Die Wacht Am Rhein is played. Images of the Kaiser, his son, the Armed Forces and bright views of cities and farms flash across the screen. These fade away to a black card upon which, in white gothic writing, is written ‘Die Deutsche Wochenschau’.
News from around the world! All the pictures and quotations that shaped this week in world affairs.
A montage of images of Chancellor Tirpitz appear, along with footage of his casket being transported from his home, draped under the banner of the Reich.
Germany mourns this week as her greatest Chancellor since Bismarck himself passes away. Chancellor Alfred von Tirpitz, who had been in the post since 1924, led Germany through her greatest period of economic growth and imperial glory since the 1870s. In the aftermath of the Weltkrieg, it was he who proposed the consolidation of our African holdings into Freistaat Mittelafrika, and sent war hero Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck to rule the new state. In other overseas matters, it was under his skilful command that Germany intervened in the chaos of post-Weltkrieg China, restoring the rightful Emperor Puyi to his throne and establishing the mighty AltOstasien Gmbh as a company that worked across southern China to build prosperity for Chinese and wealth for Germans.
A noble and respected statesman abroad, Tirpitz was also a skilful and diplomatic leader in internal affairs. As well as keeping the threat of Syndicalism at bay on our borders with France, he steered Germany to a new age of imperial prosperity, while remaining true to our strong imperial traditions. The Kaiser himself mourned him on Sunday, declaring that the Reich has lost its finest living servant. He also announced that he will, 'with a heavy heart', begin the deliberations on who to appoint as Tirpitz's successor.
The emblem of Mittelafrika appears, transposed upon the area of the continent that it controls, followed by images of Lettow-Vorbeck, Goering and Schultz-Ewerth.
In colonial news, flying ace and war hero Hermann Goering arrived in Mittelafrika last Tuesday to begin his role as the new Statthalter of the Freistaat. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck returned from Africa at the beginning of this month, claiming his work was done. Goering, along with his new Vice-Statthalter Erich Schultz-Ewerth, were praised by the Kaiser as they were sworn into their new posts. Goering thanked his majesty for the kind words and pledged to uphold German dignity in her colonies, and expanding where Mittelafrika's interests demanded it. These words caused consternation among members of the Reichstag sitting for the Progressive People's Party, who branded Goering a sabre-rattler unfit for such high office. Ernst Roehm of the Greater German People's Party, however, praised Goering for his 'strong stance against the crawling influence of Syndicalism on the dark continent', a reference to the recent Red insurrections faced by Haile Selassie in Ethiopia.
Images of factory chimneys, road and railway construction and dockyard workers appear in sequence, interspersed where appropriate with pictures of Gustav Krupp and Hjalmar Schacht.
Germany's economic miracle continues this spring, with Gustav Krupp working with fellow senior industrialists from IHK-Mitteleuropa and the Finance Minister Hjalmar Schacht to produce a new document entitled 'Expanding upon Expansion'. The document contains within it ideas to build new and better transport links between Germany's industrial centres, along with an emphasis on developing the long-awaited publicly affordable automobile, the Reichswagen. Mr Krupp confirmed that prototypes are now being drawn up, with the aim of having the car on the road by 1936.
Footage of a football match is shown, with following shots of stadiums, crowds and a trophy in the style of the goddess Germania.
Finally, in sporting news, the final preparations are underway for the first ever Mitteleuropa Cup. The football tournament will be the first formally arranged tournament between the nations of Europe in history, and Germany is deeply honoured to be hosting it. Austria, Ukraine and White Ruthenia are all seen as contenders for the title, but it is the opinion of this news office that the team to back is none other than our Fatherland itself. Whatever the result, the nations of Mitteleuropa will surely enjoy coming together in the best stadiums and bars the continent can offer. Here's to a fine sporting summer!
