[Foreign Ministry] Lead up to the Current Crisis

Day 553, 20:47 • Published in Germany United Kingdom • by Elisa Vorimberg

As I write this, thousands of people from around the globe are fighting to protect the freedom and sovereignty of our humble nation.

First of all, I think that a little historical background is needed. I will not go into the details of anything before we joined Atlantis, because all of that is nothing more than a justification for a war that Sweden is starting for other reasons.

To prove this, here is part of my interview with Algaroth, president of Sweden just the day before we announced our membership to Atlantis. (the full text can be found here: http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/germany-and-sweden-an-interview-with-the-swedish-president-762483/1/20 )

How interested are you in peaceful relations with Germany?
Very interested.

Would you still demand Schleswig-Holstein?
No.

Do you think we are capable of being in a peaceful alliance?
Enough to give it a shot. It's better than what we've been doing to each other so far.

Are you resentful about Denmark, Germany, or Poland's independence?
I have some personal issues with the German politicians behind Operation Burning Spirit, but not with Germany or it's people. We have good relations with Denmark and Poland.

No doubt you are aware of Germany's trouble deciding what alliance (if any) to join. Can you honestly say that ATLANTIS is our best choice?
I think Germany is caught between a rock and a hard place right now. All I know is that you can't stay neutral much longer. Sweden has offered you peace and a chance to join ATLANTIS. PEACE has threatened to invade you if you do not join them. I think the choice should be easy.

Sweden told us that they had forgiven us for any past injustices and recognized Germany as the legitimate owner of SH.
So that brings about the question, why does Sweden want to attack us now?
The answer to this question is to be found in KalleHolm's election campaign:
In his own (translated) words: (original source: http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/sverige-vad-spelar-vi-f-r--788560/1/20 )
"A war makes the game worth playing again, it gives Sweden and all its players a purpose. It provides us with entertainment and a goal. A broken and humiliated Germany can raise Sweden into the skies once again. War against Germany is the way back to the Swedish empires great glory! We shall once more rock this game, Sweden!

You vote for me I guarantee that we will declare war on Germany and that we may once again play this game the way it was meant to be played!"

I have come to the conclusion that their reasoning is, and always has been, that Sweden is run by a bunch of bored people, who really don't care about morality or long-term consequences of their actions.

So, back to what I was saying. We could have gone either way, we could have joined PEACE or we could have joined Atlantis. Sweden offered us friendship, Italy and Hungary made threats, so we joined Atlantis.
In doing so, we made a full commitment to join Atlantis, there was no turning back.

Then the Austrian resistance wars began. We knew that this was going to happen and accepted it as a cost of joining Atlantis. A cost that we were willing to pay to be in an alliance with who we thought were friends.
It ended with Vorarlberg as the only remnant of a democratically formed union of nations.

In the following weeks, Germany committed itself fully in various military operations all across Europe and contributed, at all times, at least 50% of her military to the defense of Atlantis territory.
In the meantime, Chancellor Rorlikson was preparing Germany's application for full Atlantis membership.

On April 29th, a German minister detected and reported the threats made by KalleHolm.
On May 3rd, I took office as the interim minister of foreign affairs because Nolan Pitler had irl obligations.

After a few relatively sleepless days, contacting leaders from every allied country I could, 5 Atlantis countries had pledged military and diplomatic support to us in the event that Sweden actually attacked.
Those nations are: USA, UK, Canada, Spain, and Poland.

Then, on May 8th, we received a diplomatic proposal that was forwarded by fellow Atlantis members and that Sweden would be willing to accept. This agreement involved full membership of Atlantis and a temporary cession of SH and additional German provinces, in order to allow Sweden to satisfy its thirst for war by attacking bordering PEACE nations instead of allied ATLANTIS nations.
Since this proposal required some fine-tuning, especially in regards to SH, a counter proposal was made the day after, that would effectively meet the Swedish demand and safe the alliance hundreds of gold on top of it.

Desperate for a peaceful solution, we were about to accept this offer, but then Sweden got their hands on a leaked comment from one of our ministers which was critical of the discussed plan. Sweden used this as a much welcomed excuse to withdraw from all negotiations.
Their next step was an official letter to the Atlantis council, announcing that Sweden plans to leave Atlantis on 30 days notice, based on the lack of support they receive from fellow Atlantis members: Either Germany leaves Atlantis so that they can attack us, or Sweden will leave Atlantis.
Once again Atlantis leader rallied to urge for negotiations to continue, and once again Sweden pledged to return to the negotiating table.
Their offer, brought forward a few days later, was the following:
This is Sweden’s offer to Germany to repair our tarnished relations:
Sweden will be granted the following regions permanently: Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Lower-Saxony, NorthRhine-Westphalia. Also, if Sweden later on requires, Rhineland-Palatinate shall be transferred to Sweden.
Germany will pay Sweden 200 gold per month in 6 months. This sum of gold is only a deposit and will be paid back to Germany after the 6th payment from Germany with 200 gold each month until the sum is paid back. If a RW is started in any of the Swedish-German regions and the region is lost, the deposit will forever belong to Sweden.
If any of the Swedish-German regions is lost to Germany they are obliged to return it to Sweden.
Germany will not be a member of Atlantis. However, they will be under Atlantis’ protection.
You've got 24 hours to come up with a answer, 00:00 18/5 2009.
Regards
Kalle Holm
President of Sweden

This offer was of course, out of the question. It was an insult.
None-the-less, we tried to stay civilized about it and sent this in reply:
Dear Kalle,

We are going through hard times and cooperation between fellow Atlantis members is more essential than ever now that Romania has fallen and the PEACE hordes are standing at our gates.

For that reason, please extend our thanks to your congress and your administration for taking the time to think about how to best repair our tarnished relations. The German people are grateful.

We are looking forward to a serious offer.

Yours Sincerely
Starkad

The serious offer that they sent in return, was a declaration of war.

I contacted the president of Poland to see if, at the very least he would declare neutrality (remembering that he had promised military aid). Instead he tells me that he is under threat of getting impeached if he doesn't attack Germany. And then offered his support in exchange for permanent possession of Brandenburg.
So I was greatly disappointed, but not shocked when Poland declared war.

At this point, the situation in Romania and the downfall of Atlantis greatly changed the alliance structure. And many nations that previously supported us, no longer did, because Sweden has the stronger army.
Some have tried to justify it as a purely political move, and that the population will fight for us anyway. But I am looking at the numbers from our battles, and that just isn't good enough. To the countries that gave us full, unconditional, and unwavering support - know that Germany (in whatever form it exists) will always remember that.
We are now facing difficult times; we will do everything in our power to keep our land. Our territories will always be German, no matter what flags sit next to their names! Our citizens will remain loyal, our forum will remain active, our IRC will remain open, and our government and congress will keep serving the interests of the German people, be it on our own territory or in exile.
The true measure of strength for a nation is how long its community can survive under occupation.
We shall prevail!

-Elisa Vorimberg
German minister of foreign affairs