WWII Backwards

Welcome to the Introduction Page for WWII Backwards!

This is a work-in-progress encyclopedia I've created featuring an alternate Earth following the failure of the Communist Revolt in Russia, focusing specifically on World War II. In short: Fascist Russia declares war on Communist Germany, starting World War II.

This Alternate Timeline was originally created by Pmbasehore.

Point of Divergence
In 1917, Alexander Kerensky sought a ceasefire with the Central Powers, and thus was successful in uniting the Russian Provisional Government to stop the Bolshevik Revolution. Russia became a Parliamentary Republic, but after the war was held responsible for a substantial amount of the Allies' military debt as punishment for seeking a separate peace. Vladimir Lenin was executed while the rest of the Bolsheviks exiled themselves to Germany, the birthplace of the Father of Communism, Karl Marx. In Germany, the Russian communists met the Sparticus League, headed by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. Armed with the experience of their previous failure, the new found allies formed the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and began plotting a revolution to overthrow the German Republic.

On 7 January, 1919, the KPD organized a strike in the newspaper quarter of Berlin. This strike proved to be the death knell of the fledgling German Republic. With the help of their new Russian allies, the KPD was able to foment a full-scale revolt, capturing the Reichstag on 15 January, 1919. Now in firm control of the nation's capital, the revolutionaries declared themselves the "People's Republic of Germany" and began sending troops to the rest of the nation to assist local communists. The entirety of the nation was finally under the control of the KPD on 11 August, 1919. Karl Leibknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were able to successfully argue that the new German government -- now known as the People's Republic of Germany (German: Volksrepublik Deutschland) was a different entity than the German Empire, so the extreme penalties of the Treaty of Versailles no longer applied. Their renegotiation of the treaty allowed the German economy to bloom, resulting in increased industrial capacity. However, compared to the remainder of Europe, Germany still was not a wealthy nation.

Meanwhile, in the Russian Republic, the Russian people are also growing weary of their hyperinflation, burning million-ruble notes in their cookstoves because it is cheaper than buying coal or wood. A seminary drop-out from the Russian province of Georgia named Josef Dzhugashvili sees an opportunity to gain political and personal power by blaming the Communists for the troubles of Russia. After hearing about the new German regime, he enters politics; getting elected to the Duma and eventually becoming the head of the fledgling All-Russian Party for Freedom (Russian: Всероссийский Партия по Cвободе (Vserossiiskii Partiya po Svobode)), or VPS, colloquially known as “Veeps” in the rest of the world. He wins election to the Prime Ministry of the Russian Republic in 1928 on the platform of "Share the Communist's Wealth to Save Russia!". His cool head and cold calculations earn him the nickname "Stalin", or "Man of Steel". Stalin slowly builds up the Russian army, biding his time for the inevitable invasion of Germany.

On September 30, 1939, Stalin invades Poland on his way to Germany. The English and French summarily declare war on Russia, as per their alliance with Poland, and World War II begins.