The Rise of the Third Reich

On their way from Petrograd to Moscow, Hessmann and his party split into two groups. Milch and Junkers took turns taking Tupolev for a ride in the plane. Hersman and others, accompanied by Rakovsky, Kollontai and Natalie, boarded the "luxury local train" and slid slowly on the track for three days. Then met Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin in the Kremlin.

This is no longer 1917. Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin are already rulers who are busy with everything. The fact that they can receive Hessmann and his party at the same time shows that they have been impressed by Hessman's proposal of "exchanging the market for technology".

"Ludwig, my old friend, we meet again!"

In a large room filled with Russian luxury in the Kremlin, Lenin and Hessmann hugged each other and said in the tone of old friends: "They told me that you and Chloe were married?"

"Yes, I got married in the Netherlands in August last year." Hersman said. "She is pregnant now, so she did not come to Russia with me."

"Pregnant? Really? Congratulations." Lenin showed an envious expression. He liked children, but he didn't have a son or a half.

"Thank you." Hessmann then shook hands with Trotsky and Stalin. The Bolshevik Party of Soviet Russia established the Political Committee in March 1919, consisting of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Kamenev and Krestinsky.

In addition to Lenin, Trotsky, who was in charge of military work, and Stalin, who was in charge of national work and prosecutorial work, were all big figures with real power - the so-called national work included the establishment of the Soviet Union, while prosecutorial work could involve the Cheka.

In addition, Stalin also went out to supervise the army many times, and served as chairman of the military committee of the military district in Tsaritsyn and Petrograd. He had a certain influence in the army and the Cheka, and was a figure who could compete with Trotsky among the Soviet Bolsheviks.

"Ludwig," Stalin and Hessmann were also acquaintances, so he changed his name. He spoke in Russian. There was an interpreter holding a notebook behind him, recording and interpreting at the same time. "Political J is very interested in your proposal of exchanging the Russian market for German technology. We are currently formulating a ten-year plan to build Russia into an advanced industrialized country. German technology is exactly what we need, but we do not have it. Enough gold to pay for it.”

"Gold? We don't need that." Hersman shrugged. "Marx said that by the time of communism, gold could only be used to repair toilets?"

"Haha," Stalin laughed, "It's a pity that it's not communism yet."

"But the trade between Russia and Germany should not rely on gold and silver," Hersman said. "Using gold for international trade settlement is an extremely wrong rule of the game. It turns gold into a kind of capital hegemony and makes gold a kind of capital hegemony. The factors that constitute productivity, labor force, technology, and resources, all depend on gold.

For Britain and the United States, which own most of the world's gold and gold production, their banknotes now have the same value as gold. This gave British and American imperialism a huge advantage in international trade and investment. They can buy whatever they want with paper, they can use paper to invest capital in foreign countries.

Although we, Russia and Germany, have technology, resources and labor force, because we do not have enough gold, we can only be controlled by others in international trade and investment, and are even forced to accept other countries' banknotes as payment for international trade or even for issuing banknotes. reserve. This is extremely detrimental to our two countries. "

Lenin listened and nodded frequently. He was a great revolutionary and could also be regarded as an economist. Of course he could understand the questions raised by Hirschman.

"The result of the World War was the establishment of the hegemony of the British pound and the US dollar!" Lenin interjected. "Before the World War, the German mark, the Russian ruble, the Austro-Hungarian krone, and the French franc were all very strong. But the World War Finally, the only ones that are still strong are the US dollar and the British pound.”

Needless to say, currencies such as marks, rubles, and krona are of course also plummeting. In the original history, the ratio of the franc to the pound would have dropped from 25.22:1 in 1914 to 240.2:1 in 1926. , leaving almost only one-tenth of its original value. The gold franc system established by Napoleon III completely collapsed.

"Yes, the United Kingdom and the United States now control the world's currency!" Hessman said. "If you control the world's currency, you can control the world's capital. And if we, Germany and you, Russia, succumb to the currency hegemony of Britain and the United States, we will face Capital is an extremely difficult problem.”

This problem was particularly fatal for the Weimar Republic! Losing its gold reserves and still owing tens of thousands of tons of gold as compensation made the German mark very vulnerable throughout the Weimar Republic era. First there was a hyper-inflation, and then everyone became wary of using the mark - so during the Great Depression, the Weimar Republic could only grit its teeth and implement austerity, which resulted in millions of unemployment and the rise of the Nazi Party!

"Comrade Lenin, I suggest that trade between our two countries should be carried out through 'barter'." Hersman then made a suggestion.

"Barter trade?" Trotsky stroked his goatee, "Exchanging things for things? This doesn't seem very convenient, does it?"

"No, that's not the case." Hessmann smiled. "Barter trade refers to the overall balance of trade between our two countries. For example, we sell you goods worth 1 billion gold marks every year, and you also sell Give us goods of the same value. There will be no surplus or deficit in the trade settlement between the two countries, and the concept of currency can still be used in the accounting and settlement of a single trade. Or gold rubles, or gold marks, but this is just a number recorded on the books and contracts, there is no need to actually hand over the gold and currency to the other party.”

"Is that so..." Trotsky also knew economics. He thought for a moment, "Does this mean that the trade between our two countries must be planned?"

"Yes," Hersman nodded, "marketization and liberalization do not apply to trade between Russia and Germany. Trade between us should be conducted through monopolistic import and export companies, which in Germany are economic promotion companies.

I suggest that you also set up a company of the same nature, and all trade and economic cooperation projects be conducted through these two companies. No matter how much technology, machinery and equipment we export, you must also export the same value of goods we need to Germany. Of course, this is a general principle. Short-term credit and debt can still exist. But this credit must be repaid in kind, not in gold or currency. "

Stalin asked: "Does this mean we can pay with food, oil, wood and non-ferrous metals?"

"Of course, we accept this approach." Hersman nodded, this is exactly what he wanted.

Start now to reserve oil and non-ferrous metals for the world war 20 years later! Moreover, the reserves will be carried out in a long-term manner through barter trade with the Soviet Union - most of the crude oil and non-ferrous metals easily obtained from the Soviet Union will be sold to related companies in Germany to obtain cash income, and only a small part will be used Stored for war preparation.

Hessman paused, as if thinking about something, and then said: "But the grain, oil, wood and non-ferrous metals you pay us must be discounted by 20% according to the spot price in the international market when settling the settlement. If If there is a credit account, the creditor must pay an interest of 5% of the total amount of the credit account every year, and the payment will also be settled in kind. "

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