.

Our current political crisis is reflected by the fall of yet another Ministry. Such occurrences are all too common, especially here in Germany but also in every nation which has been on a similar path. When the opinion of the majority is the only source of legitimacy, there must be a clear majority to authorize and successfully execute needed actions. When, as in our current situation, no majority what so ever can even be found, the natural consequence is that we find our government unable to act as is needed to address issues that we can all plainly see. The Marxists, the Social Democrats, the Liberal, the National Socialists, the Nationalists, the Communists all regard the present mass of the unemployed to be a great crisis, but no one among them can manufacture the “legitimacy” required to take the decisive action needed to reveres out seemingly terminal decline.

Such it is that, for all the declarations in favor of government by “the people”, extolling the virtues of democracy in one form or another (be it Liberal or Marxists) we live for all intents and purposes in a state that is moribund and prostrate, governed by no one. Such is the natural outcome in a state that refuses to recognize that the very principles upon which liberal democracy is based upon are fundamentally false; discussion does not yield consensus or action based on public will, it simply shifts out of public view the real centers of power, and creates compromises that satisfy no one and perpetuate the crises that eroded the principles of discussion on which democracy was in the first place predicated.

Even the most stalwart defender of democracy, then, must recognize that in our current state Germany is not truly democratic. The defender of democracy, however, is unwilling to see that such an outcome was inevitable. Democracy requires equality, which requires homogeneity; but democracy establishes itself as a defender of heterogeneity, and in doing so seals its own dysfunction and decline. So it is that, at its heart, democracy is unable to ever truly succeeded. In the wake of the inevitable failure of the homogeneous idea, obstructed as it is by the democratic heterogeneous ideal, politics in the democracies regress into parodies of their own extremes. Democracy, further, does not give meaning or mission to man, and in doing so debases the true origin of the state. The democratic project is bound up in the destruction of the very sources that could give it meaning. It’s abhorrence of homogeneity, and in turn then its failure to create national unity, imperil all who are subjected to what proponents describe as rule by the people. We are all prisoners of out own listlessness, brought on by the natural atrophy of democratic systems.

A solution to our present crisis, however, is readily at hand. President Hindenburg may now take into his hands the fate of the nation, and use the powers granted to him by our current Constitution to declare a state of exception. In so doing, he may secure for us the living a more peaceful existent, taking the actions needed to lessen the great economic crisis we face, and for generations of the future he can use this power to forge a new state, a vital state, based not on platitudinous contradictions but on clear headed necessity.

I must also implore all the parties of right to join in this endeavor, in urging our President to use the power vested in him to suspend once and for all the parliamentary system that has sapped our state and nation in these trying times. Tempting though it may be to split hairs over the particularities of what is to come, all of us known that our current situation is untenable, and the dismissal of yet another Chancellor serves as yet further evidence of the corrosive effects of parliamentary democracy. Our institutions must be rebuilt and reconstituted now, to preserve our nation and to address the grave problems that face it. The decisive leadership of a dictatorial President Hindenburg, acting in a state of exemption, is the perhaps the greatest hope we now have of saving both the German state and nation.   

[Brother Jonathan]

Prof. Schmitt Gives Public Lecture in Berlin

Prof. Carl Schmitt gave a public lecture in Berlin, speaking to an audience of right-wing academics on the issues the nation faces.

We must, therefore, be open to the declaration that the experiment is failed; the patient has only grown more ill by this course of treatment. A sensible doctor would change the prescription, and so a sensible government must exercise the state of exception to rectify our national crisis.

Prof. Schmitt also addressed growing speculation that he would enter politics.

I am truly flattered by Herr Hitler's proposition, and I shall make no secret that he and I have much by way of common ground, but I am afraid I would not make much of a propagandist. I am a Professor, and though it does seem at times the two overlap in the mind of the Marxist, I must assure you the one is not entwined with the other to any great extent. I would, however, be willing, indeed honored, to serve any government in whatever capacity it might have me, provided that government is committed to taking the steps that so desperately need to be taken to save Germany from destruction.

Prof. Schmitt declined to make an endorsement in the upcoming Presidential election "at this time" but did discuss briefly what he felt the next President of the Reich should do

As I have noted before, and will note again here, the President must invoke the Ausnahmezustand as soon as possible. We have within our reach a mechanism that can save Germany from the crises enveloping her, and we must not hesitate to use the powers of the state to save Germany from the folly of that same state in the past. The rule of law has degraded into the rule of no one, and this must be remedied by the President as soon as possible. Dissolving rebellious state governments and taking decisive, uniform action to address our nation's many issues will truly be the test of the next President and our next Chancellor.

He also paused to briefly express hope that the Weimar System could be saved by direct action by the President

Revolution is not required now. What is needed is a President who will act within the bounds of our Constitution to save Germany. The power is their. We need not have barricades and battalions of paramilitaries in the street to save the nation. We have the tools, and I urge President Hindenburg to exercise his just power to save the nation and the constitution. These are dark times, but we have at our disposal the tools to save ourselves. I make no secret of the issues I take with our current constitution, but I recognize also that it provides a means by which we can preserve order, and it must be the first duty of the President to exercise his powers to return order to Germany. We can have liberty and rights, but not at the expense of public order, with a mass of unemployed and restless Germans.

[Brother Jonathan]

Prof. Carl Schmitt gives lecture on the Presidential Election

"Our situation at the present moment can best be described as precarious, and this Presidential election may be the final straw for Germany. If the German people should elect, in the final round, a candidate committed to the eradication of the powers of the sovereign, then we shall be doomed to discord and disorder of an ever growing magnitude. We must elect a President who shall not hesitate to use the state of exception, granted to him by our Constitution, to quell the riots, the fighting, the general unrest that has plagued our cities.

I was much pleased to read that the worst of the violent usurping organization have been, by and large, declared illegal in the name of the public order. This is of course a welcome. It is, however, regrettable that our police and military are unable to use to the full extent possible the tools needed to quell the agitation of the Communists and other domestic opponents of Germany. Truly, the lackadaisical approach we have seen in the enforcement of these laws is symptomatic and emblematic of our ossified systems, rendered impotent by the lack of clear sovereign authority. The hesitancy, on the part of our leaders, to act is the result as well of the engraining of the liberal bureaucratic class into the national political organism, which itself is the byproduct of a misplaced liberal faith in institutions and laws, and a crippling distrust of the sovereign and his just powers.

To address this present crisis, we will need strong leadership. Though I shall not make a single endorsement at this time, I do urge all Germans interested in the preservation of order to vote for a candidate who will not hesitate to act, to use the power of the sovereign to restore order to the chaotic streets of Germany.

To this end, I ask all candidates so inclined to commit to the public their intent to use Article 48 of our Constitution to take the steps necessary to restore order to Germany. We must now act to quell the violent and dangerous revolts that are simmering about us, and only by taking these steps can we have any hope of preserving Germany as we know it..."

[Brother Jonathan]

Prof. Carl Schmitt Endorses "A vote for any sensible and responsible candidate"

Prof. Carl Schmitt, when asked by a local reporter on his stoop, who he wanted to win the upcoming second round of the Presidential election, he maintained his refusal to endorse one candidate. He did, however, urge for unity on the right.

It is the ultimate goal, of all of us on the German right, to restore order and decency to our nation. I cannot say between Hindenburg and Hitler who I prefer, I leave it to the voters to choose between the two the one they find more sensible and responsible. So long as either Hitler or Hindenburg is elected, their shall be hope for Germany. We cannot allow a radical to become President and perpetuate our present crisis. We need a President who will take decisive action, and I hope to be able to aid whoever is elected in taking those steps that are needed to save our Republic from itself. The enemies of order cannot be allowed to take the office of the sovereign, for they shall render all our means of recourse impotent in the face of overwhelming institutionalized radicalisms. Vote for one of the two sensible candidates, and let us retain some hope for the future of our nation.

[Brother Jonathan]

Wilhelmstraße No. 73

Paul von Hindenburg leaned in to listen to Herr Mahraun who sat next to him across form the Reich Chancellor, the chair creaking as he did. He quietly nodded, and leaned back as the chair creaked again. Oskar leaned in to his father and whispered into his air, Hindenburg nodded and silently motioned for a pen and paper. Hindenburg began writing, his shaky hand leaving scratchy and somewhat disordered writing. He then signed it and gave it to his new foreign minister, authorizing him to act directly on the behalf of the Reich President.

Oskar then spoke, standing to the entire room.

"My father the Reich President has called you today to build plans for the formation of a strong, conservative government, and plans for the future. He is particularly concerned by the growing numbers of the Communist Party, and the training of Communists with rifles. The Reich President is keenly aware of the threat of a Bolshevik revolution, and seeks to do everything to protect the fatherland and the social system from this menace. It is for that purpose he has called you here."  Hindenburg quietly nodded as the floor opened to new voices.

The Statement of Minister for Justice Prof. Schmitt at the private reception-

"Herr President, it is imperative that we take all actions possible to restore political order in our nation. I thus once again urge you to use your powers to govern by decree, and to exercise your Constitutional authority to save the nation. I recognize, of course, your hesitation to act in this manner, but I feel beyond a doubt that it is a needed remedy.

At the very least, I would suggest that we act swiftly to ban all subversive organizations that seek to destroy our nation. I propose that either the government or yourself, Herr President, use our powers to require all political organizations take a loyalty oath to the German nation, foreswearing all undue international influence and promising to defend our German nation from enemies within and without. I suggest as well that we require all political organizations swear an oath of loyalty to you personally, Herr President, swearing to defend and abide by your just decrees in defense of the nation. These are not unjust impositions, but basic requirements of  sound government, and must be introduced to return a modicum of order to our nation. Legally, such an order may be passed down from the President, under the powers granted him by the Constitution, as these orders are designed explicitly to ensure the safety of the German people by rooting out disloyal and dangerous political actors and organizations.

These coming weeks will prove vital to the future of the German nation and people, and we must now seize the opportunity to act with the full power of the government to bring stability and order back to Germany."