From the Ashes (46 page)

The other historical characters mentioned in the novel, including Henry Lewis Stimson, Franz von Papen, Paul von Hindenburg, and, of course, Adolf Hitler, were based off of their real-life counterparts. The roles of Papen, Hindenburg, and Hitler in bringing about Nazi rule in Germany (except for the American bribes that I have Papen taking from Stimson’s agents) are all based on historical fact.

There really were a number of top businessmen – German, American, and otherwise – who saw the strong right-wing rule of the Nazi Party as a boon. Although its infamous anti-Semitism was always a key component to Nazism, what drew many to their ranks was a longing for the days of German self-determination and empowerment – rather than the weak Weimar government that had been foisted upon them at Versailles in 1919. In the midst of the Great Depression, the gains that communism was making as a result of the public’s damaged perception of capitalism, many business leaders whose power and way of life was entrenched in the capitalistic system saw a strong right-wing government as the best way to fight back. Here in America, there was even talk of a plot financed by Wall Street bigwigs to overthrow President Roosevelt in a Fascist coup (known today as the Business Plot), a plan that, because of its sensitive nature and its inability to move past the preplanning phase, was largely swept under the rug by contemporary sources. It was a volatile climate of warring extremes, each offering their own solution to the desperate challenges presented by ongoing economic, social, and ideological strife.

Ultimately, though, Operation Phoenix – the conspiracy between then-Secretary of State Henry Lewis Stimson and industrial tycoon John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to stave off the march of communism by helping to resurrect a strong right-wing government in Germany as a bulwark to protect capitalism in the West – is my creation. Would these two men have had the means, motive, and opportunity to have devised and executed such an operation? Most likely, yes. But did anything like this actually happen? That, dear reader, I leave for you to decide.

Jeremy Burns is a former educator and journalist who holds degrees in History and Computer Science. He taught literature, political science, creative writing, and philosophy at an international school in Dubai, and has traveled to more than twenty countries across four continents. When not exploring a new corner of the globe, he lives in Florida, where he is working on his next novel.

For more info about Jeremy and his upcoming projects, visit his website,
www.AuthorJeremyBurns.com
and his Face-book author page,
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