Father of France

Chapter 82 The Germans' Delusions
The news of the French capture of Stuttgart, reported by AFP, became the headline of the day, marking the first major French victory against Germany in the war.

News in the newspapers and on the radio filled people with jubilation. Emotions that had been suppressed since 1940 were finally released at this moment. Citizens took to the streets, singing and dancing to celebrate the French victory. France should be proud, but from the absolute European hegemon of the Bourbon dynasty to today, it has been left behind by Britain, by Germany, and by Russia.

The glory of the Sun King and Napoleon seemed to have faded into the past. In 1940, France suffered a crushing defeat after holding out for more than a month, and two million French soldiers were sent to prisoner-of-war camps, which brought the pride of the French people to its lowest point.

But when news of the capture of Stuttgart came, the French nation seemed to have regained their glory and pride overnight. The French were not incompetent cowards. Although they had suffered a painful defeat before, they had regained their lost dignity through their performance on the battlefield.

"Is the country really that happy?" Soldiers are naturally quite bored when they're not fighting, and this is especially true for Koman, who is a man of the life of escapism. He can only pay more attention to news from various places.

Unexpectedly, the news of the capture of Stuttgart caused such a huge reaction, which gives you an idea of ​​the feelings of the French people in modern times.

“Indeed, the tobacco factory workers all went out to celebrate.” Martin had his own channels; most of the officers and soldiers of the Youth Division did not live in mainland France, so they could not truly empathize with this feeling.

"This country has indeed gone too long without good news." Koeman compared France with several major countries and found that in some respects, France's modern history was indeed full of tragedy.

This sense of tragedy isn't due to a lack of national strength, but what if there were a control group nearby?

The First Industrial Revolution was in Britain, and France was separated from Britain by only a Channel. The Second Industrial Revolution was in Germany on the European side, and France and Germany were direct neighbors. This comparison makes the difference quite clear.

It can be said that France's existence provides an example that no country in the world can ignore: in the face of France, no country can find objective reasons to say that it missed the Industrial Revolution due to this or that factor.

Because France watched helplessly as two industrial revolutions occurred right next to it.

If France had no chance of an industrial revolution, then no other country would have had one either. All the talk of objective reasons in modern history is just an attempt to shirk responsibility.

Many people subconsciously treat Europe as a single entity; when Britain had its Industrial Revolution, it was as if Europe itself had a direct Industrial Revolution.

Germany underwent the Industrial Revolution, and Germany once again became a name representing Europe.

The joys and sorrows of nations are not shared. This kind of tragedy is something that only the French can truly understand. Even if Indians are as confident as they are, they absolutely could not bear to be attacked by a major Eastern power, then by Pakistan and Bangladesh, one by one, within a hundred years.

The occupation of Stuttgart brought both sorrow and excitement to the French, who seemed to have risen again from defeat, like heroes in classical Greek tragedies who, covered in wounds, crawled out of the battlefield and took up arms once more to defend their dignity.

This was originally de Gaulle's intention in finally agreeing to join the attack on Germany; in another world, Free France had long held only one army group.

Even if de Gaulle wanted to make his voice heard, he couldn't; without troops at his disposal, his words lacked authority.

But in the world of Koeman, de Gaulle could finally voice his truest opinions, and with his achievements to back him up, his confidence in independence would also be strengthened.

The Youth Division had entered the city, and the brief chaos in Stuttgart had ended. Now was the time to demonstrate that the French army would not commit any offenses. Alain told Coman that the Deutsche Bank in Stuttgart had been robbed, but it had been confirmed that there was no gold inside. The museums and libraries, however, were mostly intact, and some artifacts and ancient books could be salvaged. "If the Deutsche Bank doesn't have gold, then a bunch of Reichsmarks are just paper," Coman muttered dismissively. "Let's get the tobacco sales sorted out. We don't accept Reichsmarks; it has to be bartered—ancient books, artifacts, even armor will do."

Koeman hasn't forgotten his original intention to ensure the daily lives of German smokers. Stuttgart is a major city in Germany, so he believes sales will be high.

The French interim government appointed Karl Kessel as the new mayor of Stuttgart, tasking him with restoring the city's basic functions, including water and electricity supply, and clearing debris. He was also tasked with supporting France's disNazification policy by purging municipal personnel closely associated with the Nazi Party and handling refugee resettlement.

As for former mayor Carl Strolin, he did not escape and is now sitting in the interrogation room that Koeman has temporarily borrowed. Koeman is quite experienced in interrogating cases and he never misses an opportunity to accumulate experience. You can't tell anything now, but experience will become important when you get promoted in the future.

Stuttgart is not a small city, otherwise it would have become a major center for the Mercedes-Benz Group. As the mayor of this big city, there is no need for a trial; it is 100% related to war crimes. The Jewish Final Solution must have owed some credit to the other side.

"I advise you to be honest as soon as possible." Koeman was too lazy to waste words with the other party. The former high-ranking official in Germany was now worthless. The so-called phoenix in distress is not even as good as a chicken. This is exactly what it means.

Strolin glanced at Koeman and replied with a smile, "You're just a junior officer. When the US and the Soviet Union turn against each other, the Americans will be counting on us to help defeat the Soviet Union. Even from the perspective of occupation, restoring order in Germany will require our assistance."

Unable to tolerate the man's overconfidence any longer, Koeman pulled out the letter of appointment appointing Karl Kessel as mayor of Stuttgart and looked at him with pity, saying, "It seems that there are quite a few Germans who are just as prone to daydreaming as you. You didn't even know that the occupying forces had already appointed Karl Kessel as the new mayor. What were you doing then, preparing to escape? To put it bluntly, from the moment you refused to surrender and assisted the German resistance, your fate was sealed. As for whether the United States needs your assistance, I wonder if Mr. Stuttgart considers Stuttgart a major city."

“Of course it counts. I believe both the United States and France should know the value of Stuttgart.” Strollin seemed puzzled, wondering why Koeman would ask such a question.

"Since Mr. Strelin knows this, then as the mayor of this great city, did you participate in the plan to exterminate Jews?"

Koeman couldn't help but laugh out loud, saying between laughs, "During the war, the German propaganda department told many lies, but there's one that isn't a lie: the long-standing German propaganda about the existence of powerful Jewish financiers in Britain and the United States. Since Stuttgart was an important industrial center that produced a large amount of German military equipment, did they employ any Jews?"

Koeman didn't even need to conduct a trial; he could determine the other party's guilt simply because the other party was the mayor of Stuttgart.

Even if they fall into the hands of the United States, they will face long prison sentences, and it is impossible for them to escape unscathed.

Having shattered the other party's hopes, Koeman didn't have time to go through the motions with them. He simply called in two soldiers to promote Strolin, and then went to eat before returning to the interrogation.

While having dinner with a group of comrades, Koeman chuckled and treated the interrogation as a joke, saying, "It seems like a lot of Germans are obsessed with the idea of ​​World War III breaking out; they're practically delusional. They even said that when the US attacked the Soviet Union, they would need Germany's assistance?"

Koeman suddenly realized that Chang Gong, hiding on the isolated island, seemed to have thought the same way when the Korean War broke out. It seems that when people are at their wits' end, relying on delusion to maintain their mental health is a common human failing. Otherwise, they really would go insane in the face of a miserable world.

　I really don't have the energy anymore.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)