An open-air painting stall was filled with paintings. The paintings were suppressed by a piece of glass to prevent them from being eroded by ice and snow. On the side, a young man in shabby clothes was sitting on a short wooden stool, wearing a
A thick coat wrapped himself tightly, leaving only a pair of eyes scanning the passers-by.
He huddled up to resist the impact of the cold winter that had not receded. Only the white mist exhaled from his mouth and nose proved his signs of life.
People were coming and going around the painting stalls, but people who had just spent Christmas had no intention of looking at the works of an unknown painter. There were such down-and-out artists everywhere in Vienna. They walked in a hurry and passed by the painting stalls one by one.
From day to noon, not a single person stopped.
And the young man seemed to be used to it. He looked at the glass that was gradually covered with a layer of frost. The paintings under the glass were obscured by the frost and were even a little unclear. He lowered his head in silence.
Suddenly, a young man and woman passed by. The man caught a glimpse of the painting stall and stopped. He leaned down and wiped the frost on the glass to see what the painting looked like.
With a burst of surprise in his heart, the young man quickly stood up and introduced his painting to the man.
"Sir, please allow me to introduce to you the concept of my painting. My painting..."
But before the joyful voice could finish speaking, the man shook his head, stood up straight, and said to the female companion beside him.
"Let's go."
Loss filled the young man's heart. Looking at the man and woman who had not yet left, he could still hear his female companion's curious questions.
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to look at it again?"
"Looking at it, the painting is too rigid..."
The owner of the voice gradually moved away, leaving only the silent young man, who clenched his fist tightly. The once proud and confident young man was now full of loss and inferiority.
It's been three years and I still haven't accomplished anything in Vienna.
No longer setting up a stall, but quietly putting away the paintings, the young man prepared to go to his favorite cafe.
…
Cafes were extremely popular in Vienna at that time.
Due to the prosperity of Vienna, many artists and thinkers from around the world gathered here at that time. Their habits and consumption gave birth to a large number of cafes. Many people who pursued different doctrines also discussed politics in this peaceful city.
.
Conspirators, politicians, scholars, medical scientists, scientists, artists... These nearly one million people together form this prosperous metropolis.
The Central Cafe is also quite famous among these many coffee houses. Because of its unique taste, Adolf likes this cafe very much. As long as he has some extra money, he will patronize it. At least it is very popular.
Warmth is completely different from the cold outside.
In this cafe full of customers, this down-and-out young man was sipping his coffee alone while thinking about what to do next.
"Are you leaving Vienna?"
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
This idea only came to him recently. During the three years he lived in poverty in Vienna, he occasionally thought that maybe it would be better to go to other places. But before he finished thinking about it carefully in his mind, he couldn't.
Distant noise disrupted everything,
"gentlemen……"
Not far away, a poorly dressed middle-aged man was holding something in his arms, as if he were a businessman selling things. He was talking enthusiastically to the guests at other tables. However, those guests who were drinking coffee were suddenly interrupted.
, you can imagine the unhappiness in your heart, and you waved him away impatiently.
The middle-aged man could only be forced to rush from one table to another, and finally came all the way to Adolf's table.
"Sir, look at this thing of mine, this thing of mine..."
The middle-aged man said enthusiastically, while lifting the cloth covering the thing he was holding. Adolf looked down with interest, then frowned, and immediately understood why none of the guests in front were interested.
I saw a rusty iron statue among the coarse cloth. It could be vaguely seen that it was a girl dressed in military uniform. It had obviously not been maintained for a long time. Even if it was temporarily wiped, there were many corners and corners.
It's still full of rust, which makes people look off-putting.
Seeing that Adolf had no interest, the middle-aged man became anxious and said hurriedly.
"Sir, this is passed down from my grandfather. He is a big collector and has collected many treasures. This is his most cherished treasure. If you don't believe it, you can ask Tobias. I believe there are many treasures.
People still know his name, I just think there are many artists here, and maybe someone who knows the goods is the reason why he sells here..."
Tobias?
Hearing this, Adolf couldn't help but turn his head.
He had heard of this name. He was a well-known collector who was said to have collected a large number of famous paintings and treasures decades ago. But he looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and couldn't help but sneered.
"A great collector? Your most cherished treasure? I think it's something that's been sitting in the corner for who knows how long. Did you dig it out?"
As he spoke, he looked at the middle-aged man again and touched his chin.
"I heard that Tobias' family fell into decline after that... Could you be his grandson?"
The middle-aged man's face froze, and he smiled a little, with an unnatural expression on his face. All of this was captured by Adolf's eyes, but he remained calm. On the middle-aged man in front of him,
He could feel the morbid aura of a gambler, a temperament developed due to long-term excessive gambling.
Adolf vaguely guessed something, but did not reveal it. Instead, he looked at the iron statue again.
There is no doubt that this is a rusty statue that looks like scrap metal, but Adolf's keen insight into art still allowed him to detect some clues.
It was too delicate. Although many places were covered by rust, Adolf could still detect the traces of careful carving on the statue, the meticulousness and excellence in the details of the armor, face and even fingertips.
It is definitely not something that ordinary sculptures have.
And as if he noticed Adolf's gaze, the middle-aged man said quickly.
"For a hundred crowns, I will sell this to you."
One hundred crowns was equivalent to two or three months' income of an ordinary worker, but Adolf snorted coldly.
"Huh, a hundred crowns? I think it's only worth two crowns."
"Two crowns? How is that possible?"
Hearing the sound, the middle-aged man shouted almost angrily...
But in the end, after some bargaining, the middle-aged man sold it to Adolf for five kronor. After all, no one except Adolf was willing to sell this piece of "scrap metal."
After getting the money, the middle-aged man happily walked away to get his own money and try to make money. Adolf stared at the figure, lowered his head and touched his wallet. There was not much money in it.
There were only a few small-denomination banknotes and a few coins left.
The five kronor just paid was actually Adolf's last bit of money this month. He almost couldn't buy this sculpture.
"Going to the soup kitchen again..."
Adolf laughed at himself in his heart, he looked more and more like a beggar.
But even so, for some unknown reason, he still bought the sculpture inexplicably. It was just an inexplicable impulse that prompted him.
After standing up and paying the money on the table, he was ready to leave.
"Bang..."
Just as he was walking out of the cafe, he suddenly felt his shoulder bump into someone. He turned around and saw that the other person was looking at him. He was a young man with two beards. He looked very handsome, with a smile on his face.
A little confused.
"Feel sorry."
The other party took the initiative and said, his voice had a Russian accent.
Russian?
Adolf frowned, did not answer, and just walked away, while the young man looked at the back of the man who walked away, as if he was a little confused.
"JOJO, what are you looking at?"
On the side, the young man's companion asked.
The young man shook his head.
"No, it's nothing."
With that said, the two walked into the Central Cafe together to discuss Russian politics and Bolshevism.
During the month from December 1912 to January 1913, a young Russian named Stalin came to Vienna to discuss Russia's communist cause with Trotsky. And because there were two JO (
Joseph Vissarionovich DJOgashvili), so the pseudonym at that time was JOJO...
…
In 1913, Adolf Hitler moved to Munich, Germany.
During this period, German politics was extremely unstable. Decades ago, the German Prime Minister Bismarck's flexible diplomatic skills allowed him to move across the European continent and unify the originally fragmented Germany in a Europe full of great powers.
got up,
From the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, during the period of Bismarck, the iron-blooded prime minister, the unified German Empire ushered in all-round rapid development. Using the compensation paid in the Franco-Prussian War, the results of the Industrial Revolution were promoted in the German Empire.
Toward a climax.
The massive influx of rural population led to rapid urbanization, unprecedented improvements in national education and social security, and rapid advances in science and technology changed the face of life in this ancient empire. Until 1914, Germany had become the second largest country in the world after the United States.
As an industrial country, its strong strength allows it to challenge the Empire on which the sun never sets at sea, and it also has a powerful army capable of dominating Europe.
However, among the complex geographical relationships in Europe and the royal families of various countries, Germany's territory seems particularly small. However, Bismarck was keenly aware that he could not easily challenge Britain's bottom line. At this moment, Britain occupies one-third of the world's land and one-quarter of the world's land.
With a population of 1, there were British colonies all over the world, so Bismarck always maintained a high degree of vigilance and caution.
But after the death of the old emperor, the new and radical 29-year-old Emperor William II was not willing to be controlled by the prime minister. In the end, the 70-year-old iron-blooded prime minister resigned angrily.
After getting rid of Bismarck, the young new emperor was able to display his ambitions.
"Germany's journey is the stars and the sea!"
The arrogant young emperor declared this.
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were shot dead by Serbian youth Gavrilo Princip during an inspection in Sarajevo, Serbia. A month later, with the support of Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire used the Sarajevo Incident to
As an excuse to declare war on Serbia. Then Germany, Russia, France, Britain and other countries entered the war one after another...
The First World War broke out.
In the midst of this unprecedented world war, an inconspicuous young man chose to serve in the army.
…
On the Western Front battlefield, the German army advanced all the way, but was blocked by the British and French forces on the Marne River in France. The soldiers fought bloody battles but could not open their mouths. On the Eastern Front battlefield, Germany, which was the first to declare war, had the advantage and moved forward.
It advanced all the way and occupied a large amount of territory, but was later blocked by Russia's dangerous environment and found it difficult to advance.
The war on the east and west fronts has reached a stalemate...
However, the brutality of modern war far exceeded the imagination of people at the time. Under the situation of total war and total war, the resources of the entire society were tilted towards war. A large number of men enlisted in the army, causing a shortage of population in the rear arsenal. Countries
A large number of women had to be hired to work in the factory, and children were forced to do light tasks such as shoveling snow.
The shortage of materials, the pressure of busy work, and the burden of life are weighing heavily on everyone's shoulders. The soldiers on the front line are wallowing in blood, while the women in the rear are working overtime in the factories.
The enthusiasm at the beginning of the war was gone forever, and more and more doubts and demonstrations were raised, and even anti-war sentiments grew.
But for the whole of Germany, it is not that there is no good news. The Soviet Revolution in Russia forced Russia to armistice with Germany. There is no war on the Eastern Front. Germany can focus all its energy on the Western Front, and there is no hope of victory.
It seems to have appeared.
However……
On October 25, 1918, an order from the German Naval Command was delivered to the port of Kiel.
"Fight against the British... and sink with honor if you fail..."
After the captain read out the entire order with a complicated expression, the order was not complicated. In order to cooperate with the German counterattack on the Western Front, the naval command forced the fleet to leave the port to fight the British army. If it failed, it would rather die than retreat. But for
For these sailors, this was simply unacceptable. They had already suffered heavy losses in the naval battle. To force them to leave the port at this moment, not to mention that they would not be able to defeat the eager British fleet, would simply be to allow them to die.
The many sailors in front of them looked at each other in confusion. Most of them had injuries on their bodies, some of them were blind and had their hands broken. After a long time, an angry voice sounded.
"Fuck orders!"
Not long after, the entire fleet began to boil. More than 60,000 sailors with low morale disembarked from the fleet and refused orders...
Sailors mutiny at the port of Kiel.
…
Along with this mutiny, turmoil swept across the entire German Empire. Massive marches and demonstrations by the people finally forced the end of the war. The German emperor had to sign the Treaty of Versailles with the Allied Powers. The hope of victory that seemed to have bloomed had withered before it could bloom...
Germany was defeated.
In the eyes of many Germans, Germany was not defeated because of the collapse of the front line, but because of the people who stabbed the enemy in the rear.
When the news of the defeat reached a hospital, a soldier who had fought bloody battles on the front line, was wounded twice, and was resting in the hospital had just learned the news.
"No!!!"
Angry and desperate voices sounded from the hospital bed.