James was off balance. This is an unexpected twist! He was at a loss for words. When he recovered, all he could say was, “I always thought that is what you would want.”
Magda could see James was disconcerted and she tried to lighten the moment. With a beautiful smile she said, “I am quite happy as I am, Mister Blackthorn.” She grasped one of his hands and held it to her cheek. “Why change things and risk causing upsets in your life?”
James was floundering. Twice he opened his mouth to say something. Each time he stayed quiet. Finally he managed a weak response, “I suppose I did take it for granted that you would like to be married. I should have discussed it with you.”
“Yes, darling. Now let us leave the subject alone. Let us see how we feel next year. I would hate anything to spoil what we have.” She got up from the table, stood behind him and gave him a hug. The kiss she planted on his neck sent shivers down his spine.
He cheered up a little. “I agree. Tomorrow is another day.” He stood up abruptly, a smile now back on his face. “Come on, let’s find a gondola for a last tour through the canals.”
Nevertheless, James was troubled by Magda’s attitude. It was something he just could not understand. His mind returned to the subject continually in the following months.
Independence had not engendered much goodwill in India. A localised but vicious border war had started between Pakistan and India over the princely state of Kashmir.
The ‘princely states’ were historical anachronisms. They were nominally sovereign entities in India, each with an indigenous traditional ruler. They had never legally been British territories, only allied to the British Crown. Accordingly they could not actually be included in the partition of India.
With the passing of the India Independence Act, the suzerainty of the British crown over the princely states was abruptly terminated. They were now independent states. They were also defenceless against the immeasurably larger states of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
At the time of Indian independence there were five hundred and sixty five, mostly very small, princely states. It was obvious to any impartial observer that their continued independence was doomed. The politicians of the three newly independent large states would already have their covetous eyes on them.
In the case of Kashmir, this large state sandwiched between India and Pakistan, had an eighty percent Muslim population, but its ruler, the Maharaja, was a Hindu. Acting in the traditional style of a despot, he ignored the wishes of his majority Muslim subjects, and acceded Kashmir to India.
The Indian politicians also had few concerns for the people of Kashmir. They coveted the territory and were prepared to go to war for it.
Von Altendorf told a bemused Council audience that he had received a request for military assistance from the newly independent state of Bangladesh. Like Libya at the time of their own independence, they were turning away from the previous colonial power and wanted Germany to re-equip and train their army and air force. They would also look to Germany for ships for their navy, but wanted to retain British officers to train their sailors. They had told von Altendorf that they had taken note of what had happened in China in 1941 and Libya in 1944. They were impressed with Germany’s achievements.
As usual in these cases, they could only afford a small initial deposit for their arms purchases, with the balance by way of deliveries of agricultural and other commodities. He passed a copy of the requirements to all present. The list included automatic rifles, machine guns, mortars, mobile artillery, tanks, aircraft and ships.
This was good business for Germany. They already had a similar, though much smaller, arrangement with Libya following that country’s independence from Italy. The population of Libya was only one million. Bangladesh’s population was twenty times greater.
The Governing Council approved the request subject to Bangladesh meeting the usual criteria, i.e. ability to pay, relatively stable regime and economy, no communist influence within the country, and no discernible targets of attack by the Bengalis.
Von Brauchitsch added one more condition, discreet approval by the British Government. Bangladesh was, after all, in their sphere of influence.
Albert Speer gave yet another upbeat report of the buoyant state of German industry. Shipbuilding continued to break new records, as did the aircraft, motor and mining industry. The countrywide transport infrastructure upgrade approved four years earlier, was now almost complete and was already paying dividends in the form of speedier movement of goods and people. Unemployment stood at only three percent of the working population. Everything was good.
He added that this figure of three percent unemployed was a genuine one, unlike the low unemployment figures boasted of by the pre-war Nazi government. Those had been artificially low because of mass conscription, combined with career opportunities for women being curtailed.
Hjalmar Schacht had officially retired the previous week. He had introduced his successor, the deputy Minister of Economics, Ludwig Erhard, to the Council earlier in the year, to allow him time to get to understand the individuals involved and the way they worked.
Erhard was forty eight years old, with a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Frankfurt. He had covertly supported the German resistance during the Nazi period and had first come to Schacht’s attention ten years earlier. When the new Economics Ministry was formed after the demise of Hitler, Erhard had been offered a senior position by Schacht. His talents had eventually led to promotion to deputy minister the previous year, and to Economics Minister last week. Schacht was satisfied that he was leaving Germany’s economic and financial affairs in safe hands.
Erhard now gave his first report to the Council as Minister. He had learned from old Schacht not to pad reports with waffle and keep things simple. He let the Council know that Germany’s balance of trade continued to remain in surplus, the country’s monetary reserves were still increasing, and he had already started work on the budget for the following year. No words wasted.
He was commended by the rest of the Council and warmly welcomed in his new capacity as Minister.
The Aviation Minister advised that work on the Komet was proceeding splendidly, and Rolls Royce had confirmed the same with regards to their jet engines, which they had named the Avon.
Focke-Wulf were also now producing limited numbers of a military, long range, maritime reconnaissance version, of the Starflight. Apart from a small number for their own Luftwaffe, it was expected to sell these to several members of the European Alliance. France, Holland, Italy and Spain had expressed an interest. Outside the Alliance, China was also interested in the aircraft.
General Beck confirmed that despite the extreme vigilance of his intelligence services, no signs could be found of any increased pace in Soviet re-armament. If anything it had become more leisurely in recent months. His operatives inside the Soviet Union also reported no obvious anti-German or anti-Alliance propaganda, and there even seemed to be a slight thawing in the coolness normally displayed by Soviet officials when meeting with their European counterparts.
“I hope they are not trying to lull us into a false sense of security,” he added.
The only other main contribution was from von Brauchitsch who confirmed that Professor von Braun was making good progress with an accurate guidance system for the A4 rocket. He had also started work on a bigger rocket with a longer range and designed to carry a much bigger payload. This one could reach Leningrad. Imagine a weapon that could take out the Russian city, one thousand kilometres away! Or an enemy aircraft carrier hundreds of kilometres out to sea!