Stefan Nowak’s heart beats rapidly in his
chest as he approaches the Nazi checkpoint. Heavily armored SS soldiers check each person's
papers before they are allowed to enter the heart of the Nazi Empire. Stefan watches in horror as a man is pulled
from the line screaming. He is thrown to the ground. The man pleads with the Nazis to spare his
life. That the Star of David burned into his arm
was just a mistake; he isn’t really Jewish. But the Nazis don’t listen. The commander pulls his pistol out of its
holster and shoots the man in the chest. Stefan shows no emotion as he watches the
innocent man die. He knows that if he’s going to successfully
infiltrate the lands of the Third Reich, he needs to maintain his cover. Stefan has been working tirelessly to assume
a new identity. One that will allow him to move freely across
the European continent, which is now completely controlled by Adolf Hitler. Before the Nazis won the war in Europe, Stefan
was a resistance fighter in the Polish Army, but now there is no war to fight. The Nazis have full control of Europe, and
Stefan only has one thing on his mind: to find his wife and daughter before they are
worked to death in a concentration camp or executed for being related to an enemy of
the Nazi State. As the war came to an end, Stefan received
word from Polish underground forces that his wife and daughter had been taken by the Nazis
and put on a train to work in one of the slave camps somewhere in the Empire. He immediately called in all of his favors
to secure fake documents and uncover as much information on his family’s whereabouts
as possible. The good news is he knows where to start his
search. The bad news is that the start point is in
Berlin, the heart of the Nazi Empire. Stefan reaches the front of the line. The Nazi soldier asks for his papers. He keeps his eyes on the ground as a sign
of fear, even though he would be more than capable of snapping the Nazi’s neck and
taking out a few of his comrades in the process. But he must remain undercover if he has any
hope of locating his wife and daughter. The soldier is quiet for a moment as he looks
over the papers. “What business do you have in the capital?” the Nazi asks. “I wish to give my life to the Third Reich. I was a stonemason before the war, and I know
the Fuhrer is in need of hard-working men to complete his vision for Germania,” Stefan
replies. The Nazi grunts. “Polish scum,” he says. “Very well. Continue on.” The Nazi slams Stefan’s papers into his
chest, slightly pushing him backward, and points to where he should go. It takes everything Stefan has not to punch
the Nazi in the face, but he knows what the consequences of such an action would be. He continues through the checkpoint and boards
a bus for Berlin. The bus drives through the German countryside. It looks untouched by war. The Nazis work quickly, and it helps that
they now have a gigantic pool of slave labor to pull from in order to rebuild their roads
and buildings. Anyone who does not conform to Hitler’s
vision of the Aryan Race is treated as a second-class citizen. Anyone belonging to ethnic minority groups,
such as the Jews, are enslaved and either worked to death or killed as a part of the
Nazi’s mass genocide program. The bus enters what was once Berlin. The city has been transformed into Hitler’s
megacity called Germania. Everywhere Stefan looks he sees statues dedicated
to Nazi leaders and generals. Grand buildings made of marble quarried by
slaves rise from the ground like mountains. The city seemed to have popped up overnight
thanks to the millions of forced laborers Hitler and his architects had at their disposal. The sight of swastikas and Nazi symbols on
every building and street corner makes Stefan sick. The bus comes to a stop in the heart of the
city. Stefan gets off. He has instructions from one of the informants
in the Polish underground network to pick up more information on the whereabouts of
his family in a newly constructed housing complex. He heads there immediately and finds a small
eagle representing the Polish coat of arms etched into one of the stones of a building. Stefan pushes the stone. It moves slightly to reveal a hidden compartment. In it is a set of papers that indicate his
wife and daughter have been sent to the east. Early in the war, the Nazis reached an agreement
with the Soviet Union, saying that they would stay out of the war in exchange for Hitler
not invading their country. Hitler had no intention of upholding his end
of the bargain, but he needed the time to focus his efforts on defeating the Allied
forces in France. Once this mission was complete, he launched
Operation Sealion across the English Channel into Britain. The Allied forces in Britain were still recovering
from the Dunkirk invasion and were no match for the Nazi Blitzkrieg. Britain fell soon after. Now it’s ruled by Hermann Göring, one of
Hitler’s top generals and good friends. Göring is a monster who has turned Britain
into his own private island. He has luxury goods imported from around the
Empire and throws lavished parties for his Nazi comrades in what was once Buckingham
Palace. Resources from Britain are sent back to Germany
as tribute to Hitler, but for all intents and purposes, Göring is the new king of England. He must do exactly what the Führer orders,
but in return, he has free reign of the British Isles and is quickly stripping them of their
resources while oppressing their people. As soon as Hitler controlled all of western
Europe and defeated British military forces, he turned his attention toward the Soviet
Union. The Nazis coordinated an attack with Japan,
who struck from the west while their forces pushed across Eastern Europe and into Russia
from the opposite direction. All Hitler really wanted was the territory
up the Ural Mountains. Eventually, he would take over the world,
but this would complete the first stage of his plan and put all of Europe under his control. Stefan puts the stone back in its place and
heads to the train station, where he purchases a ticket for the Nazi territories in what
was once the Soviet Union. When Hitler defeated the Allies in Europe,
he annexed Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Most of the populations in these regions conformed
to his definition of what the human race should look like. There were resistance fighters who tried to
protect the freedom of all peoples in these nations, but they were quickly disposed of
by the SS. Now the Dutch and Scandinavian governments
are puppets for Hitler to do with as he pleases. However, the people in the former Soviet Union
aren’t so lucky. Stefan looks out the window of the train car
as the lands east of Germany seem more like hell than Earth. The landscape has been ravaged for its resources. Hitler had no intentions of incorporating
the people of the Soviet Union into his empire. All he wants is to use them as slave labor
and harvest the oil, metal, and timber from their land. Stefan feels sick to his stomach as he passes
ghost town after ghost town. Buildings are in ruin from the war. People are living in houses missing entire
walls. After days of traveling, the train jerks to
a stop, and Stefan gets off. The air is cold, but the smell of smoke fills
his nose. He looks down the road and sees the fencing
of a work camp where thousands of people are being held. He follows the procession of new laborers
that were onboard the train with him but, at the last minute, ducks into a thick patch
of bushes that sits on the edge of the tree line. He waits for the Nazi guards who were escorting
the group to enter the camp before he starts making his way towards the fencing. Stefan peers into the camp. SS and newly conscripted Russian soldiers
who are sympathetic to the Nazi cause shout orders at the workers. Many are malnourished and are nothing but
skin and bone. Anyone who is seen by the Nazis as having
an inferior bloodline or belonging to an ethnic minority is used for slave labor. Unfortunately, this constitutes anyone from
Russia. Stefan makes eye contact with one of the men
walking toward the barracks. The man’s face is covered in dirt; he can
barely stand up straight from exhaustion. Stefan recognizes this man. He was a soldier in the resistance. They had conducted a few missions together. The former ally looks around to see if anyone
is watching and then makes his way to the fence. “Stefan, what are you doing here?” he
whispers. “I am looking for Tonia and my daughter. An informant told me they had been taken to
this camp.” The man’s expression becomes even more somber. He shakes his head back and forth. “I am so very sorry, Stefan,” he says. “Your wife and daughter were loaded onto
a transport a week ago. The Nazis are diverting people to the coast
of France as they plan for the attack on the United States.” Stefan’s heart breaks. He is silent for a moment. “How were they? Had they been hurt by these Nazi bastards?” “No,” the man on the other side of the
fence responds. “They were weak like all of us, but they
were in relatively good health when they left. I’m sorry, Stefan, I wish I had better—.” Suddenly, a gunshot rings out. The former resistance fighter’s eyes open
wide. Stefan reaches out through the fence to steady
him. Blood trickles from the man's mouth as he
falls to the ground. Stefan looks up. Several Nazi guards are running toward him
with their guns raised. Stefan turns and sprints into the forest. He weaves around trees, trying to put as much
distance between him and the Nazi camp as possible. He hears the sounds of dogs barking and men
shouting from behind him. Stefan pushes his body as far as it will go. He knows that if he is captured, his hopes
of seeing his wife and child again would be crushed. Stefan spots a tree with thick branches and
abundant foliage. He darts towards it and leaps off the ground
grabbing onto one of the branches. He begins to climb higher and higher into
the tree. If he can hide there until the Nazis pass,
he may be able to get out of this alive. Moments later, several dogs appear. They bark and growl as they run past the tree
Stefan is hiding in. He lets out a sigh of relief, but it’s premature. The dogs realize they have lost his scent
and backtrack towards the tree he is hiding in. They begin sniffing all around the area. The Nazi soldiers catch up and begin looking
for Stefan. He closes his eyes and prays that he is not
discovered. Yelling can be heard from another part of
the forest. The Nazis turn their heads to listen. They give new commands to the dogs, who stop
sniffing around the tree and sprint towards the sound of the shouting. The Nazi soldiers follow. Stefan stays in the tree for what feels like
hours. When he finally climbs down, the sun has set,
and the frigid night air is quiet. He makes his way back towards the train tracks,
where he waits for a transport to pass by. The sounds of a locomotive can be heard off
in the distance. Then a behemoth of a train comes into view. Stefan runs out of the forest as fast as he
can. He times his jump perfectly and grabs onto
one of the handles of the train. It takes every ounce of his strength, but
Stefan manages to slide the car door open and falls into the train car. It’s carrying supplies towards western Europe,
where they will be used to launch an attack across the Atlantic. The clicking and clacking of the train on
the tracks is like a lullaby. Stefan doesn’t know exactly where this train
is headed, but he knows that at least it’s bringing him closer to finding his wife and
child. Stefan blacks out from exhaustion. When he awakes, the train is still crossing
the former Soviet Union. By the angle of the sun, it seems as if it
isn’t traveling due west but slightly to the south. This isn’t ideal, but he is relatively safe
onboard the train, and he knows that it will eventually make its way to the west coast
to deliver supplies. Several more days go by. Stefan survives off of stores of grain that
have been packed aboard the train. Whenever it rains, he catches the precious
liquid in a Nazi helmet he found in one of the crates. As the sun rises a week after he snuck aboard
the train, an ominous sight comes into view. In the distance, Stefan can see gigantic snow-covered
peaks jutting up from the landscape. He knows these must be the Alps. He is now in the newly formed Roman Empire. As the train travels through the countryside,
Sefan sees a mix of Nazi and Italian soldiers at different checkpoints. When Hitler conquered northern Europe and
the western Soviet Union, he allowed Mussolini to control the lands that were once under
the control of the Roman Empire. However, it’s clear that Mussolini is not
really in control. In fact, he isn’t even allowed to make his
own decisions. He almost cost the Nazis the war in southern
Europe, and now Hitler uses him as a figurehead while he controls the nation. There has been recent contention between the
Italian puppet government and Hitler as the Italians try to hold onto their Roman Catholic
religion. Hitler, on the other hand, wants to dismantle
Christianity and organized religion completely. This tension has caused the Nazis to deploy
forces around the new Roman Empire to make the transition to a State Ideology go more
smoothly. Hitler is adamant that the only allegiance
and belief system anyone in his empire should have is to him and the Nazi Party. The train Stefan is hiding on reaches the
coast of what was once Southern France. He looks across the Mediterranean. On the other side of these waters is Northern
Africa, which is also under the control of the Nazis. Once the Allied forces in Europe were defeated,
the Nazi army faced little to no resistance while invading other parts of the world. Hitler has no interest in building up infrastructure
in Northern Africa, but he is incredibly interested in its resources, especially oil. Stefan closes his eyes and thinks about his
wife and daughter. The train has now begun to travel northwest. Soon it will reach the western coast of Hitler’s
Empire. After the Nazis defeated Britain and the Soviet
Union, Hitler turned his attention toward Spain. He appreciated what Francisco Franco was doing
in the country, but there could only be one dictator in Europe, and it was going to be
him. Hitler ordered his Luftwaffe to carry out
bombing runs on key targets in Spain and Portugal, followed by a series of infantry invasions. Both countries quickly fell, and Franco’s
pleas to remain the leader of Spain fell on deaf ears. As a sign of respect for his fellow dictator,
Hitler did not execute Franco but exiled him to South America instead. The Nazis immediately began constructing railways
through the country all the way to the Strait of Gibraltar, where a massive fortress was
created to guard the entrance to the Mediterranean. New docks were also created to allow for easy
transportation of goods and natural resources from Africa onto mainland Europe. Stefan feels the train begin to slow and prepares
to jump off before it reaches the station. This is no ordinary Nazi outpost; the final
destination of this train is Brest in what used to be France. It’s from this region that Hitler will launch
his aerial assault of the eastern United States. The Brittany Penninsyla has been converted
into one big airfield full of Amerika Bombers and other long-range aircraft. Stefan tuck and rolls off of the train right
before it crosses into a heavily guarded train yard where the supplies aboard will be offloaded. The French countryside has been completely
demolished, and in its place are factories and airfields as far as the eye can see. Trains and transports run constantly from
Germany to the western coast of Europe as the only real threat to Hitler’s domination
of the world is the United States of America. Many French people have been enlisted to aid
in the war effort. Their armies fell quickly after the initial
invasion of the country by the Nazi Panzer and infantry divisions. Stefan breaks into a nearby house to steal
clothing and food before setting out to locate his wife and daughter in the various work
camps in the area. He is surprised to find a Nazi SS uniform
in one of the drawers, and even though the outfit goes against everything he stands for,
he puts it on as the brown cloth with the swastika stitched onto the arm will allow
him to move more freely to search for his family. A belt with a holster hangs on the back of
one of the doors. In the holster is a Luger with a full clip. Stefan knows if he has to use the pistol,
it will likely be the last thing he ever does, but having a weapon may come in handy if he
runs into serious trouble. The new reality of Hitler’s Europe is that
no matter where anyone goes, there are always concentration camps set up to provide a free
source of labor. The main group of people in the camps are
Eastern Europeans and prisoners of war. Hitler’s Empire will always need workers,
so the mass extermination of people has slowed slightly. Hitler knows that with an almost unlimited
amount of free manpower and resources pouring in from all of his newly acquired territories,
he can make any of his sick dreams a reality. Stefan makes his way from camp to camp, careful
to interact with as few Nazis as possible. Each time he enters a new area, he tries to
remain calm and conduct a thorough search for his family. After days of searching, Stefan feels defeated. He knows he can’t give up, but the pain
and suffering he has witnessed is enough to drive him mad. The individuals in each work camp are treated
more like animals than people. They are starving and overworked. He will not give up, but with every camp he
enters, he loses a little bit of himself. Stefan is about to call it a day when he sees
a young girl with her back to him. She is holding onto the fence, looking out
across a field. Stefan slowly approaches her. “Anna?” he whispers. The girl turns around, tears streaming down
her face. It is his daughter. Stefan resists every urge to wrap his arms
around her, so he doesn’t look suspicious. “Papa?” the girl asks. Stefan’s eyes begin to water. “It’s me. I am going to get you out of here, but we
have to pretend we do not know each other.” His daughter stares at him. She can’t believe that her father is really
there. She squints as she looks at his Nazi uniform. Stefan understands. “It is only a disguise, my love, so that
I could find you and your mother.” He pauses for a moment to look around. “Anna, where is your mother?” His daughter begins to sob. “They took her,” she manages to blurt
out. “Mamma refused to do any more work for the
Nazis. She spat in one of their faces and was taken
away. I think they’re going to kill her.” Stefan’s eyes open wide. “Where did they take her?” he asks. His daughter points to the other side of the
fence where she had been staring previously. Stefan can just barely make out a group of
figures standing in a straight line. Clustered in front of them are several Nazis. They hold their weapons by their sides, but
it is clear what is about to happen. “Come with me,” `Stefan tells his daughter. They walk quickly towards a Jeep parked outside
one of the mess halls. Stefan holds his breath as he looks at the
steering wheel. The keys are in the ignition. “Get in the back and cover yourself with
the blanket on the seat,” he says to Anna. She does as she's told. Once his daughter is safely hidden, Stefan
slides into the driver’s seat of the Jeep and turns the key. The engine roars to life. From inside the mess hall, Stefan can hear
plates clatter and voices yelling. The sound of the engine alerts the Nazis that
something is wrong. He must get to his wife before she is executed,
or he and his daughter are captured. Stefan floors the Jeep and speeds towards
the gate. The crack of gunshots rings out behind him
as the Nazis flood out of the mess hall and open fire. The guards at the gate raise their machine
guns and shoot at the incoming vehicle. Stefan unholsters the Luger he stole and returns
fire. He holds his breath to steady his aim and
focuses. His resistance training immediately kicks
in. He buries a round in the chest of one of the
guards and sends the second diving for cover. Stefan pushes the accelerator down so hard
he feels as if his foot might go through the floor of the Jeep. The vehicle slams through the gate and veers
down the dirt road. Stefan turns the wheel hard and steers towards
the row of prisoners who are about to be executed in the field. The Nazi guards watch the incoming Jeep, unsure
of what is going on. Then they see their comrades in pursuit from
the work camp. Before they can raise their guns at the Jeep,
it is upon them. Stefan hits several of the Nazi soldiers as
he skids to a stop, sending the men flying through the air. There are now only two soldiers remaining. They unleash a barrage of bullets into the
side of the Jeep. Stefan rolls out onto the ground. He pops up from behind the door and returns
fire. He hits one of the Nazis in the stomach; the
man falls to the ground. Stefan turns the pistol on the second Nazi
soldier. He pulls the trigger. But instead of firing, there is only a click. The gun has jammed. Stefan ducks back behind the Jeep just as
the Nazi opens fire again. The bullets ricochet off the metal frame of
the vehicle. Stefan crawls to the side of the Jeep; he
waits for the Nazi to run out of bullets. When the firing ceases and Stefan hears the
soldier begin to reload, he sprints out from behind the vehicle and runs straight toward
the enemy. He tackles the man to the ground and punches
him as hard as he can in the face. His fist connects with the Nazi’s nose,
shattering it and knocking the soldier out. Stefan pants as he regains control of his
body and slows his heartbeat. Then he hears a familiar voice. “Stefan, is that you?” He looks up to see his wife. She has a shocked look on her face, but when
their eyes meet, she smiles and places a hand gently on his cheek. “I knew you’d come,” she says. Stefan stands and embraces her for a moment. The shouts of the Nazi soldiers running toward
them breaks the joyful moment and brings them back to reality. “Come on,” Stefan says, signaling to the
Jeep. Stefan, his wife, and the other prisoners
who were to be executed pile into the vehicle. Anna hugs her mother. The Jeep drives away, leaving the Nazis in
its dust. Stefan and the escapees have a long way to
go to get out of Nazi-controlled Europe, but he is now reunited with his family, and he
will do anything to make sure they get to safety. Now watch “Hitler's Plans for the World
if He Won.” Or check out “What If the Allies Captured
Hitler Alive During WW2.”
