2011 Putsch

The 2011 Putsch was an attempt by the reactionary State Committee for the Salvation of the Greater German Reich, led by Reichsführer-SS Lothar Prützmann, to topple Führer Heinz Buckliger and undo the reforms he'd instituted. The Putsch acted after Buckliger scheduled free and fair elections for 10 July 2011.

Prützmann grew steadily alarmed by the reforms Buckliger was pushing for throughout the year 2010, but was too loyal a Nazi to criticize the Führer publicly. As the year progressed, Gauleiter of Berlin, Rolf Stolle also began criticizing Buckliger--for not reforming the Reich more rapidly. Prützmann initially opted to oppose both of these men subtly, including attempts to drown out one of Stolle's speeches with a marching band, and the publication of an article entitled Enough is Enough, credited to Dr. Konrad Jahnke, designed to refute Buckliger's reforms.

After these schemes failed, Prützmann and the SS organized the State Committee for the Salvation of the Greater German Reich and launched the Putsch in June 2011. The SS detained Buckliger at his vacation home in Hvar, Croatia, and Prützmann installed High Commissioner for Ostland Affairs Odilo Globocnik as the interim Führer. The SS seized the state television and radio stations, and ordered that there be no demonstrations.

However, things fell out of Prützmann's control quickly. Globocnik made one televised speech that was an incoherent ramble; his dismeanor was clearly one of panick and uncertainty, inspiring no one. The Wehrmacht was not represented in the Committee, nor did it approve of the Putsch. When one TV station in Berlin refused to submit to the Security Police, a gun battle ensued between the Police and the studio's guards. A Wehrmacht colonel watching at Oberkommando der Wehrmacht sent two companies of men to hold the station off against the Security Police at all costs.

No sooner was the order given than Rolf Stolle himself was able to patch into the studio from the Gauleiter's residence to denounce the arrest of Buckliger. While the picture was cut, Stolle called the studio back and requested that the people of Berlin come to his residence. Prützman sent a detachment of troops to arrest Stolle, but with all of Berlin watching, the SS was suddenly indecisive as to their next course of action.

In the meantime, Prützmann himself took to the televisor waves to denounce Buckliger's reforms as the actions of an overworked man. He affirmed that Aryan supremacy must always be the Reich's goal, and that under Globocnik, the Reich would return to these goals.

However, the SS weren't as efficient as they wanted the world to believe. Within a few short hours, a substantial crowd stood outside Rolf Stolle's residence, and Stolle was still able to appear on the air, exhorting the people to stand against "Loathsome" Lothar Prützmann.

The SS responded by sending panzers in. While some of the crowd lost its nerve, most surged forward to meet the panzers. One person was crushed in a panzer's treads, which further hardened the crowd. Stolle himself appeared at his doorstep to shout down the SS, and made it clear he would not surrender.

Meanwhile, rumors had begun circulating that Prützmann was in fact Jewish (rumors started by Esther and Walther Stutzman, themselves secret Jews living in Berlin), which quickly shredded the limited credibility the Putsch had. Despite Prützmann's insistance to the contrary, the rumors continued to gain traction. The rumor was brought to Stolle's attention by a Berlin police officer. Stolle gleefully taunted his would-be captors with it. When the SS men denied it, the crowd responded by chanting "Prützmann is a kike!"

With one station out of the Committee's control, the events of the day were broadcast to the world. Soon various political leaders, lead by British Prime Minister Charlie Lynton, denounced the Putsch. Among them were the leaders of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France, and the Netherlands. The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia angrily declared its independence from the Reich in response to the Putsch. Italy, on the other hand, made no comment. Shortly after this news was announced, the SS was finally able to seize the Berlin station. Horst Witzleben, anchor of the Seven O'clock News appeared and parrotted the Committee's propaganda (albeit grudgingly).

By then, it was too late for the Putsch: the Wehrmacht moved in support of Buckliger. Wehrmacht panzers arrived in front of Stolle's residence. The SS men surrendered, and a convoy moved to Prützmann's residence. Prützmann, realizing he'd failed, shot himself before the Wermacht could arrest him. The Wermacht arrested Globocnik at his home after he failed in his suicide attempt, but a crowd of citizens rushed forward, took him from his captors, beat him to death, and left his corpse hanging from a tree.

The 2011 Putsch, lasting roughly 24 hours, was over. Buckliger was able to carry out his reforms, but Stolle had gained considerable credibility for having not been detained. It was clear that he would be in the position of authority moving forward. The elections took place on 10 July, and reformers captured a majority in the Reichstag.