North Germany (1983: Doomsday)

The Republic of North Germany is a small survivor state located along parts of the North Sea coastline. It is made up of the German regions of Schleswig-Holstein and East Frisia. It also includes the former Dutch providences of Groningen as well as small parts of Drenthe. It is one of the few areas left in Germany to have survived doomsday, and is considered to be the successor to the Federal Republic of Germany.

Doomsday
Germany having been divided on the frontlines between the eastern and western blocs was especially hard hit when then nuclear war started on what became known as. In northern Germany alone over 7 nuclear devices were used with these ranging from strategic to tactical weapons. Among these targets included Hamburg, Bremen, Kiel, Lübeck, Rostock, and Peenemünde. With the spread of radiation from these blasts only a few of the costal areas were left inhabitable. Among the largest of these areas was the west and northern half of the Jutland Peninsula in the West German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The area here was mostly rural with only a few small fishing towns of no military importance. With most of the fallout from Kiel and Lübeck blown north and east, the radiation here was far below hazardous levels.

From the south and the east came hordes of refugees trying to escape the horrors that had befallen the rest of the country. Most of these people tried to escape to Denmark. However as Denmark was already packed trying to accompany the survivors from Copenhagen, the country had to close off the border to prevent an overflow of people. So instead most of these people decided to stay in Germany along this northern coastline.

Immediate Response
To try and cope with this disaster city leaders and law enforcement from the surrounding areas meet together in the city of Husum to discuses the situation. From this meeting it was agreed that they would try and best accommodate the survivors as possible. In order to do this farming and fishing were to be increased and a local militia was to be formed. Also refugee camps were to be temporally set up in till more permanent accommodations could be built.

In January a major disaster was averted in the town of Brunsbüttel where a nuclear power plant narrowly escaped meltdown. Engineers at the plant managed to shut it down just before its reactor went critical. Although this caused inescapable blackouts throughout the region it likely saved millions. The radioactive rods inside had to be disposed of, so several teams of volunteers transported and dumped them out admist the blown up ruins of Hamburg. Although several of these people died form radioactive exposure they were likely the only thing that saved Schleswig-Holstein from nuclear destruction.

In the first few years after 1983, the refugees suffered from scarce resources. Mortality from death, disease, and fighting was terribly high. The ad-hoc committees that had been created to maintain order and distribute supplies very nearly fell apart. They survived only because most of the people had become dedicated to the idea of unity, and so the nascent government held together long enough to get through the crisis. Further more the bombs detonated in the south may have actually helped Schleswig-Holstein somewhat due to the fact that the nuclear wastelands here prevented further refugees from finding their way into the state. By 1986 the crises was finally declared over as the new organized society had formed in Schleswig-Holstein.

The Danish Referendum
In 1988 Denmark formally opened its borders again. It had learned through sporadic communications along its border towns that an organized society had formed along the German-Danish border. With Sweden now offering to take on any excess refugees in Denmark the government began diplomatic relations with the country. Almost immediately transportation routes and infrastructure were either rebuilt or restored between countries. Throughout this time the north of Germany became highly dependent on Denmark and the Nordic Countries both for healthcare and its economy.

Soon talks of Danish annexation began to circulate throughout the two countries. Finally in 1992 Danish queen Margrethe II announced that a referendum for German annexation would be held in one year on November 9, 1993. The choice of a Danish-German merge seemed the likely outcome. However one major political opponent stood in the way. Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Surprising most of the German populous, Helmut Kohl as well as parts of the West German administration had survived Doomsday beneath a nuclear bunker just outside of Bonn. After about a month had passed by he along with the rest of his cabinet fled to the Danish city of Aarhus, where he spent the next few years before finally immigrating back to North Germany.

Televised in front of a large audience at Flensburg he pleaded in front of the German people not to except Danish annexation. He stated that as the last surviving portion of Germany they could not afford to abandon the German state and its political systems or risk Danish assimilation. Although he thanked Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia for helping them, he stated that North Germany could survive and even prosper without them. Finally he stated that Germany needed to live on in some way, not only to continue the legacy of the Germans who died on Doomsday, but to ensure that someday Germany could again be rebuilt to the prosperity it once had. As the deadline for the referendum closed in political favor started to shift away from annexation and onto the independence option. When the results of the referendum came in the option for independence won out by 59% of the vote. The Danes, whose support for annexation was already low, pledged continuing support for Northern Germany while also respecting there independence.

A New Republic
After the referendum it was decided that a new German government was to be formed. After a few months of political debate all of the details were worked out. This new country would use a modified version of the West German constitution and would be run in much the same way. The Country would be officially named Republik Norddeutschland or the North German Republic, signifying not only its geographic position but also that Germany was no longer eastern or western. To show its role in keeping Germany alive the coat of arms for Schleswig-Holstein was added to the German tricolor to form the new national flag. The famous and historic German Eagle was however kept as the countries official coat of arms after enough people complained about its removal.

After a brief election Helmut Kohl was reelected to be chancellor again by a landslide. On July 5, 1994 the country officially came into being. Although not a member of the newly created Nordic Union North Germany was still given observer status thanks to its relation with Denmark. For the next few years the government worked on getting the country less dependent on Nordic aid as well as helping to grow a domestic economy.

North German Expeditions
By the late 1990's as things had finally begun to normalize in North Germany, the people began to look outwards again wondering what became the rest of there country. Although there were various unofficial reports from fishermen and sailors who had ventured close to shore nothing could be sustained. So in 1997 two expeditions were set out to assess the conditions along the rest of the German coastline. The first of these left from the port of Flensburg to search the Baltic while a second left from Husum to search the North Sea.

The results of the first expedition were disheartening. Almost the entire Baltic coastline from Flensburg to Poland was heavily damaged and irritated from fallout. Only a few hardy bands of unorganized survivors could be found here. A small organized society could be found on the eastern end of Fehmarn Island, although in the coming years almost every here was evacuated back to north Germany proper.

The second expedition however had better results. Although the majority of the coastline was uninhabitable a sizeable population was found on the Heligoland archipelago and the East Frisian Islands. However the most important discovery in all the expeditions was that of the East Frisian mainland. After hearing from the islanders on Norderney that the rest of East Frisia was inhabited the German explorers decided to search the mainland.

The islanders were indeed right, although conditions here were still quite bleak. Radiation levels in East Frisia were rather high, but just within the safety limits. Still the mainland here was anarchic as fighting had broken out between rival towns over food resources. After landing near Norden, the expedition found the city stable, but currently at war with an armed gang that had taken over the city of Emden.

After learning of the news North Germany decided to intervene. On November 23, 1998 a battalion of North German solders landed near the town of Wiesmoor. All of the cities here were given an ultimatum, either show allegiance to North Germany and its army or be attacked by them. Most of the city states here immediately joined up with the North Germans with the rest quickly falling to there army. The last pack of raiders was chased out of Emden by the end of December.

German Expansion
With all of the areas from the Frisian expedition now under North German control, the time came to begin readmitting them back into the country. Restoring Heligoland and the Frisian Islands proved an easy task. East Frisia was more of a problem but already was improving. In 2001 an undersea cable was run between Husum and here, restoring power and communications. A car factory in Endem was restarted while people were again paid for farming crops and foodstuffs. This greatly helped an area who had near universal unemployment in the years after doomsday. Also a few people here were either put into the army or hired as mercenaries to help protect the region from warlords who still lurked further south.

During this time residents living near the Netherlands on the former German border started coming over to receive the humanitarian aid that was sent to East Frisia. In particular large amounts of people from the Groningen town of Delfzijl crossed the border daily to bring home income and food for their families. Although North Germany was only concentrating on restoring former German areas, with the town so close by the Dutch here were allowed to receive the humanitarian aid. Soon word spread throughout Groningen and Delfzijl grew to become the most powerful town left in the Dutch providence.

The leaders of Delfzijl decided the time had come to retake control of what remained of Groningen. In 2002, having formed a small army Delfzijl sent its troops west to bring the land here under its influence. Its strategy was to bribe the surviving towns and city states to join them by sharing with them the German aid. Ones who refused to join would be disposed of using military force. For the most part the plan worked fairly well as most towns quickly joined Delfzijl while the rest could now be surrounded and starved of from the outside world.

Although North Germany did not intervene and help the Groningers as some had hoped, Delfzijl still received a large amount of volunteers and mercenaries coming over from East Frisia to "help their Low Saxon neighbors". By 2003 the area now under control stretched across most of the providence and into northern parts of the province of Drenthe. The expansion finally came to an end when Groningen troops encountered organized resistance along the border and when they reached the ruins of Assen and Emmen.

Modern Times
In 2003 Groningen was reformed into its own independent country with its capital located in Delfzijl. This period of independence was short lived however and wrought with political unrest. Although Groningen was on good grounds with North Germany it suffered near constant border clashes with its rival Friesland to the west, some of which bordered on open warfare. Constant bickering between local politicians lead a government that constantly shifted between the political far left and right. The murder of Prime Minister Marritje Appel in early 2005 lead to a constitutional crisis that nearly ended orderly rule in the country.

Unable to create a stable government the new Prime Minister Cees Waal announced that Groningen would seek admission into North Germany. Although some questioned weather or not such an unstable region could be added to the country, the two countries were closely related both geographically and culturally. Further more north Germany was interested in acquiring the natural gas reserves here as well as expand the German culture. Already economically tied to East Frisia and receiving just as much aid, Groningen finally became part of North Germany in 2007.

Today North Germany remains a small but influential country left in Europe. In recent years its expansion into the Netherlands has remained a small dispute between the, although both sides have been trying to resolve the issue. It also maintains informal ties with the, although distance has hampered efforts to establish an embassy. The country has also applied to join the new. Membership is expected to be granted sometime soon. The country is also considering admission into the, although this remains an issue of political debate.

Economy
North Germany is not very industrialized and has a large number of people who are out of work. Still the economy is better than other survivor nations in a similar situation. The economy mainly depends on agriculture and oil. A few of the onshore oil drills have survived the war along with a small refinery, making the country largely energy sufficient. Remaining gaps in energy supply have been filled by wind turbines put up along the countryside, along power lines running in from Denmark.

One large export from North Germany is the famous Volkswagen brand of cars. A Volkswagen factory survived in the East Frisian town of Emden, allowing the country to produce its VW Passat line of cars. Also in Emden is a small shipyard set up to build small cargo ships and other merchant vessels. Shipping also forms a small part of the economy.

Groningen remains the poorest part of the country and is currently subsidized in order to bring its standards of living up to par with the rest of the rest of the country. The fields of natural gas here are a major source of revenue. There is also a large aluminium plant in Delfzijl along with another factory that produces chemicals. The region also has a lot of people who still cross into East Frisia to find work because of the better jobs there.

Tourism in recent years has been increasing, especially along the Wadden Sea. It still remains smaller than it was pre-1983 however. North Germany has become a popular choice for outsourcing, as labor is cheep to come by here compared to that in the Nordic Union. Fishing also helps employ some of the population. Today the region is suffering from the loss of young educated people, who go away to find better employment in, for example, southern Denmark. Many communities face a rising number of aged people as a source for structural problems in the future.

Language
German is the official language of North Germany. Although all dialects are supported by the government Standard German has been in decline in recent years. In its place West Low German has grown to become the most dominant dialect. The most common sub dialects include Northern Low Saxon, East Frisian Low Saxon, and Gronings.

Also in use is the North Frisian language in the region of Northern Friesland in Schleswig. The language is currently spoken by about 10,000 people. In recent years the language has been in decline and is now an endangered language. To help reverse this decline a state law became effective in North Germany that recognizes the North Frisian language for official use in the Nordfriesland district and on Heligoland.

Even rarer is the Saterland Frisian language spoken by less than 2000 people in the East Frisian distric of Saterland. Unlike East Frisian Low Saxon, this is a fully Frisian language, not a Low German dialect. This language is also endangered as there are few speakers left that are not amonst the elder generation. Still despite lacking official recognition there is a large community based effort to revive the language, and a few of the younger generation are starting to learn the language. This language revival effort is further more helped by the relative isolation Saterland has from the rest of the world.

Dutch, despite still being spoken in Groningen, is undergoing rapid decline and is today mostly left to use by Dutch refugees. Finally there is the South Jutlandic langage, spoken in small comunites along the Danish border. Despite the linguistic diversity amongst Northern Germany almost everyone here can speak German. A good portion of the population can also speak English or Danish as a second language.