The Big Secret: Electromagnetic technology secretly keeps the planes weightless once the (noisy) jet engines are running, while propellers are only used to move the plane forward. EM is 10\^39 more powerful than Gravity, thus anti-gravity technology is trivial and simple to design, and was invented a very long time ago. Starting in WW2, this technology was built into the planes in such a way that their own pilots and engineers did not realize it. The planes became automated with all pilot decisions replaced by machines. Thus the Boeing Bombers could be piloted by a child of any age. Using children was the only way the Allies could get (teenage) air-force pilots into the planes and send them hundreds of miles on deadly bombing raids. Allied bombing raids using child pilots is the inspiration behind the book Ender's Game. Small helicopters, stunt planes and RC model toy planes do not need anti-gravity technology to fly, but all Boeing Bombers (i.e. B17, B52) absolutely did since they needed to carry a major payload (unlimited weight) in bombs. These automated over-sized cargo bombers were responsible for over 15 million deaths during the 20th century as they dropped Napalm and other incendiary bombs over 3 thousand human cities towns and villages. Had the Allies used normal anti-gravity technology to win the war honorably, they would have sent the Memphis Belle boys in flying saucers, and they wouldn't have used Napalm at all. The pilots would be well aware of the technology by the end of the war, and we'd all be in our own saucers today. It would have been quite different.

​

The key to winning WW2 was automation. The idea was to carry a payload of 10s of thousands of pounds of napalm, travel many hundreds of miles, and then drop the payload on the target. Anti-gravity technology + automation + child pilots was the magic combo the Allies used to pull it off. Of course we know the Germans had the same technology. What they did not have was the willingness to do to their enemies what their enemies were willing to do to them. Can you agree that saturated air bombing won WW2? All those ruined German houses in that movie The Pianist? 67 firebombed cities in Japan. There's a long list. This is how we won WW2. This is how NAZI Germany, North Korea, Japan, Vietnam and (recently) Yugoslavia were completely destroyed. This is why you CANNOT get an aviators license without DIRECT APPROVAL by the FAA, which requires a written and oral test proving that you 'understand' (believe in) aerodynamics heavier-than-air flight. This is why the NASA/Boeing boys club has always been so corrupted and inaccessible to women and minorities. This is why NASA is fake, created entirely in-house by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. This is why Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL) insists only jets are capable of propulsion needed for space travel, even though ion (EM) thrusters have been used in space probes since 1964. This is why Jumbo Jets have not improved in design in over 70 *YEARS*. This is why all Jumbo Jets look identical. Jumbo Jet Terrorism (9/11) justified further locking down every airport in the world. This explains ALL UFO SIGHTINGS. Clearly anti-gravity technology is being suppressed at a media-level. This explains CHEM-TRAILS since no human pilots are required. This is the secret NSA & TSA were created to protect. This is why basically everything you know about the ruinous 20th century, our darkest century. How does one keep such an obvious secret this whole time? Any country that doesn't go along with 'the plan' gets bombed instead of airports.

​

By Endless War.

​

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/boeing-bombers-won-ww2-using-suppressed-anti-gravity-napalm-asulin/?published=t

On an r/philosophy thread about that and not just seeing the usual answers like no space race or, if they'd still exist at all, Captain America, Wonder Woman, and Indiana Jones would all need new enemies (but on the plus side, a Captain America in a universe with no Nazis, though he'd have to have a new origin, would mean no Secret Empire and Hydra could be more nuanced bad guys), but people being so fatalist that they'd probably joke that even if you kidnapped baby Hitler and gave him to a Jewish family he'd just become a fanatical Jewish dictator calling for death to all Christians and/or Muslims, and people indirectly saying (through complicated reasons I won't get into here) the Holocaust is indirectly to blame for everything from Nintendo's success as a gaming company to all of the post-WWII rights movements for various minorities

In a world were animals are sentient and humans are the prey who would be the primary hunters of men

In a world ruled by apes instead of humans what would be their greatest scientific breakthrough.

Inspired by someone on r/crazyideas who blames it for Trump getting elected (because of the popularity of reality shows that it created). What I want to know about this hypothetical world is e.g. without the strike which shows might have gone on that didn't in our world thus making the actors too busy to take roles they otherwise took thus meaning the roles would have to be recast with someone else free which would change our portrayals of those characters or something like that

According to Suetonius and Tacitus, Germanicus (Tiberius's adopted son) died after becoming ill during his feud with the governor of Syria, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, on 10 October AD 19.

He was well respected by everyone and was Tiberius's favorite to become emperor after his death.

So what if he had lived past the age of 33 and went back to Rome?

In our TL, the U.S. supported a "freedom of choice" policy for Soviet Jews until 1989. Specifically, what this meant is that Soviet Jews who were able to leave the Soviet Union got a choice between immigrating to Israel or immigrating to the U.S. (or immigrating to yet another country, but few took that choice). However, in 1989, U.S. policy in regards to this changed. Specifically, as Soviet Jews were suddenly allowed to leave the Soviet Union en masse, the U.S. mostly closed its doors to Soviet Jewish immigrants and thus caused most of these immigrants to go to Israel instead. (Indeed, this is why I myself was born in Israel instead of the U.S.; my parents didn't have the option of immigrating to the U.S. when they left the collapsing Soviet Union in December 1991 and thus moved to Israel instead--where we lived until early 2001, when an opportunity to immigrate to the U.S. finally opened up for us.)

Anyway, would it have been plausible for the U.S. to keep its doors open to (ex-)Soviet Jewish immigrants after 1989? If so, what kind of PoD would this require?

Also, what effects would this have on both the U.S. and Israel?

What natural resource does the economy depend on?

How would human life be on it, assuming it formed at all ?

I've read scenarios about how such a world could form, like heavy asteroid bombardment early in history which would level the ground and create creaters.

What I'm wondering is :

• How would it affect biodiversity ?
• How would it affect resource formation (I heard that oil was in big part formed in oceans from algae, does it mean oil would be a much scarcer resource ?)
• How would human economic activity form and evolve over time ?
• What kind of society would be likely to form there ?

I know it's a lot of questions spanning many disciplines. Thank you all for your time and input !

EDIT: formatting

https://twitter.com/janemerrick23/status/873545640403402752

Here is my scenario for you:

German Prince Wilhelm (our TL's German Kaiser Wilhelm II) falls down the stairs, hits his head, descends into unconsciousness, and dies as a result of blood loss shortly afterwards; this event occurs in 1880. Thus, Wilhelm's younger brother Heinrich becomes the new heir to the Imperial German throne in this TL and becomes the German Kaiser after the death of both his father and grandfather in 1888. Unlike Wilhelm in our TL, Kaiser Heinrich refuses to engage in a naval arms race with Britain in this TL (though some German naval construction still occurs in this TL since the German Navy was a joke before the 1890s or so). Also, unlike Wilhelm in our TL, Kaiser Heinrich doesn't surround himself with conservatives and militarists and thus is more willing to cooperate with the German Reichstag (including the Social Democrats there) while also ensuring that a general European war doesn't break out in the 1910s. In addition to this, due to Kaiser Heinrich's moderation and large deference to the wishes of the German Reichstag, the liberal and socialist members of the German Reichstag certainly aren't in a rush to reduce the powers of the German Kaiser. (After all, since Kaiser Heinrich and his Chancellors already support them in regards to getting most of what they want, why rush to reduce the German Kaiser's power?) Also, in either the late 1910s or sometime in the 1920s, Kaiser Heinrich successfully cooperates with the German Reichstag to implement universal conscription in Germany; also, when some Junkers in the German military try plotting a coup against Kaiser Heinrich in response to this (after all, universal conscription = an end to the Junker monopoly over the German military), their plot gets discovered in the planning stages and all of these Junkers get put on trial for treason, get convicted for treason, and get shot afterwards.

Due to his successful diplomacy, Kaiser Heinrich is able to successfully create alliances between Germany, Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and Japan--in addition to reinforcing Germany's existing alliance with Austria-Hungary. Meanwhile, the Franco-Russian alliance is still eventually created in this TL both for economic reasons as well as due to the fact that Germany's ally Austria-Hungary and Russia become rivals in the Balkans. As for Italy, it eventually decides that joining the Franco-Russian alliance is better and thus dumps its alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary in favor of an alliance with France and Russia. Meanwhile, in either the late 1910s or sometime in the 1920s (depending on whether Franz Ferdinand gets put in charge of Austria-Hungary after Franz Joseph's death or whether Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Rudolf has a son instead of a daughter in 1883 in this TL who in turn gets put in charge of Austria-Hungary after Franz Joseph's death), Austria-Hungary descends into civil war as a result of Hungary's attempt to secede from Austria-Hungary. Due to both Germany and Britain threatening military intervention in support of Austria, Russia refuses to militarily assist this Hungarian rebellion. Thus, this Hungarian rebellion quickly gets crushed by Austrian forces--with some help from Romania (to whom Austria promised Transylvania in exchange for this; indeed, Austria's leadership has concluded that it is better to give up a little of Austria-Hungary's territory in exchange for having a better chance of preserving their empire over the long(er)-run). Afterwards, Austria fulfills its promise and transfers Transylvania to Romania--thus ensuring that Romania will never again be(come) hostile to Austria-Hungary. In addition to this, with its Hungarian and Romanian problems successfully taken care of, Austria-Hungary begins industrializing and developing its economy more aggressively than it previously had.

Due to his love of modern technology, German Kaiser Heinrich enthusiastically promotes the development of more modern military technology throughout his 40 year reign. As a part of this, Kaiser Heinrich successfully pushes through an extremely massive air force construction program in Germany once he realizes the value of air power in future wars and conflicts; indeed, since Germany didn't spend massive amounts of money on a naval construction program in this TL, Germany certainly had a lot of money to spend on its extremely massive air force construction program--a program that results in a German air force which is--in terms of air power--as powerful as the German army is in terms of land power. After Kaiser Heinrich dies due to cancer in 1929, he is succeeded by his eldest son, Kaiser Friedrich IV (who has a different name in this TL and who isn't a hemophiliac in this TL). In terms of his policies, Friedrich pretty much continues all of his father's policies and pretty much governs as his father had governed--specifically by pursuing smart diplomacy and by giving a lot of deference to the wishes and desires of the German Reichstag.

As for Russian Tsar Nicholas II, due to the butterfly effect, he has two sons in this TL--the hemophiliac Alexei and the non-hemophiliac Alexander. In turn, this allows Nicholas to remove Alexei from the line of succession to the Russian throne in favor of Alexander. However, Rasputin is still in the Russian court in this TL in order to treat Alexei; indeed, the combination of Rasputin's influence on Nicholas and Alexandra and the general incompetence of Nicholas's rule (with a revolution still occurring in 1905-1906 and with large amounts of labor unrest occurring at various points in time afterwards) eventually convinces some of the other members of the Russian royal family that an internal palace coup in needed. Thus, in 1926, Russian Tsar Nicholas II is ousted in an internal palace coup, put under house arrest somewhere in Russia together with his wife Alexandra and son Alexei (with Rasputin being killed during this internal palace coup), and gets replaced by his younger son Alexander (who becomes Russian Tsar Alexander IV). Alexander (who is in his 20s at this point in time and is also extremely ambitious) decides to clean both the Russian government and the Russian military of corruption, inefficiency, and mismanagement and thus fires a lot of incompetent Russian government officials (including at the very top) as well as firing a lot of incompetent Russian military personnel (including the generals at the very top). Of course, Alexander also governs like an autocrat just like his father Nicholas did; however, unlike his father Nicholas, Alexander governs as a smart and effective autocrat.

By the late 1930s, the Franco-Russo-Italian alliance become convinced that they can win a general war against Germany, Britain, and their allies. Thus, the French, Russians, and Italians increase their covert efforts and attempts to create some kind of ethnic provocation in either Austria-Hungary or the Ottoman Empire. In 1940, their efforts pay off when a small ethnic Italian rebellion breaks out in Trentino, Trieste, and Fiume (all of which are located within Austria-Hungary). In response to this rebellion (and with the support of both France and Russia), Italy quickly sends Austria-Hungary and ultimatum not to militarily crush this rebellion and instead to allow all of these areas to join Italy; when Austria-Hungary (backed by Britain, Germany, and its other allies) refuses to do this, Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary--thus triggering the various European alliances and causing World War I to break out 26 years later than in our TL.

While France, Russia, and Italy are initially extremely successful in this TL's World War I (with Russia invading and occupying Romania in order to bypass Austria-Hungary's Carpathian defenses and in order to link up with its Balkan ally Serbia), their attempt to quickly win World War I in this TL ultimately fails when France's advances in both Alsace-Lorraine and Belgium get halted by Germany, when Italy's advances in the Alps get halted at the Brenner Pass by both Germany and Austria-Hungary, and especially when Russia's advance to the outskirts of both Vienna and Berlin gets halted by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). (However, Russia, Serbia, and Italy are able to create a land corridor between their forces in Slovenia; in turn, this allows Russia to provide crucial supplies such as oil to both Italy and France.) While Germany is able to hold its ground, it is incapable of launching large-scale offensives against either France or Russia without British military assistance; thus, for the first 1-2 years of this TL's World War I, the front lines don't move too much. However, after Britain implements conscription and begins sending large amounts of British and British Empire troops to help its allies (especially Germany and Austria-Hungary), the tide in this TL's World War I gradually begins to turn in favor of Britain, Germany, and their allies. Eventually, Britain, Germany, and their allies break through on multiple fronts and thus force France, Italy, and Russia to all capitulate. (You can fill in the details yourself if you like.) Thus, this TL's World War I ends in either 1944 or 1945.

Anyway, my question here is this--what exactly would the post-World War I settlement in this TL look like?

Indeed, any thoughts on this?

Also, please keep in mind that the winners of this TL's World War I are Britain, the British Empire countries/dominions, Germany, the U.S. (which enters this TL's World War I after France launches USW in an attempt to force Britain out of the war), Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Japan, Romania, and Belgium (the last two of which were forced into this war when they were occupied by Russia and France, respectively).

Meanwhile, the losers of this TL's World War I are France, Italy, Russia, Serbia, and Montenegro.

Basically, what I am thinking of is this--if German Kaiser Wilhelm II, for whatever reason (such as an extremely severe head injury), gets a personality change shortly before he becomes the German Kaiser in 1888, would this series of events be plausible? :

-1890: German Kaiser Wilhelm II renews the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia and, to put the icing on the cake, offers to throw Austria-Hungary under the bus and to ally with Russia. Russia accepts this German offer due to its belief that Germany can be a good partner for partitioning Austria-Hungary between the two of them in the future.

-1890s: Germany strengthens its alliance with Italy (the Triple Alliance now becomes the Dual Alliance due to Austria-Hungary being thrown under the bus by Germany and thus being kicked out of this alliance) and its secret alliance with Romania. Sometime afterwards, both Russia and Romania formally join the Dual Alliance (of Germany and Italy) and thus transform it into the Quadruple Alliance (of Germany, Italy, Russia, and Romania).

-1903: After a successful pro-Russian coup in Serbia, Serbia joins the Quadruple Alliance and thus transforms it into the Quintuple Alliance (also known as the Central Powers Alliance).

-1917: Franz Joseph, the monarch of Austria-Hungary, passes away and is succeeded by his nephew Franz Ferdinand (who isn't assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914 in this TL). After the Auslgeich (Austro-Hungarian Union) collapses shortly afterwards and Austria-Hungary descends into civil war as a result of Hungary's attempt to secede, the Quintuple Alliance immediately seize their chance and invade Austria-Hungary (after staging some fake Austrian border attacks similar to what Nazi Germany did in regards to Poland in 1939 in our TL, of course).

While both Britain and France are extremely angry at this move on the part of the Quintuple Alliance, they don't actually do anything meaningful in response to this due to their belief that they cannot defeat such an extremely powerful alliance.

-1918: The Quintuple Alliance finishes (successfully) militarily crushing Austria-Hungary--forcing Franz Ferdinand to surrender to the Quintuple Alliance.

Afterwards, the Quintuple Alliance imposes this peace deal:

-Germany annexes (German) Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, and maybe northern Slovenia as well. -Russia annexes Galicia and either annexes or puppetizes Slovakia. -Italy annexes Trentino, South Tyrol (for defensive purposes), the Istrian Peninsula (including Trieste, of course), Fiume (Rijeka), and Dalmatia. -Romania annexes Transylvania and any other Romanian-majority parts of Austria-Hungary. -Serbia annexes Vojvodina, Bosnia, Croatia (minus Dalmatia and the Istrian Peninsula, of course), and either all of Slovenia (minus the Istrian Peninsula, of course) or only southern Slovenia (if Germany annexes northern Slovenia, that is). -The Hungarian separatists are allowed to remain in power if they agreed to transform Hungary into a neutral state (through a treaty--as was the case for Belgium) through which both the German bloc (Germany, Italy, and Romania) and the Russian bloc (Russia, Slovakia, and Serbia) have a freedom of passage (as well as to all of Hungary's territorial losses, of course). If the Hungarian separatists refuse to agree to all of these terms, then the Quintuple Alliance forcibly removes them from power in Hungary and imposes a new, more pliant Hungarian leadership who is willing to agree to all of these terms. (Indeed, having Hungary as a neutral state with freedom of passage for everyone would make it easier for Germans to access Romania and make it easier for Russians to access Serbia.)

Indeed, how exactly does all of that sound? :)

Also, how exactly does my scenario here sound in general? :)

Hopefully Europe-related alternate history questions are allowed here.

Anyway, here is my scenario:

Germany quickly wins World War I in the West in 1914 due to the French unwillingly "playing along to their own demise" 1940-style. Afterwards, Germany goes all out in the East and, after seeing that defeating the Russians is easier than expected, decides to get greedy--thus successfully acquiring Brest-Litovsk-style territorial gains in the East after it defeats Russia.

After its victory in World War I, Germany annexes the Polish Border Strip and expels the 2-3 million ethnic Poles and Jews who live there. Also, Germany creates German puppet states in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine in this scenario (as well as acquiring both Latvia and Estonia).

However, Germany realizes that, in the long-run, its dominant position in Eastern Europe could be extremely precarious if Poland eventually successfully breaks away from the German orbit (say, due to a Polish nationalist revolution) and allies with a resurgent Russia against Germany (in order to acquire the Polish Border Strip and very likely both Posen Province, the Polish Corridor, and Upper Silesia as well). Thus, to reduce this risk, Germany decides to have Poland (which is currently a German puppet state) annex all of the Polish-majority parts of the Russian Empire (including a Polish-majority strip which stretches all of the way up north to Vilnius and Dynaburg/Daugavpils) as well as to have Poland annex both Latvia and Estonia (which, from a historical perspective, isn't that far-fetched considering that most of these territories were previously a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth).

In this TL, the German mentality is this: If Poland eventually successfully breaks away from the German orbit, Poland is less likely to ally with Russia against Germany. After all, in such a scenario, the Poles might very well be grateful to Germany for previously allowing them to annex both Latvia and Estonia; plus, in such a scenario, the Poles and the Russians might have differing views on the future of both Latvia and Estonia--thus making a Polish-Russian alliance (against Germany, of course) less likely than it would have otherwise been. Plus, in such a scenario, at least some of the ethnic Poles and Jews who were expelled from the Polish Border Strip would be able to settle in Latvia and/or Estonia--thus resulting in less overpopulation problems in other parts of Poland. In addition to this, another plus for Poland in this TL is that Poland would get a corridor to the sea--specifically through Latvia and Estonia and going through Vilnius. :)

Anyway, how exactly would such a proposal have worked out in this TL? Also, what exactly would have been the consequences of such a proposal actually being implemented in the years and decades afterwards?

Any thoughts on this?

While the idea of a Judeophilic (philo-Semitic) Adolf Hitler might seem extremely radical considering what Hitler actually did to the Jews in real life, I don't think that this idea is completely implausible with a sufficient early "point of departure" (PoD) from real life. Indeed, here is what I am thinking of here:

Sometime in either the early 1920s or the mid-1920s (but before Mein Kampf is published; else, it would probably already be too late for Hitler to convincing do this), Adolf Hitler somehow (say, perhaps as a result of a head injury) experiences a small epiphany. As a result of this epiphany, Hitler realizes that not all Jews are bad and that rather many/most Jews are actually both loyal and patriotic towards Germany. (Indeed, such a view certainly wasn't radical during this time; after all, Winston Churchill wrote an article with a similar theme in 1920: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Zionism_versus_Bolshevism ) In addition to this, though, Adolf Hitler goes further than that in this TL; to elaborate on this, in this TL, Hitler (as a supporter and proponent of forcibly Germanizing neighboring ethnic groups and peoples) comes to admire most European Jews for their use of the Yiddish language (which, as far as I know, is mutually intelligible to the German language in its spoken form). Indeed, in this TL, Hitler believes that European Jews' use of the Yiddish language makes them more "Germanized" in comparison to other European ethnic groups such as Poles and Russians and thus believes that (Yiddish-speaking) European Jews are more deserving of respect and admiration than Poles, Russians, et cetera.

To clarify--in this TL, Adolf Hitler is still rabidly anti-socialist and anti-Marxist and an extreme German nationalist who supports using military force to acquire additional Lebensraum for Germany as well as who supports forcibly Germanizing neighboring ethnic groups and peoples (such as Poles and Russians whom he deems to be "worthy" of being Germanized). Indeed, the only thing that would be different about Adolf Hitler in this TL is that rather than viewing all Jews as being bad, Hitler would (like Winston Churchill in 1920) draw a distinction between (in Winston Churchill's own words) "good Jews" (as in, Jews who aren't actively involved in either socialist or Communist movements) and "bad Jews" (as in, Jews who are actively involved in either socialist or Communist movements). Plus, in this TL, Hitler would be proud of the fact that most European Jews speak Yiddish and use it as an example of a successful (partial) Germanization of a different ethnic group (in this case, the Jews) which he wants to emulate and copy in regards to other ethnic groups (such as Poles and Russians) whom he wants to put under Germany's control. (In turn, this would mean that Hitler would actually treat "good Jews" very favorably in this TL--as opposed to putting them in ghettos and concentration camps and committing genocide against them like he did in our TL.)

Now, one might wonder as to whether such a philo-Semitic position on Adolf Hitler's part would result in his leadership of the Nazi Party being successfully challenged. Frankly, I think that such a leadership challenge to Hitler is unlikely to have succeeded. After all, in this TL, Hitler is still both an extreme German nationalist and an extreme anti-Marxist and anti-socialist; rather, the only thing that is different about Hitler in this scenario is that he actually differentiates between "good Jews" and "bad Jews" rather than viewing all Jews as bad (like he unfortunately (and inaccurately) did in our TL). Plus, even in the 1920s, a large part--indeed, perhaps most--of the Nazi Party's success was probably attributed to Hitler; thus, having a philo-Semitic Hitler lead the Nazi Party in this TL is probably something that most members of the Nazi Party would tolerate--however reluctantly.

Meanwhile, in regards to the question of whether or not a philo-Semitic Hitler would have still been able to gain power in Germany in the early 1930s, I see absolutely no reason as to why exactly he would have been unable to do this. After all, as far as I know, most of the people who voted for Hitler (and for the Nazi Party) in the early 1930s didn't vote for him due to his anti-Semitism, but rather due to their belief that he can improve and fix the German economy. Indeed, I see absolutely no reason that this belief would be any different in this scenario.

Also, in regards to the consequences of a philo-Semitic Adolf Hitler being in power in Germany starting from 1933, here is what I think the consequences of this would have been:

-There would obviously be no anti-Semitic discrimination or mass killings of Jews in Germany and in German-controlled areas. (Of course, Jews who are active in socialist or Communist movements will be treated just like ethnic Germans and other ethnic groups who are active in socialist or Communist movements--as in, extremely badly; however, there will certainly be no specific anti-Jewish discrimination and anti-Jewish mass murder in this scenario.) -As a result of its lack of anti-Semitism, Nazi Germany is probably going to have a better image in the West in the 1930s in this scenario (at least until the start of World War II). -Germany's Jewish population doesn't massively emigrate during Nazi rule and survives World War II intact (since the Nazis certainly aren't going to be interested in killing German and European Jews en masse in this TL). -During its conquests in Eastern Europe (during World War II), Nazi Germany is going to actively seek cooperation and collaboration with Eastern Europe's Yiddish-speaking Jewish population. Due to the fond Jewish memories of German occupation of large parts of Eastern Europe during World War I (including by my Jewish great-great-grandparents), there would probably be many Jews (both in Germany and in other parts of Europe) who would be willing to cooperate and to collaborate with Nazi Germany in this TL. -The lack of Nazi German anti-Semitism might cause less Jewish scientists to immigrate to the U.S., which in turn might result in a somewhat slower nuclear weapons program in the U.S. and thus maybe in an outright U.S. invasion of Japan in either late 1945 or sometime in 1946 due to the fact that Japan probably won't unconditionally surrender to the Allies as early as it did in our TL (when two nuclear weapons were used by the U.S. against Japan). -The Jewish cooperation and collaboration with Nazi Germany in this TL is probably going to cause Joseph Stalin to deport Soviet Jews en masse to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Siberia, and/or Central Asia in this scenario after the end of World War II just like he did with the Crimean Tatars (and possibly with the Chechens as well) in our TL. -Due to their greater isolation from the major Soviet population centers (as a result of their post-World War II deportations to the middle of nowhere), Soviet Jews are probably going to be unable to try launching escape attempts from the Soviet Union like they tried doing in our TL. Thus, countries such as the U.S. would probably be less willing to accept Soviet Jewish refugees during the Cold War than they were in our TL. -Just like with some Volksdeutsche (such as some of the Black Sea Germans), I strongly suspect that, during its retreat from Eastern Europe, Nazi Germany will help evacuate many Yiddish-speaking (and thus "partially Germanized") Jews from Eastern Europe to Germany proper in order to help them escape the wrath of the Red Army. In turn, this might very well result in a much larger Jewish community after the end of World War II in comparison to 1933. -The U.N. certainly isn't going to approve the creation of Israel in this TL (due to the lack of Nazi genocide against the Jews). In turn, this means that while Zionist Jews in Palestine might very well stage an insurgency against both the British and the Palestinians, Israel is unlikely to survive for very long even if it wins its 1948-1949 war with the Arabs. After all, in this TL, Western countries are probably going to view Israel as a rogue, illegitimate state while the Soviet Union would probably be unlikely to help Israel out due to Soviet memories of Jewish cooperation and collaboration with Nazi Germany during World War II. In turn, this means that Israel probably isn't going to have any Great Power allies in this TL; thus, even if the Arabs will fail to destroy Israel in 1948-1949 in this TL, the Arabs will probably succeed in eventually destroying Israel in this TL (especially considering that the lack of Great Power support means that Israel's nuclear weapons program is going to advance at a slower rate/pace in this TL in comparison to our TL). -After the likely destruction of Israel (whenever it will occur) in this TL, Israel's Jewish population will probably immigrate to either Europe or the U.S.; indeed, I strongly suspect that a lot of Israeli Jews will immigrate to Germany in this TL due to the fact that post-World War II Germany will probably be the center of Western European Jewish life in this TL. -If the Soviet Union eventually collapses in this TL, then the large (and probably very assimilated) Jewish community in Germany in this TL (whose numbers will probably be significantly increased as a result of the evacuation of a lot of Jews from Eastern Europe to Germany during World War II) will lobby for Germany to accept extremely large numbers of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union (who, in this TL, have spent decades being stuck in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Siberia, and/or Central Asia). Indeed, given the influence of the Jewish community in Germany in this TL, I suspect that Germany's Jewish community will be successful in lobbying the German government to accept extremely large numbers of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union in this TL. -As a result of its extremely large, booming, vibrant, and thriving Jewish community in the late 20th and early 21st centuries in this TL, Germany will probably also be a magnet for large-scale Jewish immigration from other European countries (such as France, where there unfortunately appears to be a lot of Muslim anti-Semitism) in this TL--especially considering that Israel would have probably already been destroyed (and thus have ceased to exist as a state) by this point in time (as in, by the end of the 20th century) in this TL.

Anyway, any thoughts on everything that I wrote here?

Let's say that Otto von Bismarck accidentally hits his head on something extremely hard in late 1870 and has a personality change. Afterwards, Bismarck decides to annex resource-rich Briey and Longwy in addition to annexing Alsace-Lorraine in 1871. In turn, the loss of revenue that results from the loss of resource-rich Briey and Longwy cripples France for decades to come. Meanwhile, with the threat of France permanently eliminated, Bismarck (with German Kaiser Wilhelm I's and the German Reichstag's extremely reluctant approval) goes to war against Russia in 1877 with the excuse that he wants to help the Ottoman Empire preserve the balance-of-power in the Middle East (and with the desire to acquire some Russian territory for Germany).

Anyway, how successful would Germany have been in a war against Russia in 1877-1878 in this scenario? Frankly, I would say that Germany would have good odds of achieving at least a limited victory against Russia in this scenario considering that Germany's military leadership already has [b]a lot[/b] of battlefield experience from fighting and winning Prussia's previous wars against Denmark, Austria, and France and considering that Russia will [b]simultaneously[/b] have to fight against [b]both[/b] Germany [b]and[/b] the Ottoman Empire while Germany will [b]only[/b] have to fight against Russia in this war. (For the record, Germany and Russia appear to have been about equally industrialized in 1877-1878 if one looks at their total industrialization: http://www.beaconschool.org/~bfaithfu/greatdivergencecharts.pdf .)

However, I would certainly like to hear what other, more knowledgeable people have to say about this scenario of mine. :)

Indeed, any thoughts on this scenario of mine? :)

Let's say that German Kaiser Friedrich III either doesn't get throat cancer at all or gets surgery to eliminate his threat cancer in time. In turn, this means that German Kaiser Friedrich III is probably going to live much longer in comparison to real life. Now, let's say that Kaiser Friedrich III tries to implement various reforms in Germany of a democratic, anti-Junker, and anti-militarist nature. In turn, this results in large-scale resistance to Friedrich in the Prussian military, among the Junkers, among German conservatives, and possibly among the monarchs and leaderships of some other German states. Meanwhile, Friedrich III's desired reforms cause him to become very popular among left-leaning people (especially among socialists) in the German Empire.

Anyway, let's say that things somehow spiral out of control in Germany sometime in the 1890s and thus a civil war breaks out in Germany during this time. (For example, we can have Kaiser Friedrich III go on a foreign trip in the middle of his reform process in the 1890s. While Friedrich is abroad, a coalition of conservatives, Junkers, and militarists attempts to launch a coup in Berlin and to place Friedrich's eldest son Wilhelm on the German throne as the new German Kaiser. While this coup initially succeeds in Berlin and in some other parts of the German Empire, many left-leaning people (especially socialists) in Germany refuse to recognize the new German government, express their loyalty to Friedrich, and begin an armed uprising/rebellion against the new German government.)

How exactly would this civil war play out? What exactly will the ultimate outcome of this civil war be? Also, will other European Great Powers get involved in this war? If so, then exactly which European Great Powers will get involved in this war and on exactly whose side?

Indeed, any thoughts on this?

Also, for the record, the inspiration that I used here for the idea of an anti-Friedrich coup is the attempted (and unsuccessful) 1991 Soviet coup attempt in real life. Indeed, in both of these cases, conservatives try launching a coup in order to prevent liberal forces from winning and from destroying the old order and bringing in a new order.

Any thoughts on this?

Also, for the record, I am primarily talking about relatively sparsely populated Eastern European territories here (and if these relatively sparsely populated Eastern European territories have a history of ethnic German rule--such as Latvia and Estonia--then they work even better here).

Would Prussia have still annexed Hanover afterwards in this scenario?

Any thoughts on this?

Here is an interesting Alternate History scenario:

Imagine that you are Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in 1888, shortly after coming to power there (and Yes, unfortunately you still have a crippled arm). Your goal in this scenario is to try hard to pursue policies which will benefit Germany (morality be damned!) during the 50+ years of life which you have remaining at that point in time. What exactly would you do?

As for me, I would:

*Postpone my father Frederick III's plans to implement greater democracy in Germany for the time being in order to significantly decrease the odds of a conservative coup occurring against me.

*Immediately seek a limited rapprochement with France for the time being, with an eventual full rapprochement in France (which might very well include giving some or all of Alsace-Lorraine back to France) when the time for this will be appropriate (if ever, that is).

*Renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia in 1890 and possibly beyond as well.

*Subtly encourage some/many French and/or Russian Jews to immigrate to Germany in the hope that many of these Jews and/or their descendants will eventually help Germany.

*Approve some naval expansion for prestige reasons, but not nearly as much as in real life to avoid antagonizing Britain and to ensure that Germany would have more money to spend on its army, and later, on its air force as well.

*Seek an alliance with Britain (and, if possible, with the Ottoman Empire and/or Japan as well) and be willing to wait for a couple of decades if necessary.

*Avoid being a blundering and/or confrontational buffoon.

*Try encouraging the German military to focus a lot on strategic planning instead of only on tactics (I seriously doubt that I will be very successful in this regard, though) and to make preparations for a long war as well, rather than only for a short war.

*Spark a war with Russia (and, if necessary, with France as well) sooner rather than later in order to increase the odds of a German victory in this war. After all, without a war, Russia is eventually going to significantly dominate Europe; thus, Germany needs to "take Russia downa notch" beforehand as well as to acquire some living space in the Baltics (after all, I certainly want to increase Germany's population carrying capacity). :) Plus, this war can be portrayed as being a war in favor of national self-determination due to the fact that Germany will seek to free many non-Russian peoples from Russian rule. :)

*Try very hard to prevent Hindenburg and/or Ludendorff from ever taking too much power into their own hands during this TL's WWI.

*Frequently visit the German troops on the front lines during this TL's WWI in an effort to boost morale and to keep my own reputation high.

*After this TL's WWI, if Germany is victorious in it, then offer to help the German Social Democrats establish a British-style constitutional monarchy in Germany in exchange for having the Social Democrats agree to keep most of Germany's territorial gains in this TL's WWI after/if they succeed in modifying Germany's political system. This will probably cause German conservatives to (eventually) try launching a coup against me; thus, I myself will need to take great preparations to try my best to ensure that such a coup will not be successful.

*Early 1940s: Once I (as Kaiser Wilhelm II) will die, I will hopefully be remembered by many/most Germans as one of the best German leaders ever.

Thoughts on all of this?

OK--here is this scenario of mine (with a long TL beforehand :)):

-1866: Dmitry Karakozov successfully assassinates Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Thus, Alexander III becomes Tsar of Russia 15 years earlier than he did in our TL.

-1867: Tsar Alexander III sells Alaska to the United States of America. In addition to this, during this time, Tsar Alexander III becomes fascinated by the industrialization which is occurring in countries such as the U.S. and Britain and decides to actively encourage rapid industrialization in Russia as well. Thus, in this TL, Russia industrializes somewhat faster than it did in our TL.

-1868: Tsar Alexander III's eldest son, Nicholas, is born. Due to the butterfly effort, this TL's Nicholas is different from our TL's Nicholas (II). Indeed, this TL's Nicholas (II) is thankfully less of a dunce that our TL's Nicholas (II) was. :)

-1879: Tsar Alexander III decides to build two double-track Trans-Siberian Railways as a part of his program to try rapidly industrializing Russia.

-1882: The Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy is signed.

-1888: Wilhelm II becomes Kaiser of Germany.

-1894: The Franco-Russian alliance is signed. Several months later, Tsar Alexander III of Russia dies at age 49. His son Nicholas II becomes the new Tsar of Russia. Shortly afterwards, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia marries French Princess (in exile) Helene of Orleans.

-1903: Russia's two double-track Trans-Siberian railways are finally completed.

-1904: The Russo-Japanese War breaks out. Also, the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale is signed.

-1905: The Russo-Japanese War ends with a Russian victory on land (indeed, Russia successfully occupied all of Korea in this TL) and with a Japanese victory at sea (due to the decisive and lopsided Japanese victory at Tsushima). Due to the defeat and debacle at Tsushima, Russian Tsar Nicholas II orders a shake-up of the Russian military and decides to make the Russian military more merit-based (thus allowing commoners to rise to high positions in the Russian military).

-1907: The Anglo-Russian Entente is signed.

-1914: An assassination attempt on Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary fails. Meanwhile, Ireland descends into massive trouble and unrest.

-1915: The Anglo-Russian Entente fails to be renewed, but Britain's and Russia's close ties to France still bind these two countries together.

-1916: Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary dies at age 86. Afterwards, due to its fear(s) of the anti-Hungarian plans of new Emperor Franz Ferdinand, Hungary secedes from Austria-Hungary and requests Russian assistance. Russia agrees to military intervene on Hungary's side in this war, thus activating the European alliance system and sparking World War I in this TL. At the start of this TL's World War I, Germany utilizes the Schlieffen Plan and invades Belgium and France before having its advance halted at the Marne. meanwhile, Russia makes total mincemeat of the Austrian Army and links up to its Hungarian allies. In addition to this, Russia defeats the German Army in East Prussia and forces the Germans to retreat to the Vistula River. Meanwhile, in Budapest, Russo-Hungarian forces decisively defeat German-Austrian forces. Afterwards, Russia and its Hungarian and Serbian allies race towards Vienna. However, the Russians and their Hungarian and Serbian allies logistically overextend themselves and are halted by the Germans and Austrians near the outskirts of Vienna. However, this defense of Vienna is costly to the Germans; indeed, the German troops which were moved from eastern Germany to the Vienna area weakened Germany's position on its own eastern territory and thus helped allow Russia to advance from the Vistula River to the Oder and Eastern Neisse Rivers.

-1917: Russia and its Serbian and Hungarian allies successfully capture southern Austria, including the city of Trieste, thus creating a land route between them and Italy. Shortly afterwards, Italy enters World War I on the side of the Triple Entente and attacks Austria in the north. Meanwhile, Germany and Austria make a desperate attempt to recapture Budapest and fail. Afterwards, Russia and its Hungarian and Serbian stage a decoy attack on Vienna while having Russia launch its main attack in Silesia. The Germans and Austrians take the bait and their unpreparedness allows Russia to successfully capture Silesia and to advance into Czechia afterwards, capturing Prague. Meanwhile, a Franco-British attack on the Western Front fails to break through the German trenches.

-1918: Russia launches an invasion of Germany through Czechia and also successfully crosses the Oder River. Desperate, Germany quickly withdraws its troops from Vienna and successfully defends both Saxony and Berlin from these Russian invasions. However, this German withdrawal from Vienna allows Russia and its Hungarian and Serbian allies to successfully capture Vienna and thus to knock Austria out of the war. Feeling the heat, Germany announces a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean shortly afterwards. As a result of this decision, the U.S. declares war on Germany shortly afterwards. Meanwhile on the Western Front, a Franco-British offensive successfully breaks through the German lines as a result of German sending some of the troops from the Western Front to protect itself against the Russian forces on the Eastern Front. Shortly afterwards, realizing that the war is lost, Germany sues for peace.

-1919: The Treaty of Versailles is signed. In this treaty, Russia acquires Galicia, Posen, the Polish Corridor, the Memelland, southern East Prussia, and Russian puppet states in both Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Meanwhile, Russia's Serbian ally acquires all or almost all of the South Slav-majority areas in the Balkans. Since the Ottoman Empire was neutral in this TL's World War I, it obviously does not lose any territory after the end of World War I in this TL. In addition to all of this, Russia eagerly loots [b]a lot of industrial equipment and machinery in the parts of Germany and Austria-Hungary which were under Russian occupation at the end of World War I. In turn, this strengthens Russia's industrial might even more in this TL.

-The 1920s: Russia begins a policy of agitation in relation to the Armenian, Kurdish, and Arab subjects of the Ottoman Empire, hoping to get some or all of these Ottoman subjects to rebel against Ottoman rule.

-The 1930s: Russia continues and escalates this policy of agitation in relation to the Ottoman Empire, infuriating both Britain and the United States of America.

-1945: Russia's policy of agitation finally pays off when a large-scale Arab rebellion in the Ottoman Empire breaks out (for the record, the Ottomans did not dare provoke any of these minority groups due to their fear of a Russian invasion of the Ottoman Empire). Russia gives the Ottoman Empire an ultimatum to withdraw from all of the Arab-majority areas of the Ottoman Empire and to allow one or more independent Arab states to be set up there. When the Ottoman Empire refuses to agree to this Russian ultimatum, Russia invades both the Ottoman Empire and Persia (both for Persia's oil and to use Persia as a gateway to the Ottoman Empire for Russian forces). In response to this, and due to their accurate fear that Russia wants to control both the Straits and the Middle East's oil reserves, both Britain and the U.S. declare war on Russia. In response to this declaration of war, Russia sends a decoy force to invade Afghanistan in order to divert British and American attention from both Persia and the Ottoman Empire. Also, it is worth noting that, in this war, Russia wants to conquer both Persia and the entire Ottoman Empire extremely quickly and to entrench itself there while hoping that Britain and the U.S. would eventually bleed themselves to exhaustion and agree to both end the war and to support a pro-Russian (post-war) peace settlement.

Anyway, how exactly would this war turn out? Any thoughts on this? Also, any questions about this TL and scenario of mine?

Historically speaking, I know that the U.S. acquired (either through peaceful means, such as the Louisiana Purchase--or through conquest, such as the Mexican Cession) a lot of additional territories in the 1800s which it then proceeded to use as Lebensraum (living space).

Likewise, a victorious Germany in World War I (or in World War II, but I certainly don't want to go there) could have conquered territories such as Estonia, Livonia, and Courland and have used these territories as Lebensraum (living space) afterwards.

After all, a victorious Germany could have encouraged the ethnic Germans in Russia to settle in the Baltic states as well as to encourage ethnic Germans from Germany proper to settle in cities and suburbs in the Baltic states. Plus, some German nationalists might have settled in the Baltic states in this scenario for nationalistic reasons; indeed, Estonia, Livonia, and Courland were previously controlled by the Teutonic Knights.

Plus, Estonia, Livonia, and Courland combined probably only had a population of somewhere between 2.5 and 3.0 million and thus probably wouldn't have been too difficult for a victorious Germany to gradually demographically overwhelm (even without any expulsions of ethnic cleansing).

Anyway, what I am wondering is this--exactly which additional countries, if any, could have really acquired additional territories after 1800 and then used these territories on a large scale for Lebensraum (living space)?

Also, for the record, my extremely strong preference for this scenario would be to completely avoid things such as expulsions, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.

Anyway, any thoughts on this question and scenario of mine?

Also, to clarify--I certainly oppose using force to conquer territories for Lebensraum (living space) due to the fact that it is a violation of the principle of self-determination. However, in spite of this, I am nevertheless extremely curious about this topic.

For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_of_Russia

Frankly, I am curious if a surviving U.S. President James Garfield would have been less willing to compromise with the anti-Chinese immigration politicians than U.S. President Chester Arthur was in real life.

Indeed, any thoughts on this?

Hello! I hope no one minds me posting this here.

I'm the admin of a new alternate history discussion forum called AltHistoria. We're dedicated to providing a civil and inclusive space for people to speculate on alternate history, make alternate history art, play alternate history games, and so forth. We'd love to have you as part of our community, so if you're interested in alternate history discussion (as well as discussion on fantasy and sci-fi worlds) please feel free to check our forum out! You can find AltHistoria here: http://althistoria.proboards.com/

And if you have any questions about the forum, please feel free to ask me! :)

Here is your Alternate History Challenge (AHC): Have Ukraine currently be an independent country (as in, an independent country which is not only de facto independent, but also has its independence recognized by all other countries, including Russia) in a TL where the Bolsheviks never come to power in Russia and where Russia doesn't lose any major wars after 1910*.

Also, for the record, the PoD (from our TL) for this TL in 1910.

*World War I can still occur in this TL. However, Russia has to avoid losing this TL's World War I, which in turn might mean having both Lenin and Trotsky die in some mysterious accidents in the early 1910s. In turn, this will probably butterfly away the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and will thus probably ensure that Russia will remain in World War I until the very end of this war (if necessary, by retreating to the east of the Ural Mountains and by holding out until the Western Allies will defeat Germany on the Western Front).

Finally, for the record, I would like to point out that I created this AHC due to the fact that I have come to believe that OTL's post-1991 internationally recognized Ukrainian independence from Russia is something of a historical fluke which probably wouldn't have occurred without either a prior Bolshevik Revolution in Russia or a Russian defeat in a major war.

Anyway, any thoughts on this AHC of mine?

Any thoughts on this?