SPD: An Alternate History [OOC | SIGNUPS]

[Khardsland]

SPD: An Alternate History

"Freedom and life can be taken from us, but not our honour."
- Otto Wels

IC Thread

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1925

There is chaos throughout the Weimar Republic. The Franco-Belgian militaries continue to illegally occupy the Ruhr Valley while our country is still reeling from the aftermath of the December 1924 elections. The SPD controls the Presidency under the iron fist of Ebert. How do we proceed?

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REICHSTAG COMPOSITION

SPD: 26%
KPD: 9%
Z + BVP: 16%
DVP: 9%
DDP: 6%
DNVP: 20%
NSFP: 3%
Others: 11%

POLLS

SPD: 27%
KPD: 9%
Z + BVP: 16%
DVP: 9%
DDP: 5%
DNVP: 18%
NSFP: 3%
Others: 13%


Next Elections: December 1928
President: Ebert (SPD)
Chancellor: Luther (I)

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Welcome! This is the OOC thread for SPD: An Alternate History. In this roleplay thread, players act as members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1928 onwards (if this proves to be a big success, I might continue this well into the 21st century). Step into the shoes of a politician supporting the oldest political party in Germany and shape the future of the Weimar Republic. After the disastrous Great War, the young concept of liberal democracy is unable to cope with rising revanchism, political militarization, systemic corruption, and a reactionary military. Can you succeed where the real party failed?

Special thanks to the wonderful people behind Social Democracy: An Alternate History, the New Campaign Trail and Spartacus Rising 1919 for inspiring this roleplay.

RULES:

1. Every day, I present a crisis and organize a 24-hour poll on the SPD's reaction
2. The OOC thread is for doubts and historical speculation while the IC thread is for actual gameplay and lobbying
3. Every player must register as a (historical or imagined) SPD party member and act like said member would
4. Reality is the biggest threat to daydreaming; the SPD can only be so radical before it collapses
5. Post your SPD membership card in the OOC only
6. Post your Personal Political View in the IC when a crisis is going on

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Code: Select all

[box]
[b]SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD[/b]

(REMOVE ALL TEXT INSIDE BRACKETS)

Party Member Name: (Can be historical figure or made up)
Member Ideology: Centrist/Reformist/Left/Labour
Date of Birth: (Example: 9 May 1896)[/box]

Centrists: Center Marxists. Supporters of the doctrines of Karl Kautsky, they believed that capitalism would collapse due to its internal contradictions and that there was no need for revolution. They support defending the liberal democratic state until a transition to socialism can become viable. They oppose any economic recovery plans, as they wish to not derail the collapse of capitalism.

Left: Radical communists. Many were members of the former USPD while others were KPD dissidents. They wish for a nationalized economy governed together with the workers. Cooperation with the KPD through an Einheitsfront and extraparliamentary actions are supported by this faction.

Reformists: Pragmatic participants in government. The most experienced leaders of the SPD are from this faction. They believe in ensuring political stability through compromise with the liberal and conservative parties. They seek to defend the status quo from the reactionaries and communists. They support expanding the welfare state without deficit spending.

Labour: Trade unionists. Many members of the SPD are also aligned with the ADGB, a federation of free trade unions. They seek to empower workers through the legitimization of trade unions and support deficit spending in the name of economic reform.

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD

Party Member Name: Arthur Crispien
Member Ideology: Left
Date of Birth: 4 November 1875

[The Sovereign State of Mississippi]

Membership Card
Party Member Name: Schroder Emmerich
Member Ideology: Leftist
DOB: 06/3/93
POB: Dresden, Freistaat Saxony

[Boston Defense Sector]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD

Party Member Name: Ambros Volk
Member Ideology: Centrist
Date of Birth: 3rd of April 1902

[Khardsland]

It appears I prematurely published my message even though some details were yet to be filled in. Apologies for that. To the participants above, you can edit your submission to fit the above content requirements.

Anyways, here is my submission:

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD

Party Member Name: Arthur Crispien
Member Ideology: Left
Date of Birth: 4 November 1875

[Basenja]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD

Party Member Name: Otto Hegel
Member Ideology: Reformist
Date of Birth: 28 January 1883

[Boston Defense Sector]

It appears I prematurely published my message even though some details were yet to be filled in. Apologies for that. To the participants above, you can edit your submission to fit the above content requirements.

Anyways, here is my submission:

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD

Party Member Name: Arthur Crispien
Member Ideology: Left
Date of Birth: 4 November 1875

I Fixed mine

[United Mafias]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD


Party Member Name: Lorenz Hotch
Member Ideology: Centrist
Date of Birth: 16 october 1898

[The Sovereign State of Mississippi]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD

Party Member Name: Schroeder Emmerich
Member Ideology: Leftist
Date of Birth: 6/3/93

PERSONAL POLITICAL VIEW

We must defend the interests of the working class against the threat posed by the forces of monopoly capital and political reaction, stressing the need to build up the power of the left and forge ties with the KPD

Party member name: Schroeder Emmerich

[Honghai]

Few questions -

are those the only ideologies someone in the SPD can have, or are those example-ideologies?

Is "reformist" the same as Progressivist or just something else entirely?

[Khardsland]

are those the only ideologies someone in the SPD can have, or are those example-ideologies?

Those are the ideologies that were historically part of the SPD. As the roleplay continues, I will add some more historical ideologies (such as neorevisionists) and some ideologies that require a specific path to unlock (revealing: Red Catholics and Left Atlantropists). Right now, you can only choose the ideologies presented.

Is "reformist" the same as Progressivist or just something else entirely?

The "reformist" faction of the SPD was the most experienced and influenced several policies during the Weimar period. They held progressive views but supported compromise with the liberal and conservative parties. They believed that all social reform could be done through Parliamentarianism, completely rejecting the Marxist doctrine of Revolution. This adherence to pragmatism led the reformists to support Hindenburg in the 1932 Presidential elections, who would later go on to appoint Hitler as Chancellor, and the rest is history.

Now that I think about, I should probably explain all the factions in this roleplay.

[The Sovereign State of Mississippi]

Hi, Has my application been reviewed?

[Khardsland]

Hi, Has my application been reviewed?

If you haven't received a forum reply or telegram post from me complaining about your application 24 hours after you posted it, you can freely assume that I liked it.

Also, one more thing. Your 'Personal Political View' thing is supposed to be posted in the IC thread (when I open one) when a crisis is active and a poll is being held.

[Alvosa]

Membership card:

Party member name: Hans Fedel
Member Ideology: Left.
Date of birth: 12th of August 1878

[Khardsland]

Membership card:

Party member name: Hans Fedel
Member Ideology: A mix of leftist and Labour.
Date of birth: 12th of August 1878

I will have to ask you to pick between either the SPD Left or Labour. Can't mix them both (unless my players perform a very specific set of events).

[Alvosa]

Membership card:

Party member name: Hans Fedel
Member Ideology: A mix of leftist and Labour.
Date of birth: 12th of August 1878

I will have to ask you to pick between either the SPD Left or Labour. Can't mix them both (unless my players perform a very specific set of events).

Left.

[Khardsland]

I will have to ask you to pick between either the SPD Left or Labour. Can't mix them both (unless my players perform a very specific set of events).

Left.

Edit your membership card and you should be good to go.

[The Jamesian Republic]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD
Party Member Name: Heinrich Cullmann
Member Ideology: Labour
Date of Birth: 10 June 1897

[Malorossi]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD
Party Member Name: Alexander Fruger
Member Ideology: centrism
Date of Birth: 14 May 1901

[Khardsland]

PERSONAL POLITICAL VIEW
The solution to our current crisis should involve deficit spending. We need to find a new method of solving our post war woes. We must also expand the power of the working class with the legitimization of unions. Strong non-corrupt unions are key to the post war German economy.

Heinrich Cullmann

PERSONAL POLITICAL VIEW
The main problems are connected with the decline of the economy and the growth of impoverishment of the population, with the Versal conspiracy. Reparations suck out all the monetary juices, raw material territories and the restriction of industrial development breed unemployment. Meanwhile, we are between two fires, Bolshevism and Western capitalism. To restore the economy, we need an administrative-planned economy and national sovereignty.

Alexander Fruger

As I explained earlier in this forum:

Your 'Personal Political View' thing is supposed to be posted in the IC thread (when I open one) when a crisis is active and a poll is being held.

[Khardsland]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD
Party Member Name: Alexander Fruger
Member Ideology: left nationalist
Date of Birth: 14 May 1901

Left Nationalist is not a recognized ideology. The closest among these would be the Centrists, since they advocated for a bigger Germany while still keeping the Weimar Republic.

[Malorossi]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD
Party Member Name: Alexander Fruger
Member Ideology: left nationalist
Date of Birth: 14 May 1901

Left Nationalist is not a recognized ideology. The closest among these would be the Centrists, since they advocated for a bigger Germany while still keeping the Weimar Republic.

Got it, fixed it

[Sao Nova Europa]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD

Party Member Name: Heinrich Schneider
Member Ideology: Reformist
Date of Birth: 9 April 1867

Biography:

Heinrich Schneider was born on 9 April 1867 to a family of landed aristocrats. His ancestors had long served in the royal military, so it was only natural that Heinrich would be encouraged to follow a military career. From a young age, Heinrich showed he had a gift for history and mathematics. His natural intellectual capabilities were enhanced by the private tutors hired by his parents to provide him with the best education they could afford. It thus was of no surprise to anyone that young Heinrich passed easily and with distinction the entrance exams that would allow him to attend the Cadet School of his state. He was put in a class two years ahead of his age group, and thereafter he was consistently first in his class.

In 1887, Heinrich was commissioned as a subaltern into the 57th Infantry Regiment. Over the next eight years, he was promoted to lieutenant and saw further service in the 2nd Marine Battalion and in the 8th Grenadier Guards. During his service, he was praised by his superiors in reports and frequently recommended. In 1895, he entered the War Academy. The commandant of the War Academy recommended him to the General Staff, to which he was appointed in 1896. He rose rapidly and was a senior staff officer at the headquarters of V Corps from 1902 to 1904. By 1911, he was a full colonel.

Heinrich publicly endorsed the Social Democrats in 1912 (the election in which they became the largest party in the Reichstag), breaking with the protocol that disallowed military officers from intervening publicly in politics. This caused uproar and led to his temporary removal from Great General Staff, but raised his political profile amongst left-of-center voters and politicians.

With the outbreak of the Great War, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to the Second Army. On 16 August 1914, he led a successful assault on the Western Front. Due to his successful conduct, Heinrich was transferred to the Eastern Front to fight against the Russian Empire, under the command of General of the Infantry Hans Dieter. Heinrich was instrumental in inflicting a series of crushing defeats against the Russians, including at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. Their successes in the Eastern Front ensured that Hans and Heinrich became celebrities, their image further propped up by imperial propaganda.

On 29 August 1916, Hans Dieter became Chief of the Great General Staff while Heinrich was appointed First-Quartermaster General. The two military strongmen established a military dictatorship in all but name, and Heinrich became the architect behind Germany's entire military strategy and war effort. In this capacity, he secured Russia's defeat in the East, through the judicious use of chemical weapons to break enemy formations and then the pouring of troops through them to outflank the whole of the enemy position. With Russia out of the way, he launched a new wave of offensives in the West that resulted in advances not seen since the war's outbreak. However, by the end of 1918, the improvements in Germany's fortunes were reversed after its forces were defeated in a series of decisive battles on the Western Front. The Kaiser forced Heinrich to resign, as the population had grown agitated.

Heinrich, now sidelined, retired from public life. Instead, he decided to write a three-volume autobiography of his, published between 1921 and 1924. The autobiography attributed Germany's military successes primarily to Heinrich's military genius and the defeats to a witless, scared Kaiser. This autobiography caused some uproar among military veterans as they felt Heinrich was taking too much credit for himself, while also upsetting the monarchists because it shifted the blame for the defeats on the Kaiser. On the other hand, it quickly became a best seller and enhanced Heinrich's public standing amongst the general populace.

Once again considered a national hero, Heinrich used his celebrity status to join the SPD. Though some left-leaning MPs and voters were suspicious of a military strongman associated with the Imperial regime joining the SPD, reformists within the SPD accepted Heinrich with open arms as a celebrity candidate who could bolster their appeal among centrist voters. Heinrich belongs to the reformist wing of the party, believing in expanding the welfare state and bettering the rights of labor within the context of capitalism. On foreign policy, his views are more nationalistic than internationalist but he opposes any rash moves or tearing up Germany's international obligations.

[Khardsland]

SPD PARTY MEMBERSHIP CARD

Party Member Name: Heinrich Schneider
Member Ideology: Reformist
Date of Birth: 9 April 1867

Just to make sure I am not going crazy, I just need to confirm whether this Schneider of yours is the historical Nazi general who brutally killed resistance fighters as part of the SS.

[Sao Nova Europa]

Nah, a fictional character based on Erich Ludendorff but center-left.

[Khardsland]

Nah, a fictional character based on Erich Ludendorff but center-left.

Figured since their birth dates weren't matching. Anyways, I can approve this now that I'm aware that this isn't the cold-blooded SS murderer.