Reichskommissariat Ostland

Reichskommissariat Ostland
The flag of Reichskommissariat Ostland
Location of Reichskommissariat Ostland in Einheitspakt
Official name	Reichskommissariat Ostland
Common name	R.K. Ostland, Ostland, Eastland
Tag	OST
Language(s)	German (official), Belarusian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Russian, Livonian, Latgalian, Polish (unofficial)
Capital	Riga
Ideology	National Socialism
Faction	Einheitspakt (as an Integrated Reichskommissariat)
Head of state	Reichskommissar Hinrich Lohse
Currency	Reichsmark
Established	1941

Reichskommissariat Ostland is a German colony in Eastern Europe, comprising of Belorussian and former Baltic lands. The colony borders the Greater Germanic Reich and the General Governorate of the Vistula to the west, Reichskommissariat Ukraine to the south, Reichskommissariat Moskowien to the east, and the Baltic Sea to the north. The colony is considered a model for other Reichskommissariats. A large majority of the population has been Germanized to some regard, with much of the Native resistance being eliminated.

The only relevant native resistance groups in 1962 is the United Partisan Organization, or UPO. The group is a collection various guerrilla fighters, attempting to diminish German rule. They have mostly been isolated to forests and rural regions of Ostland, with their leadership having gone into hiding.

History

The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was originally established by the German Reich in July of 1941 during the early stages of Operation Barbarossa and the Wehrmacht’s swift push into the Soviet Union. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initially referred to an equivalent Reichskommissariat Baltenland. The political organization for this territory – after an initial period of military administration before its establishment – involved a German civilian administration, nominally under the authority of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories led by ideologist Alfred Rosenberg - he himself a Baltic German, but actually controlled by the government official Hinrich Lohse, its appointed Reichskommissar.

The citizens of the Reichskommissariat originally treated the Germans as liberators following their enduring an entire year of harsh Soviet occupation, particularly involving the forced implementation of a series of ruthless collectivization policies. Over time however this view changed for some of the local population, especially as the war progressed in Germany’s favor and with it the ever dwindling prospect of the Baltic states regaining their independence. Of course, while some acts of insurgency occurred from time to time throughout the boundaries of Ostland, the Kommissariat proved itself to be one of the most manageable and hospitable of all the occupied eastern territories.

Following the end of the Second World War and total collapse of the Soviet Union in 1945, Reichskommissariat Ostland experienced a large influx of German settlers while simultaneously mass deportations of almost the entirety of the Jewish population in the region had been all but achieved. Living standards and economic development soared throughout the Reichskommissariat - especially when compared to the others which experienced seemingly endless bouts of instability and chaos - Ostland on the other hand stood as a gleaming example of the Greater German Reich’s potential at what could be achieved through its ambitious Germanization policies mapped out in “Generalplan Ost”. This provided an excellent propaganda opportunity for German foreign policy, earning Ostland the moniker of being the “model colony”.

National Spirits

The Model Colony Stability: +10.00% Construction Speed: +5.00% We are the model colony of Germany! Nowhere else has Germanization gone so well, nowhere else are the people united in such great purpose and drive! The National Socialists at the world marvel at our great works and projects and the unity of our nation, and even the partisans that so plague the rest of Europe have seemingly begun to fade away! Surely such great fortune shall only fade with that of the 1000 year Reich! We will live forever!

The Unusual Quiet Division Organization: +5.0% War Support: +10.00% Ever since the assassination of Wilhelm Keiten and the subsequent crisis in the 50s, we've had little to no problems with the native partisans in the area. Whether this is because of Hinrich Lohse's successful rule or a plot by the assorted partisan groups remains to be seen, all we know is that for now we the Reichskommissariat have a rare period of peace and prosperity.

Political factions

Within the colony of Ostland, there are various political and militarist groups vying for power in the region.

• Conservative faction of Franz Walter Stahlecker to preserve the current institutions and continue to rule with principles of Lohse's administration.
• Militarist faction led by Otto-Heinrich Drechsler, which deems the current government as weak and wants to militarize Ostland in order to handle any foreign threat.
• SS Forces under the command of Friedrich Jeckeln, following the pattern of the German sphere, grows more and more disloyal to the civilian government of Ostland. Fully committing himself to the ideals of Burgundian System and service to Heinrich Himmler in the SS State of Burgundy, Jeckeln intends to remake Ostland in a Spartanist image and cleanse it of all signs of decadence and degeneracy.
• Liberal opposition forces of Andreas Meyer-Landrut, formed under the influence of Albert Speer.
• Native Collaborator Faction of the Central European Council formed by Michał Vituška. Vituska's loyalists argue for larger native autonomy and representation of natives in the government.
• United Partisan Organization of Abba Kovner. While not a formal faction by any definition, Kovner amassed the largest anti-Nazi resistance group consisting of Jews and natives under his banner. There is no doubt that Kovner can turn out to be a contender for power in Ostland in case of a political turmoil.