Agrarian socialist Romania in the 1930s

[NotDavidSoslan]

The Heer was joined by the Luftwaffe, which carried out reconnaissance actions against SS and Gestapo units, as well as several strafing runs. The use of airpower had significant psychological effect, and caused many Nazis to defect to the putschists.

On 15 January 1940, the SS surrendered to the Wehrmacht, leaving the path open for the military to take power, especially with Hitler's resignation speech the following day. Kurt Schumacher of the Social Democratic Party would eventually become Chancellor, defeating the Centre Party led by Konrad Adenauer, the new Free Democratic Party, the Communist Party and the Nazis, who finished a distant fifth. Among other things, Schumacher restored Austrian independence.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

During his nine-month military regime, Claus von Stauffenberg repealed the Enabling Act and Reichstag Fire Decree, while keeping the Nuremberg Laws and ban on the KPD, as he was still a right-wing authoritarian.

He also dissolved the SS, which was not a completely nonviolent endeavor, as several of them resisted violently to the order.

The election campaign saw a large amount of excitement. As the first free election to be held in Germany in seven years, political parties were poorly mobilized and a large amount of them contested it. The overwhelming majority of Germans wanted to move on from Nazism and antisemitism, and restore the democratic freedoms of the Weimar Republic.

The Nazi Party, led by Goebbels after Hitler and Göring resigned, ended up in fifth place, as the defeat against Czechoslovakia and subsequent economic crash made it extremely unpopular outside of extreme loyalists. Its strongest showing was in Austria, Adolf Hitler's birthplace (Hitler retired to Bavaria, where he wrote his memoirs and died in 1950).

The Austrian League ran on a simple platform of restored independence for Austria, be it immediately or through a referendum like the Anchluss. It won virtually all Austrian seats due to Nazism being unpopular there as well, as the union between the two countries had become.

Zentrum won the overwhelming majority of German Catholic voters, but split the Protestant vote with SPD and FDP, while Jews were still not allowed to vote.

Schumacher became Chancellor and went on to lead Germany until 1952, restoring the rights of Jews and women and implementing important political, economic and social reforms, and the independence of Austria. He was succeeded by Adenauer.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

During his presidency, Wilkie expanded Social Security benefits, signed a law restricting unions, and went to war against Japan following Pearl Harbor, which ended in victory by January 1945.

He eventually died on October 8, 1944, when campaigning for reelection, and was replaced on the ticket by running mate Arthur Vandenberg while his Secretary of State became acting president until January 20, 1945.

Vanderberg took advantage of the grief over Wilkie's death to defeat the Democratic nominee.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

After the war, Korea became a right-wing Ilminist dictatorship ruled by Syngman Rhee, who eventually had to face Soviet-backed communist and nationalist guerrilas in an early proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union.

During the Pacific War itself, it was incredibly easy for the United to replace destroyed ships and aircraft, especially since its entire production was directed towards the Pacific.

In January 1945, Japan was starved into surrendering, with no exceptional weapons being used. Military governor Douglas Macarthur eventually carried out important reforms.

The Stalinist Soviet Union strenghtened itself considerably during the war, becoming the second-largest military in the world, which allowed it to annex Karafuto and the Kurils between 10 and 12 January without Western protests. This contrasts with Stalin's actions during the Romanian revolt, when he refused to invade Bessarabia in order to avoid a negative international reaction and possible war with the still nationalist Romania.

Eventually, the Cold War broke out with the Chinese and Korean civil wars, with the Soviets soon getting China as an ally (the alliance between the CPC and Kuomintang broke down after the war).

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Romania's economy and society between 1939 and 1943


TNO panel for Romania in January 1936 (HOI4 start date)

With the defeat of the rebels in early 1939 and growing industrialisation and urbanisation, Romania's economy returned to high levels of growth, with the far-right becoming increasingly weakened, especially after the Nazi regime collapsed in January 1940, and political conflicts fading away. Andreescu enjoyed great popularity, with foreign visitors noticing his portraits were cheered in cinemas and that rallies held by the FPR were well-attended.

There was still opposition to the FPR regime, mostly coming from moderate PNT supporters and remnants of the former Francophile elite, but it was scattered, divided and unable to take major action against Andreescu. Iuliu Maniu, Georghe Tatarescu and other moderate opposition leaders were exiled in France, and thus could not seriously interfere with Romanian politics; neither could the Iron Guard based in Italy, which had no domestic political base due to the peasant population and young people benefitting from the FPR's reforms.

As said before, there was an increased exodus from the countryside to cities such as Bucharest and Iasi. Romanian cinema became proeminent during the early 1940s as several stars came to the fore and the government favored movies with historical and cultural themes, instead of French movies. Romania kept unemployment artificially low through guaranteed employment and large-scale public works, such as a canal connecting the Black Sea to the Danube, while using price freezes and wage controls to prevent inflation from growing.

However, in 1943, Romania was still a heavily rural country, the industrialist regime having only taken power a decade before, and an authoritarian state, with limited free speech and the only two legal opposition parties (the PNT and the PND) having their functions constantly disrupted. That being said, Andreescu was reelected with 99.15% of the vote in 1943, while the FPR won every elected parliamentary seat, due to both the dictatorship, oil-fueled economic growth and Andreescu's strong popularity.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

The dissatisfaction of many Croats with the Serb-centered Yugoslav state was a significant factor in the Ustase's early successes, along with Italian and Hungarian support.

However, as its war crimes became well-known and foreign support for Yugoslavia increased, they suffered increasing defeats. By 1941, Romania's domestic military industry had been considerably strenghtened, owing to their license production of French and Soviet equipment, much of which was sold to the Yugoslavs during the war.

The Ustase was formally banned in 1945, but by then, the war had already devastated one of Europe's poorest economies, with Yugoslav railways and mines in tatters, and much of the population destitute or displaced. The Cold War hurt the country further still, especially with the rise of communist guerrillas, paving the way for its final collapse.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Vargas attributed Brazil's first World Cup victory to himself and his policies, attending the victory ceremony with Leônidas da Silva and the other Brazilian players after watching the final against Uruguay.

Another populist dictator who tried to take advantage of the World Cup for political purposes was Romania's Marian Andreescu, who allocated 0.5% of Romania's 1942 budget to the Football Federation, and carefully checked the physical abilities of players. While Andreescu was not personally interested in football, he thought this would give Romania international attention, just like Vargas.

Several stadiums were built by Brazil for the world cup, which received much of government's attention from 1940 onwards. Some communists and anarchists protested against the event, calling it a distraction from the poverty and inequality in Brazil, but the DEOPS political policy, led by noted Nazi sympathizer Filinto Müller, cracked down on them.

The 1942 World Cup saw the debut of Japan, who lost to Romania by 10–0 due to conscription for the Pacific War only allowing it to field the worst players available. Andreescu joked that the "Yellow Peril" had began to fade with Romania's crushing victory.

Germany was eliminated by Italy, its one-time geopolitical ally, at the round of 8, when Uruguay also eliminated Romania by 5-3 and Italy defeated Argentina 2-0. France, Poland and Latvia were eliminated at the first round.

The 1946 world cup was held in Germany, and won by the hosts for the second consecutive time; they defeated Brazil at the final.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Schumacher's first measure upon taking office was to repeal all antisemitic and totalitarian laws the NSDAP passed after 1933, with the Nuremberg Laws and Enabling Act being the first to go.

He then secured the passage of a new constitution that, among other things, recognized the independence of Austria, legalized the Communist Party, and restored most democratic rights and freedoms enjoyed by Germans before the Reichstag Fire.

The Schumacher administration implemented land reform, breakup up the estates of the former Junker nobility and redistributing them among peasants, as well as a progressive income tax, free childcare, and minimum wage. These policies led to restored economic growth, with the economic crisis of 1939–40 being over by early 1945.

Schumacher was a popular Chancellor due to his administration being perceived as having restored prosperity and freedom to Germany, allowing the SDP to make gains even with the Austrian seats being transferred to Austria upon the latter's independence.

The Bavarian Party won 18 seats and 4.3% of the vote, while the German Party won 12 seats and 2.5% of the vote and the neo-Nazi German Reich Party won 5 seats and 1.6% of the vote.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

With Wilkie's death, Secretary of State MacArthur succeeded him as acting president, as the Vice Presidency was vacant.

As President, MacArthur intensified the bombing campaign and naval blockade against Japan, and launched a crippling minelaying campaign in Japanese internal waters that contributed to their surrender a few days before he left office. He also continued the atomic bomb project, to be used if Japan did not unconditionally surrender.

Vice President McNary became the first modern vice president, expanding the powers of the office and playing a significant role in the war effort, as well as on containing international support against Japan.

Vandenberg did not run for a second term in 1948 due to health concerns, and was succeeded by a Democrat who narrowly defeated Vice President Stassen. By then, the Cold War had already begun, with the focus being Soviet influence in Romania and the communist revolt in Korea.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

The Army of the Republic of Korea carried out extensive war crimes during the war, including massacres, collective punishment and torture of prisoners of war, and was accused of following a scorched earth strategy.

There was also widespread corruption with the army, which was one of the main reasons, along with Rhee's complete lack of a popular base, that they never managed to defeat the KPA even before the PRC invaded.

The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin (who died almost exactly one year after the war ended) provided the KPA with extensive aid, including small arms, training, uniforms and advisors, refusing to directly intervene, although most historians believe Stalin "green-lighted" a Chinese intervention.

Before the rebellion, Rhee had nationalised strategic industries, following his principle of corporatism, but placed Ilminist cronies in control of them with no employee representation, leading to widespread corruption, inefficiency and the faking of statistics. He also made several agreements with pro-Japanese elites, agreeing not to purge them in exchange for support.

By 1950, the Korean Army operated tanks, artillery and armored vehicles provided by the US and UK (mostly surplus from earlier in the decade that was unusable in the Pacific due to the jungles being unsuited for maneuver warfare), and contained an air force and navy, but the corruption and unpopularity issues were never adressed. Thus, Rhee was overthrown two years into the Chinese intervention.

After the war, the CPK estabilished a Marxist-Leninist dictatorship that soon joined the revisionist camp and remained in power until the Eastern Bloc collapsed.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Romanian economy and society between 1943 and 1947.

In 1945, Marian Andreescu nationalised childcare and made it available to all families.

The mid-1940s marked the peak of the FPR regime's legitimacy and power, due to its oil-funded economic growth, industrialisation and development, as well as President Andreescu's charisma and oratory skills, which made him one of the most popular leaders in Romanian history.

In 1945, Andreescu's rubber-stamp parliament passed legislation to:

- Make it easier for farmers to recieve credit;
- Implement free and universal childcare for all Romanian families;
- Repeal the antisemitic and anti-Romani laws passed the previous decade;
- Legalize divorce;
- Replace the Siguranta Statul secret police with the Securitate, and estabilish a foreign intelligence service.

However, discrimination against the Romani continued in practice, with them facing neglect and often abuse from Romanian authorities, and Jews remained marginalized and mostly excluded from prosperity. The former royal family was still exiled in France, Carol having married Elena Lupescu and thus renounced his claim to the throne definitely.

Romanian society was becoming increasingly urban, affluent and secular, with censuses showing a decrease in religious faith among Romanians, and the rural and low-income populations decreasing as well. In 1945, the Cuza automobile company was founded in Brasov, starting mass production of Romania's first domestically designed car, the Burebista, the following year. By 1955, when Andreescu's health and regime were already declining, the automobile was fairly common in Romanian homes.

In 1947, following the death of Prime Minister Nicolae L. Lupu, Andreescu replaced him with Georghe Gheorghiu-Dej, a Marxist-Leninist and Romanian nationalist. That same year, Andreescu abolished the corporate representation in the Romanian parliament, and officially made Romania a secular state (he opposed state atheism, as seen in ML countries, and never implemented it). That same year, the PNT boycotted the elections as a protest against these measures, allowing the FPR to win 100% of the vote in the presidential election and all parliamentary seats a second consecutive time.

After 1950, the FPR regime became increasingly unpopular, as a new generation grew up who were unaware of the poverty and inequality that existed before Andreescu. All they had known was a prosperous economy with limited liberties. Furthermore, the rose of Middle Eastern oil exports compounded this issue further, leading to increased opposition from the PNT, the Orthodox Church and civil society.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Results of the 1940 French general election

(I did not make a wiki page to avoid stretching the timeline, something that had ruined similar ones before)

Popular Front

French Section of the Workers' International: 111 seats, 18.2%

Radical Socialist Party: 87 seats, 11.3%

Socialist Republican Union: 61 seats, 11.2%

Unaligned

French Social Party: 118 seats, 19.2%

French Communist Party: 41 seats, 8.7%

National Front

Republican Left: 87 seats, 16.0%

Republican Union: 69 seats, 15.0%

The PCF broke up with the Blum-Daladier government in May 1939, but continued to vote for it most of the time.

The PSF would later win the 1944 election by a fairly large margin, and dominate French politics during most of the Cold War era.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Prime Minister Nicolae L. Lupu had died in 1946, and been replaced by Communist Party leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej as part of Anderescu's shift from idiosyncracy to "pure" socialism.

Gheorghiu-Dej became the first Prime Minister of the First Republic not to come from Andreescu's party, the People's Front leader Romanian Farmers' Party.

The National Peasants' Party contested a few parliamentary seats, but lost all of these races, and boycotted the presidential election for the second consecutive time.

During the late 1940s, a young politician named Nicolae Ceausescu started riding in the ranks of the FPR government. A protege and loyal follower of Andreescu, he entered the Romanian cabinet by 1952.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Poland remained a right-wing dictatorship after 1939, and the rapid economic and military growth of the Soviet Union only entrenched it in power further. (Germany should be social democratic instead of fascist, since Hitler was overthrown in 1940)

The 4th of August and Zveno regimes remained in power in Greece and Bulgaria, respectively, while Galeazzo Ciano had been Duce of Fascist Italy since 1944, when Mussolini retired, and followed a more moderate policy.

Czechoslovakia, on the other hand, was dominated by the Czech National Social Party, a centre-left party, while centre-right federalist and conservative monarchist parties alternated themselves in power on the unstable Yugoslavia.

The Western war against Japan forced Britain to give most of its Asian colonies independence.

Brazil and Bolivia remained populist dictatorships after 1944, since there were no external factors to force them to open up. However, the United States were beginning to doubt Vargas' Cold War alignment.

Japan was under United States military occupation, and since the Republican Party of Arthur Vandenberg held its presidency at the time, it is shown as Conservative.