die Glocke Files: The Inner Circle

die Glocke Files: The Inner Circle

NOTE: Please note this is a work of fiction, based on the Reich Star roleplaying game and the events that are fictionalized there in. This information is part history and part adaptation to the fictional world of the Reich Star universe.  In the original RPG Core Rulebook by Creative Encounters, little details are given about Hitler’s assassination in 1941, but it is assumed that Himmler had something to do with it (as he succeeded him). All of this stems from this line in the core rulebook timeline on page 184.

1942: Hitler assassinated by a young Jew named Edwin Rosenbaum. (Rumors suggest a cover up in that this was actually carried out by people within the government and Rosenbaum was merely a scapegoat.)

Himmler became the new Fuhrer. Deputy Fuhrer Hess dies in an automobile accident.

Page 184 Reich Star, Creative Encounters

This is in no way written to glorify these men for they were all war criminals. This is to spur on inspiration for a campaign within in the Savage Reich Star setting that I am developing and calling The Legacy of the Fuhrer.


The Inner Circle

Adolf Hitler’s inner circle were the most powerful men in the Third Reich, before his assassination. It was a finely balanced team of military commanders, administrative leaders and Ministers of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). This is a list of Hitler’s top 10 henchmen, who they were and a brief explanation of their roles.

 

Martin Bormann

Bormann-Party-25.2.39

Head of the Nazi Party Chancellery (a role previously called Deputy Fuhrer until Hess defected and Bormann replaced him with the new title), Hitler’s Personal Private Secretary, controlling all information passed to and from Hitler and controller of all personal access to Hitler. He had final approval over all legislation and de facto control over all domestic matters.

A key holder of the secrets of Hitler, Bormann was not only completely unaware of the plot to assassinate Hitler but also the contingency plans laid out by Joachim von Ribbentrop.  Weeks before the assassination, Bormann had obtained information that drew his suspicions about von Ribbentrop but he did not have time to act on them.  It is assumed that Bormann was to be killed in the same assassination attempt as he was supposed to be with Hitler at the time.  However, von Ribbentrop and his allies had arranged for Bormann’s kidnapping hours before he was to leave.

Bormann was shipped off by the von Ribbentrop “underground railroad” to somewhere in western Europe and eventually to South America.  Along with him was everything von Ribbentrop’s agents could carry.  Other agents, once Bormann capitulated, were able to obtain a large portion of Hitler’s wealth, which Bormann was skimming from for years.  Much of it was in the form of Nazi gold.

 

 

 

Walther Funk

Walther-Funk1

The Reich Minister of Economics, President of the Reichsbank and State Secretary at the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. A qualified economist, lawyer and philosopher; he was also editor of the financial newspaper the Berliner Börsenzeitung. He was a member of the board of directors of the Bank for International Settlements, based in Switzerland.

In 1942, he was a close friend to Hitler and present at the assassination.  He was reportedly wounded in the shoulder and was rushed away by SS officers.  Publicly, there are no known facts behind what happened to Funk.

In truth, these SS Officers were loyalists to the conspiracy behind the assassination.  Funk, the holder of the purse strings, was the most important person to these conspirators.  He was held in a secret Nazi prison until he gave up the location of the Nazi gold and the secrets behind his financing of the party and Hitler’s regime.

Wilhelm Keitel

Wilhelm-Keitel-640x584

Field Marshal of the German Army (Wehrmacht), Chief of the Supreme High Command of the German Armed Forces (OKW) and Chief of Defence for Germany, Hitler’s Chief of Staff. Keitel was vocal in his opposition to many of Hitler’s strategic plans, primarily the invasion of France.  He attempted to resign but Hitler refused to allow it.  Seeing this discontent, Himmler glot close to Keitel and it is rumored that Keitel also had a role in the assassination.  It is also rumored that he regretted the decision because he was found hung in his quarters the day of the assassination.

 

Joseph Goebbels

Joseph_Goebbels_1934-539x640

Reichsminister for Propaganda for Nazi Germany, with control over all news media, arts and public information in Germany.  He was known for his deliverey  of emotionally charged speeches to mobilise and motivate the German people.  One of Hitler’s staunchest supporters, he too was a target of von Ribbentrop’s agents.  What they did not know was that he was complicent in the assassination plans.  The agents were arrested and vigorously interrogated.  They never gave up von Ribbentrop name or his plans.

Hermann Göring

Goering-captivity-texas-flag-640x512

Goring was Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), founder of the Gestapo in 1933, Minister of the Economic Four Year Plan, Reichsmarschall, senior to all other Wehrmacht commanders, and in 1941, designated by Hitler as his successor and deputy in all his offices. Previously an ace fighter pilot in World War I, decorated with a Blue Max, and commander of the fighter wing led by von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron.

It was Hitler’s moves to set up Göring as his successor that some believe lead to the assassination.  Göring was to also be a target but due to his role with von Ribbentrop’s plans, was able to escape the assassination.  Along with him was his considerable wealth that he amassed during the rise of Hitler, as well as many military secrets.

Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich-Himmler-640x426

Reichsführer of the entire SS, Military Commander of the Waffen-SS, Commander of the Gestapo, Minister of the Interior, Commander of the Home Army, and supreme leader of the administration of the entire Third Reich.  It is strongly rumored that Himmler was the key figure behind the plot to assassinate Hitler.  He was appointed Führer after the assassination and lead the Reich until his death in 1960.

Himmler was obsessed the the occult and black magic.  It is said he believed that it was his destiny to be the Führer and performed rituals prior to the assassination in hopes of casting magic to help in his efforts.  His success only bolstered his belief in the supernatural.

Großadmiral Erich Raeder

Erich-Raeder-with-Hitler1

Great Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Kreigsmarine (German Naval Force) and Reichsmarine, Raeder was a loyalist to Hitler until the end.  upon the assassination of Hitler, sailors loyal to Raeder were able to overtake a number of Donitz’s U-Boats, which became an integral in Ribbentrop’s plans.  Many of the Hitler loyalists  escaped via this network of sea vessels set up by Raeder.  However, Raeder himself was killed by Donitz a week after the assassination of Hitler.

Karl Donitz

Karl_Donitz1

Commander of the German Navy’s U-boats and close ally to Himmler.  Until the assassination, his loyalties were questioned constantly.  Donitz loathed Raeder and coveted his role as Grand Admiral.  His loyalty to Hitler went only as far as he could get a promotion to replace Raeder.  He immediately switched to Himmler when he learned of the assassination.  He was promoted to Grand Admiral and C-in-C of the German Navy by Himmler and proceed a purge of all those loyal to Hitler and Raeder.  He lead the unsuccessful hunt to find Raeder.

Albert Speer

Bundesarchiv_Bild_146II-277,_Albert_Speer

Hitler’s Chief Architect and Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich, and member of Hitler’s inner circle. He designed and constructed the Reich Chancellery and the Party rally stadium in Nuremberg. He is responsible for Berlin’s wide streets and reorganized transport system.

Speer was the least political of the circle, but a good friend to Hitler.  Many of his plans were never put in motion but on the drawing board.  This includes Project Riese and his role in building the research facility for die Glocke.  He was one of the beneficiaries of von Ribbentrop’s contingencies, he and his family escaped to London, hidden by Nazi sympathizers living there.  With him, he took a considerable stash of Hitler’s secrets provided by von Ribbentrop.

Joachim von Ribbentrop

Joachim_von_Ribbentrop1

Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany, an authority on world affairs and confidant of the Fuhrer. Independent broker of the Pact of Steel between Germany and Italy (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), and Ambassador to the Court of St James’s for London and the UK in 1936.

At the time of the assassination, von Ribbentrop was close enough to Hitler that he had many contingencies plans for just this kind of event.  Of all within the circle, he sensed the potential of betrayal within the circle. He was the primary “kingpin” behind plans to save all the essentials of Hitler’s secrets in the case of betrayal.  Using friendly elements within Hitler’s bodyguards, including Josef “Sepp” Dietrich, he devised a complex series of plans that would hinder any regime to followed Hitler’s.  His instincts, seen by most as paranoia, turned out to he right.  As soon as he heard the assassination, his plans were executed swiftly.  He did not live to see them completed as he was secretly assassinated a week after Hitler.

Others

1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler

The 1st SS-Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (abbreviated as SS-Pz.Div. LSSAH), commanded by Josef “Sepp” Dietrich, was Adolf Hitler’s personal bodyguards, responsible for guarding the Führer’s person, offices, and residences.  The term Leibstandarte was derived partly from Leibgarde – a somewhat archaic German translation of “Guard of Corps” or personal bodyguard of a military leader (“Leib” = lit. “body, torso”) – and Standarte: the Schutzstaffel (SS) or Sturmabteilung (SA) term for a regiment-sized unit.

Many of 1st SS-Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler were killed in the assassination.  However, many escaped the

Leibstandarte is a secret society born from members of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler that shared the ideals of von Ribbentrop and his belief that the Reich departed considerably from Hitler’s dream.  Today, they search and guard many of Hitler’s secrets that Himmler and his allies could not find.  Even today, they remain relevant, bolstered by connections that remain in the Nazi Government.

Leibstandarte.SS.Adolf.Hitler.svg

The Leibstandarte has changed since its early days after the assassination.  In the generations since the death of the Führer, they have become more fanatic in their beliefs.  They have grown to resemble more of a cult and placed a messiah myth around Hitler – that he will return one day, reincarnated.  This was methodically integrated into the ideologies by the early leaders in order to keep them dedicated through the generations. These ideals were all written down in a codex, called the Kodex die Leibstandarte, written in a fashion that even Goebbels would be proud. Ingrained in this group’s philosophy is the guilt for failing the Führer at the time of their assassination. Today’s members are indoctrinated with this guilt.  They are on a mission to make of for the failures of their ancestors.  It rumored that the Leibstandarte was behind the death of Himmler in 1960.

Rudolf Hess

Rudolf Walter Richard Hess, was a prominent politician in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, he served in this position until 1941, when he was killed in a suspicious car accident just after Hitler was assassinated.  Commonly known as strong devotee to Hitler, he secretly had reservations about the war and spoke of vying for peace many times with his friend, Hitler.

Hess was secretly one of the key people behind finding technology to end the war quickly.  This included exploiting whatever technology was found in the UFO crash in 1937.  [See UFO Crash in 1937].

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ufo_aleman/rfz/chapter3b.htm

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-definitive-collection-of-secret-nazi-weapons-1473126559

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