Germany (Franz's World)

"Due to changes in Austria’s political structures, namely, a tendency towards more democratic institutions, Germany underwent a series of liberal uprisings throughout the 1920s, until the Berlin March lead by Gustav Stresemann in 1924 finally brought the Keizer to his knees. This resulted in constitutional change to the nation with the Keizer having little to no power, the states having similar autonomy to that of USGA, and a federal parliament and senate to govern the nation, with the speaker of the Senate (Office Originally given to Stresemann, which he retained after Germany’s first free election on Sept. 2 1924) acting as head of state. This allowed the nation to advance further in relations with other nations, and resulted in more freedom freedom for the German people, however, it was not without backlash."

Early Foreign Relations
Stresemann’s formost ambition as speaker was to attempt to improve relations with the British, French, and Austrians. Initially Stresemann was very popular for his policies brought about an improved economy, particularly his trade agreements made with USGA. In 1925, however, less than a year after he’d received office, he signed a controversial treaty with the British and French in order to end their diplomatic feud, as Stresemann feared war.

In the Amsterdam agreements Stresemann agreed to exchange Alsase-Loraine and all overseas territories for the right for German companies to operate freely within the British and French overseas territories. This was not well received by many German nationalists, most notably Adolf Hitler.

Germany’s relations to the east were slightly more sour. Stresemann was anxious about the Russian occupation of Poland, and wanted to create a free Polish state, but this would result in war with Russia. He did, however, in collaboration with USGA, support many Polish coups, All of which failed, and When the Russians discovered that their two neighbours where behind it relations soured. Sure to loose a war between them, there was no war, but Russia did become hostile towards the two nations, supporting many separatist movements within USGA, and triggering unrest in Germany.

Civil War
In 1927, due to strong opposition to the Amsterdam agreements, the country went into civil war, with a Russian backed nationalist uprising lead by Adolf Hitler. After failing to take control of Munich in 1926, Hitler relocated to Konigsburg, where he recieved support from Tsar Alexei of Russia, promising to stop backing Polish coups should he ascend to power (many historians believe that Hitler had no intention of honouring this agreement, with some going as far as to say he wanted Poland under direct German rule).

Despite his financial disadvantage Hitler was initially very successful in his campaign, with Eric Ludendorff commanding his Army of “Stormtroopers”. Using revolutionary tactics and clever propaganda he gained much control of the eastern side of the nation, creating his own military dictatorship that stretched as far as the port of Szczecin, which was dubbed “New Prussia”. Despite support from the British, French and Austrians, the German Army lead by Oskar Von Hindenburg could not break his “Iron wall”, and for five years the eastern section of Germany was under the control of Hitler.

In 1932, however, Hitler decided to break the stalemate by launching a three-pronged attack on Berlin, planning to take over the nation. The attack failed, however, and later New Prussia was defeated, and Hitler was given political asylum in Russia, where he resided until 1942, when after Alexei’s reforms, there was little opposition to Russian rule in Poland and there was no need for a continued feud between Germany and Russia, and so Hitler was returned to the Germany government where he was put on trial and found guilty of attempted rebellion.

Later Foreign Relations
After the civil war Germany has seen improved relations with its neighbours, in particular, USGA. The two have many common trade policies, and there is talk of creating a partnership where by they will share a join customs policy, and even a currency. There are no border controls between these two nations, and they have a visa-free agreement.

Following the Amsterdam agreement Germany has seen much expansion of commerce across the world, and has provided USGA a gateway to do the same. Such business has been dubbed as “The German Business Empire”, and there are some in Britain and France who hold this a grounds to believe Germany is the secret ruler of these empires. Germany has also reached better terms with the Russian confederation, though relations have dipped from time to time.

Constitution
After the Berlin march and the reformation to constitutional monarchy, Germany has operated with a federal parliament implementing laws and a Senate to ratify them. The speaker of the Senate is elected by senators following every new election, and often acts as the head of state, though the chancellor, head of the parliament is seen as more of the nation’s leader. In 1952 the states were rearranged to better represent what they had historically been with Prussia losing a significant amount of land.

Common political division is on the issue of centralisation Vs decentralisation, with some believing that the states should have full autonomy and others going as far as to call for a unitary state.