Chapter 513: The Italian Question
War may be escalating in the streets of New York, but Berlin was safer than ever. And before Bruno realized it two more years had passed. It was now 1924, and it had been eight years since the Great War had come to an end in this life.
France had just begun to recover. Four years after the National Restoration Government was declared under Pétain’s dictatorship, the nation had begun the process of reconstruction. Cruel as it may be, civilization was finally restored to the lands of west of the Rhine.
Meanwhile, Britain had long since stopped reeling from the injuries inflicted upon it during the Great War. King George may have dissolved parliament for a time to restore order to the nation. But the British Empire found a way to become an adversary of the Reich once more.
In fact, it began fostering trade with the United States postwar, increasing ties to its former colonies, and what remained of its current roster. This had instigated some form of economic recovery despite the damage dealt to the Empire’s treasury during the war.
Italy, having gotten off easier than the other allies, with being forced to pay reparations to damages they caused in the war, and ceding claims over Habsburg owned territories. Had not given birth to radical communists or fascism.
For starters, the Bolsheviks were slain in a decade earlier in this life, their revolution a monumental failure. And the reds in France were also rooted out early by the warlords.
Socialism had no place in the eyes and conscience of common men across Europe. It was seen as an ideology for anarchists, criminals, and sociopaths to rally behind. And frankly, that was a realistic depiction of those drawn to its ideals.
But Italy’s place in the world was still uncertain following the Great War. They had time to rebuild peacefully, but many within the nation believed they no longer held prestige, or power as a respectable nation.
Italy was at a crossroads, It could fall to republicanism, and become another threat on the Reich’s southern border to worry about in the future. Or it could be incorporated into dynastic alliances Bruno was forging.
Because of this, Bruno sent a letter to King Emanuel III, requesting the man come visit him in Tyrol as a guest, not a diplomat. Bruno wanted to show him something.