Reincarnated as Nikolai II

Chapter 294: Chess of Giants (2)

Even if the Tsar was behind these three different events, he wouldn't be surprised, but somehow it felt like this country still had further to fall.

And there's one reason for that:

"...With things like this, how can I not go crazy when we're still enacting something like a neutrality law?"

If the Tsar is behind these three countries, the "next war" might threaten this country more than the Great War.

Unlike the past, when we participated because we couldn't make money or suffered maritime terrorism, we might truly fall this time.

"But you know. Such conflicts and crises actually become grounds for the neutrality law. People still think the Great War caused the Great Depression, and no citizen of the United States wants war."

"That's the problem. Trying to avoid what can't be avoided."

Let's assume all the worst assumptions come true and the Führer, Tsar, and Emperor join hands.

Could this country even set foot in Europe, let alone Asia? Is it possible for France to survive and Britain to defend its territory?

'At the very least, we'd be driven out of the market. Even if we try to connect with Western countries then, it would be too late.'

No, there isn't. Definitely not.

This country would be forcibly isolated, not neutral, from that day on.

What's truly depressing is:

"...There's nothing I can do except increase the naval budget."

"We'll prepare content to restrain Japan for the next naval disarmament treaty."

"We should try."

It's this country's tendency that prevents us from even touching the problem.

Still, he's the president of a nation. He must try whatever he can.

"First, sanction Italy through the League of Nations. For the next naval disarmament, include Russia to ensure they can't control Japan either."

Mussolini had decided to yield.

Many look at Ethiopia and say the only remaining African empire is about to fall into Mussolini's hands, but the truth is different.

The Duce caused trouble and then fled to Africa under the pretext of occupying Ethiopia.

But what still isn't understood by Roosevelt's mind is the connection point between Russia and Germany.

'The two countries became friendly? Shouldn't they rather be uncomfortable and awkward with each other?'

Even if the old anti-German, anti-Russian sentiment has lessened over time, for them to join forces in pressuring Italy?

This isn't logical from the start.

So Roosevelt truly wanted to confirm:

Are the Führer and the Tsar really looking in the same direction?

"Hull, I heard that the Repatriation Plan (Mexican Repatriation) created by Hoover has been continuing since '29, limited to Mexicans. Is that right?"

"There's talk of it being a kind of ethnic cleansing, but there's not much opposition."

"It's not funny. Accepting immigrants while refusing refugees."

Since the Great Depression, Hoover has continuously expelled Mexicans.

Hoover was serious about this ethnic cleansing, with numbers reaching millions, and when the Great Depression hit, immigrant workers all kept silent on this issue.

In the end, even in the same country with the same immigrant status, the will to reject other ethnicities remained.

African Americans, Asian Americans, Irish and Northern Europeans, and even Catholics who weren't Protestants.

All show overwhelming support for him.

And today, Roosevelt wanted to add one more race to this expulsion:

"Jewish refugees flowing in from Europe."

"...Mr. President."

"Let's stop accepting them. They should come in moderately; this is clearly a violation of immigration law."

"There will be backlash from the Jewish community."

"I'm curious about the external backlash among those reactions. Specifically, how the Nazis and Russia will respond to this Jewish issue."

There are only two countries in the world where Jews can flee:

Russia.

And the United States.

Central Europe, stretching from Poland to Slovakia to Hungary, is somewhat where Jews settle and live, but they've already assimilated into each country or aren't immigration-friendly.

"If the Tsar blocks the Nazi's anti-Jewish stance, or if even the Tsar turns his back on Jews, then it would be fair to say the two countries have joined hands."

"And if not, what will you do?"

"If they haven't joined hands..."

If they showed collective action against Italy but aren't one body:

"That's a problem in itself."

If Russia isn't targeting Europe, the only place they could come is Asia.

==

Nationalism.

This fervor that has continued since the 19th century works differently in each country and varies in size, but if forced to divide it, it can be categorized into exactly two types.

One is the will to break free from other ethnicities.

Korea is a representative case of this, where after being beaten here and there, people unite under the category of "ethnicity" sharing the same blood, language, and culture.

Next, there's nationalism that forms the basis for expansionism, imperialism, radical right-wing ideologies, and some military ideologies.

These are nationalists who are obsessed with the psychology of wanting to be rulers.

Britain, Germany, France, and Russia have been like this since industrialization, and Italy's recent actions also fit perfectly when interpreted from this perspective.

But there's a country that doesn't move according to this nationalism:

The United States, a country where a single ethnicity doesn't control the state.

People often define the white privileged class as White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP), but well, it was just last year that a white Italian attempted to assassinate the president out of discontent, and in reality, even whites face immigration restrictions under immigration laws.

And there's only one person in the United States who has effectively utilized nationalist sentiments:

"FDR. That man."

Roosevelt.

Typically, when FDR is mentioned, Chinese and Korean Americans cheer, while Japanese Americans tremble.

During World War II, FDR abandoned Japan among Asian ethnic groups to gain the rest and boost his approval rating.

He alienated Southern congressmen with anti-lynching bills to gain the support of Black Americans and inherited Wilson's morality.

And finally, he rose as a savior of the Jewish community by opposing Hitler's Jewish cleansing "Final Solution."

But what people don't know well:

"FDR was one of the people who condoned the early Holocaust."

In fact, FDR might not be as moral as Wilson.

Returning to the nationalist perspective, nationalism no longer seems like an important tool to me.

Pan-Slavism has become an inclusive term that even calls Poles Western Slavs, and even that is giving way to Tsarism.

This is because the citizens of this country are loyal not to ethnicity or regions but to the state.

On the other hand, the United States, which isn't loyal to specific families, individuals, or even the state led by those families:

"It has changed. This isn't condoning; it's close to rejection."

It boldly abandoned Jews, joining the anti-Jewish wave flowing from Europe.

The result is the endless stories about Jewish immigrants reaching my desk.

Now the only place left for Jews to flee is Russia.

And somehow:

I feel like not only am I looking at this document, but the whole world is watching.

Will I accept them?

Or will I also turn away from them?

The Nazi Führer.

The president with healed legs.

Even the Jews living within this empire.

I have the illusion that everyone is watching my decision.