1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Hmm. Welcome back to the horse Shittingest Podcast and all 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: the Land behind the Bastards. This is part two of 3 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: our episode on Alfred Prupp, Faimed Arms, Maven and horse 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: poop Lover. Uh. My guests as in part one is 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:23,440 Speaker 1: Alison Stevenson, writer and comedian Alison How are you doing today? Uh? 6 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: You know, excited to hear more about horseshit. Yeah, there's 7 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: definitely more horse ship in this. Also, a lot of 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: people get killed. Um and uh spoiler, we get a Germany. Okay, 9 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,160 Speaker 1: ready to learn how Germany came about? Yeah, man, let's 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: do it. Yeah. It's one of those things that has 11 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: nothing but positive consequences. Thank god. Can you imagine life 12 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: without Germany? How different history would have been. That's facts, 13 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: that's bad. I'd have more relatives, problems, you would. You 14 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: would definitely have more a lot of a staggering amount 15 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: of people. A lot of Germans would have more relatives 16 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: if there had never been a Germany. Actually I will 17 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: say there would be too many English people. Um, yeah, 18 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: don't want that. So all the historic events we've discussed 19 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: so far, we're happening during a mostly forgotten by modern standards, 20 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: but very violent period called the Wars of German Unification. 21 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: So for most of the last few centuries, Germany hadn't 22 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: been a thing. It had been a patchwork of often 23 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: warring and always quarreling kingdoms, and the kind of thing 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: that became Germany started to gradually coalesce, together with the 25 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: birth of the German Common Market, which we talked about 26 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: last episode in the German Confederation. But Germans being Germans, 27 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 1: it was going to take a series of wars to 28 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: actually seal the deal. One of those wars, in eighteen 29 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: sixty four involved Prussia and Austria allying to fight Denmark, 30 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: which at the time controlled a chunk of land and 31 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: what we now would consider northern Germany. Um, Denmark used 32 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: to have possessions outside that weird little fucking is the 33 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: most or whatever the fun you want to call it, 34 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,080 Speaker 1: sticking out of the top of Europe. They owned a 35 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: bunch of the continent, and the Germans were like, but 36 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: that should be ours, and so they had they had 37 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: a war. Now, when this war kicked off in eighteen 38 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: sixty four, the Danish army was small but extremely experienced. 39 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: It included one of the highest proportions of combat veterans 40 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,799 Speaker 1: and continental Europe, and in the past that had made 41 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 1: all of the difference in European wars, you know, more 42 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,119 Speaker 1: than minor difference differences in musketry or cannon was whether 43 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: or not your your troops were veteran, because like guns sucked, 44 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: and cannons also kind of sucked. Um, So what really 45 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: mattered was if you had a bunch of guys who 46 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: were able to like stand together when they got shot 47 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: at and then charged the other guys with sharpened sticks 48 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: like that was kind of what determined battles. Um. And 49 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: the Danes had that, and the German army was like 50 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: completely inexperienced. Um, they were well drilled in everything, but 51 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: they had never actually been in battle, and so everyone 52 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: kind of when this started assumed that the Danish army 53 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 1: was going to win. But for this war, the Danes 54 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: were armed with brass cannons and muzzle loading muskets, while 55 00:02:56,919 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: the Prussians and the Austrians had been armed by Kroop 56 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: with breach steel cannons. They also had drice needle guns, 57 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: which were essentially the first bolt bolt action rifles. So 58 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: both the Prussian and Austrian armies were again made up 59 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: of guys who had never fought before. But that didn't 60 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: wind up mattering, because with their advanced cannons and rifles, 61 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,239 Speaker 1: they cut the Danish army to pieces without breaking a 62 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: sweat thanks to their advanced firepower. This was the first 63 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: time that a European war had been decided purely by 64 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 1: arms technology, and it would not be the last. So obviously, 65 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: like you look at European conquest of of you know, 66 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: North America, South America, Africa which is kind of starting 67 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: in this period, Southeast Asia, they always have a technological 68 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: advantage on their opponents, but in European wars, they'd all 69 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: been equal enough that what had mattered was like quality 70 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: of generals and like how good your troops were. This 71 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: is the first time that one European army goes up 72 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: against another with such an advantage in technology that nothing 73 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: else matters. Um. Yeah, and it kind of freaks people 74 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: out because they'd always assumed that, like, well, we're all equal, right, 75 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: Like when we fight these other people who aren't white, 76 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: we always have an edge, but when we fight each other, 77 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: we're all on the same And now, yeah, suddenly that 78 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: isn't true anymore. And yeah, so for the first time, 79 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,919 Speaker 1: you know, people start flipping out about this. Both Austria 80 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: and Prussia start putting in orders for more guns, and 81 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 1: of course Alfred was happy to sell to them both. 82 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: And this actually kind of piste off the King of Prussia, 83 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: who was presently in the process of getting into a 84 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,719 Speaker 1: war with his former ally Austria. So Austria and Prussia 85 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: fight den Or fight the Danes and win and take 86 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: a big chunk of Germany. Um. And then they go 87 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: to war with each other. In By eighteen sixty six, 88 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 1: both nations were mobilizing to fight, and Krupp had penning 89 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,160 Speaker 1: orders from both sides. And since Essen was in Prussia, 90 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: like he's under the King of Prussia, who's not happy 91 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: about the fact that he's arming the guys, they're about 92 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 1: to go fight. So the Kings is this kind of 93 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: the first time that this sort of thing is happens, Yes, 94 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: this is the first time that this is happening. Um, 95 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 1: which is again yet another like uh thing that we 96 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: can thank al Ford Krupp for. Yeah, thank you, Yeah, 97 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: thanks buddy. So the King's war minister sends Alfred a 98 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: letter I venture to ask you whether you are willing 99 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: out of patriotic regard to present political conditions to undertake 100 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: not to supply any guns to Austria without the consent 101 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: of the King's government. Now, at this point, Alfred Krupp 102 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: had put a lot of stock into being a patriotic gunmaker, 103 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: and this was a pretty hobbiest conflict of interest between 104 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: his nation and his business. Alfred did the right thing, though, 105 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: and avoided responding for nearly a week. When he finally 106 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: did reply, he wrote that he knew very little about 107 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: the political conditions and planned to go on working quietly. 108 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: He pointed out that Vienna wouldn't get their new cannons 109 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: until June, and that the King could impound krup shipments 110 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:42,839 Speaker 1: if he wished, so, like, what was the big deal? Like? 111 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: It probably won't get there in time to kill your soldiers? 112 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 1: Why are you complaining? This? Piste off the King of Prussia, 113 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: and he called Krupp in for a special meeting with 114 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: himself and his right hand man, Otto von Bismarck. It 115 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: says a lot about how valued Krupp was that the 116 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: King was afraid to offend him, merely urging him not 117 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: to fulfill Austria's order too quickly. But Alfred was irritated 118 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 1: by even this, insisting that he had to fulfill his obligations. Then, 119 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: sensing an opportunity for a sale, he warned the King 120 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: that Prussia's defenses were inadequate. Um. So yeah, so he 121 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,159 Speaker 1: he tells the King like basically like, I'm not going 122 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: to stop selling guns to your enemies. And then he's like, hey, 123 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: by the way, your current guns aren't good enough and 124 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: you might get your ass kicked in this war, maybe 125 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: you should buy some more guns, which freaks out the 126 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: King of Prussia. Um, but Alfred is happy about that. 127 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: He writes home to his employees that evidently startled him, 128 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 1: which was what I wanted. Um. And then, after all 129 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: of this, because again Alfred cannot read a room, he 130 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: asks for a loan from the crown. So he's like, yeah, 131 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: kind of kind of bad at reading people. This k yeah. Obviously, 132 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 1: the King says no, and Alfred is flummixed as to why. So. 133 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: Over in France, the Emperor Napoleon the Third had been 134 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: pretty psyched that Prussia and Austria were going to war. 135 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: German unification terrified the French, and he had been relieved 136 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: at because he thought that they were going to have 137 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: like a long and bloody war that would exhaust them 138 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: both and that would make France safer. But the opposite happened. 139 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: The war lasted only seven weeks because you know, mainly 140 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: the Prussians had a hell of a lot better guns 141 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: than the Austrians, and a lot more of them. Krup 142 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: cannons functioned mostly marvelously, but there were flaws with the 143 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: design that only revealed themselves under battle. A handful of 144 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: flawed guns exploded and killed their crews, and the sent 145 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: Alfred into a depressive spiral. It provided an opportunity for 146 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,239 Speaker 1: the war King's war minister, a kind of unhinged advocate 147 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: of brass cannons, to start demanding that preuscious switched away 148 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: from steel guns and back to brass. Now desperate, Krupp 149 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: offered to give the army hundreds of free guns. He 150 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: found himself so anxious over the whole debacle that he 151 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: fled to be with his wife in a spa town 152 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: where he was incredibly out of place, and wound up 153 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: embarrassing her in front of her friends. And you kind 154 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: of assume, based on the context, the men that she 155 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: was cheating on him with, Like he sort of shows 156 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: up out of nowhere in this like crowd of people 157 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: that she's like friends with and fucking and he's like 158 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: bummed because his guns killed their their gunners, and it's 159 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: just it's a very awkward situation. Um Thankfully, he proves 160 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: himself incapable of relaxation and assumed back at home and 161 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: his fifth Palace, trying to sell guns to another one 162 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: of his nation's enemies, France, because he's also a man 163 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: who never learns anything. Damn. In eighteen sixty eight, he 164 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: showed up but yet another Paris exhibition with a brand 165 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: new fourteen inch gun, which he described as a monster 166 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: such as the world has never seen. The barrel alone 167 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: weighed fifty tons. The powder charge for each shell was 168 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,199 Speaker 1: a hundred pounds. Emperor Napoleon the Third awarded krup the 169 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: highest honor of the exhibition, and a bunch of fancy 170 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: French military awards. He started talking about buying from Krupp 171 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: and Bulk, and Alfred sent France a catalog of his wares. 172 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: The Emperor kept Krups hopes, hope hopes up for months, 173 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: but his generals were convinced that brass cannons were all 174 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: that French France needed. The Emperor, who had written a 175 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: book about the use of artillery, decided not to buy 176 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 1: from Krupp after all and gave him a terse rejection. 177 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: Alfred sank into yet another depression. He sent the giant 178 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,560 Speaker 1: canyon cannon he'd bought brought to the exhibition to the 179 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: King of Prussia, and he sent an identical gun to 180 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: the Czar in order to keep his biggest client happy. 181 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,199 Speaker 1: Alfred was a lot more popular internationally than he was 182 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: within the bounds of Prussia. Representatives from the United States 183 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: offered to let him move to Alabama and start a 184 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,319 Speaker 1: factory there. He turned them down. Japan and Sweden sent 185 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: members of their royal families to tour his factories. Turkey, Brazil, Belgium, 186 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: and Russia all showered him with awards. None of this 187 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: meant much to Alfred. The only international acclaim he valued, was, 188 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: of course, money and interestring So like he's in this 189 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: interesting situation because the Prussian government is like constantly the 190 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: actual military is constantly pushing back on buying more of 191 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: his guns. But the king gets locked into an agreement 192 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: with Alfred to where Prussia won't buy weapons from any 193 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: other company. At the same time, Krupp is like, like, 194 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: and this is because crup basically threatens them. He's like, 195 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: if you buy guns from anybody else, then I will 196 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: sell my guns to all of your enemies. And this 197 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: is kind of weird because he's also actively trying to 198 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 1: sell his guns to all of he's still do doing it. 199 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: It's kind of weird that it works. Um, but it does. Uh, 200 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,559 Speaker 1: And it doesn't seem to matter to the Prussian government 201 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:10,680 Speaker 1: because Kreup at this point is tens of thousands of 202 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: workers and like it's described as a state within a state, 203 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:17,079 Speaker 1: Like it's become as powerful in some ways as the 204 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: government of Prussia. And this is again the first time 205 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: that happens photo capitalism. Yeah, this is early capitalism. This 206 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: is the first massive international arms concern, and it's so 207 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: big that it's able to get the government to agree 208 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: not to buy from anyone else while they're selling to 209 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,520 Speaker 1: all of the government's enemies. Like, that's very interesting that 210 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 1: Alfred is able to do this, And it's because the 211 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: cannons are that much better than anyone else's guns. M now, 212 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: and around this same time, Alfred started designing a new 213 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: home for himself. His factory had polluted essence so badly 214 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: by this point that it was no longer fit for 215 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,200 Speaker 1: human habitation. His workers would continue to live there, of course, 216 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: but Alfred wanted fresh country air. He interviewed dozens of architects, 217 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: but decided in the end to go with himself. He 218 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: designed a building based around three main concerns. Number one, 219 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: he believed that standing or sleeping in one room for 220 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: too long was toxic. He would consume all of the 221 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: air and suffocate, so his house had to have hundreds 222 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 1: of rooms. Number two, he was terrified of fire, so 223 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 1: the entire building needed to be made from stone. And 224 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 1: number three, he was absolutely in love with the smell 225 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: of poor ship, so the hare house had to be 226 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,839 Speaker 1: built so that it waked the feces at all times. Beautiful, 227 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: it's it's an amazing house, and it's crazy. In the sixties, 228 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: when this book that I was one of the big 229 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: sources for this, was written, they didn't know how many 230 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:37,079 Speaker 1: rooms it had. Like the counts of the number of 231 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: rooms in this mansion varied by up to a hundred 232 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: like nobody was quite sure. Because he had god, he 233 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 1: liked to spy on people, so it had hundreds of 234 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,200 Speaker 1: secret passageways in and behind the rooms that he could 235 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: crawl through and watch people while they were in his houts. 236 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: People would just like wake up in the morning and 237 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:54,679 Speaker 1: he would have notes in their bedroom about their behavior 238 00:11:54,720 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 1: the day before. Yeah, he's he rules, Uh, you gotta 239 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:08,479 Speaker 1: love Alfred, but I want to about in the making. Yeah. 240 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 1: So from the arms of quote, he gave a lot 241 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: of thought to this, this being how to get as 242 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 1: much horseshit smell into the house as possible. And then 243 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:17,840 Speaker 1: it came to him in in a flash, what an idea. 244 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: He could build his study directly over the stable with 245 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 1: shafts to waf the scent upward. And that is precisely 246 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: what he decided to do, crowing so to speak on 247 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: his private dunghill. Jeez, fucking dude loves horseshit. And it's 248 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 1: funny because like damn, all these kings and queens come 249 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 1: to visit him and stay at his house, and like 250 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,760 Speaker 1: they all comment that like fucking smells like ship here 251 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 1: when it's wronger this guy, and thank you, it does smell, 252 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 1: and they can't do anything, like they can't not go 253 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,199 Speaker 1: because he's the guy with the guns you have. It's 254 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: it's it's a very strange situation, but it is an 255 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: evidence that if you're rich and successful enough, you can 256 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: make everybody indulge your like very bizarre our whims. Eighteen 257 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: seventy came and in June of that year, Prince Leopold 258 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:06,840 Speaker 1: of Holands all Learned decided to accept the job of 259 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: being Spain's king, because apparently that's how royalty worked in 260 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 1: those days. This really pissed France off because they didn't 261 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 1: like the idea of being surrounded on both sides by 262 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:18,559 Speaker 1: Germanic monarchs. The Fridge Foreign Minister threatened Berlin, and the 263 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: King of Prussia backed down and asked his son to 264 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: not accept the offer to be the king of Spain. 265 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: But this was not enough for France. France in fact 266 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,439 Speaker 1: demanded a royal apology from the King of Prussia. This 267 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: was a bridge too far for the King of Prussia 268 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 1: and he refused. He drafted up a telegram and he 269 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: handed it to Otto von Bismarck, who was basically like 270 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:38,680 Speaker 1: Ottos like the prime minister. He's like basically the guy 271 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: running the country for the king. And Otto decides that 272 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,080 Speaker 1: this this telegram isn't defensive enough and so he edits 273 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: It to make it basically a declaration of war because 274 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:49,959 Speaker 1: there was a bunch of French territory he'd been eyeing 275 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 1: a while he wanted to like take it over for Germany. 276 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 1: And he also wanted to test out the German military 277 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: because at this point, France is the pre eminent military 278 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: force in Europe. A generation or so earlier, they've taken 279 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 1: on the entire rest of the continent, and one for 280 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 1: the most part right up until the end. And Bismarck 281 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 1: wanted to prove that Germany was now the stronger military force, 282 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,200 Speaker 1: and he calculated that France was not as strong as 283 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,199 Speaker 1: she thought she was, particularly in the crucial realm of artillery. 284 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 1: And he also kind of thought that this war would 285 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: be a good opportunity to finally unify Germany as a 286 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 1: single political entity for the first time in history. Bismarck 287 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: was the guy who had orchestrated Prussia kind of gobbling 288 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: up all of these German kingdoms, and he saw war 289 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: with France is basically the same. Like so for Bismarck 290 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 1: in this period, he spent his whole life cobbling together 291 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 1: this what what becomes Germany, and he sees war with 292 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: France is like the equivalent of a dude with a 293 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,600 Speaker 1: low rider sees a fiesta parking lot like it's a 294 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: place to show off this Germany that he's built. So 295 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: that's that's kind of what Bismarck does. And so what 296 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: is basically starts as one king asking another to apologize 297 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: and the other king saying no, turns into a war 298 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 1: that kills hundreds of thousands of people as a result 299 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: of all this, which is awesome, okay, okay, worth it, Yeah, 300 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 1: totally worth it. So at the time, everyone expects France 301 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 1: to win. Newspapers, all right, that the Prussian causes doomed. 302 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: German peasants cut their corn down early, certain that French 303 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: invaders would soon be stomping through their fields. Instead, what 304 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 1: followed was a slaughter. The French had better rifles, but 305 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:22,280 Speaker 1: they had brass cannons and the Germans had steel, crooked cannons, 306 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: and that turned out to be all that really mattered. 307 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: The whole war came down to a siege in a 308 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: city called Mets, and I'm gonna write about read about 309 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: that from an article in World Crunch that kind of 310 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: contextualizes this battle. Modern warfare began in eighteen seventy at 311 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: the Siege of Metz, the first the final battle in 312 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: the Franco Prussian War. It was the first time that 313 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: the true scale of industrial metallurgical death revealed its true potential. 314 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 1: Over two months, the Prussian artillery bombarded French troops hold 315 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: up in the city's fortifications. The Wheach army had the 316 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: same number of cannons the bronze artillery of Napoleon the 317 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: Third's army was no match for the range, accuracy, and 318 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: durability of pruscious steel cannon. Some hundred and ninety three 319 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: thousand French soldiers were killed to the Prussians five thousand, 320 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: seven hundred and forty casualties. After mess came to Siege 321 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: of Paris, the collapse of the Napoleonic dynasty, the unification 322 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 1: of Germany, and the birth of the Second Reich. So 323 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: this battle is very we don't like nobody fucking talks 324 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: about the eighteen seventy Franco Prussian War. It's one of 325 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: the most important wars in history. Because Germany comes out 326 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: of it. They declare Germany in Versailles. The reason that 327 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 1: World War One ends with the Treaty of Versailles is 328 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: because the Germans humiliate the French here in eighteen seventy 329 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: sign a treaty in Versailles that leads to the creation 330 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: of Germany, and fucking two generations later, the French want 331 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: to do the same thing in Versailles when they beat Germany. 332 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: Like that's that's why that all happens. It all starts here. 333 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 1: And this is the first modern battle and the first 334 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 1: modern death toll. Right before then, a hundred three thousand 335 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: was like an insane number of people to die in 336 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 1: a in a war, let alone, like a long battle. Um. 337 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: And in here it's like one part of the war. Um. 338 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,440 Speaker 1: It's just like this, this tremendous death toll that had 339 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: not been seen earlier in the same kind of time frame. 340 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 1: It's just it's it's it's a fucking nightmare. Um And yeah, 341 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:15,919 Speaker 1: like it's uh, this is like where the modern world 342 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: is kind of borne out of this battle, and it's 343 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:19,720 Speaker 1: born because of krupt cannons, because there was so much 344 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: better than the brass cannons the French had. It really 345 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:24,640 Speaker 1: did just come down to that. Now France had been 346 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,120 Speaker 1: on the cusp of building its own steel cannons via 347 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 1: its own giant Arms company Schneider, but their production was 348 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:32,119 Speaker 1: halted before they could get out in time for the 349 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 1: war because of a communist strike, and so you can 350 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,240 Speaker 1: actually say that communism helped lead to the birth of 351 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,159 Speaker 1: the German state as a result of this, which is 352 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:45,439 Speaker 1: another interesting little tidbits. Yeah, so corrupt guns would get 353 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:47,880 Speaker 1: another chance to impress the world and kill a funkload 354 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: of people after the actual fighting had mostly ended. See, 355 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: the emperor himself was captured, you know, in the battles 356 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: before this, and his army routed, but the city of 357 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,000 Speaker 1: Paris refused to surrender, and there was kind of like 358 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:01,520 Speaker 1: a revolution in this city. Is like we're going to 359 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: take back France on our own, like funk our emperor 360 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: and stuff like we'll we'll fight the Germans um, which 361 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: is of course like a swell. It's pretty suicidal because 362 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:14,360 Speaker 1: Krupp has these you know, we've been talking about these 363 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 1: giant guns he's been building just to show off. Well, 364 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:19,159 Speaker 1: now they get used and they're not any use on 365 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: a battlefield because they have ranges that are measured in miles, 366 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: but they're long enough away that you can be outside 367 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,359 Speaker 1: of a city and level the city from like five 368 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 1: miles away and that had never been done before. So 369 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:32,720 Speaker 1: what you see with the Siege of Paris is a 370 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: sneak peek to how Warwood looks seventy years later, when 371 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: you have you know, bombers reigning down bombs on cities 372 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 1: from miles up. This is the same thing, but with 373 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:43,840 Speaker 1: artillery on the ground, just blowing the ship up out 374 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: of Paris without troops ever entering the city. Oh god, yeah, 375 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 1: it's the first time that happens, thanks to Alfred Krupp. Okay, okay, yeah, 376 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:58,440 Speaker 1: it's good stuff. We're gonna talk a little bit more 377 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,679 Speaker 1: about how he murdered a whole on to people. But first, 378 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: you know, who doesn't shell Paris from five miles away? 379 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: Who the products and services that support this podcast. We're 380 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,960 Speaker 1: back and we're talking about the siege of Paris. So 381 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:22,439 Speaker 1: again as saying, this is like the first time that 382 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 1: a city is destroyed from a distance without troops ever entering. 383 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,360 Speaker 1: It as like a military tactic, and it was very 384 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,160 Speaker 1: controversial at the time. Bismarck was immediately like, yeah, just 385 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 1: just kill everybody in Paris if they resist, and his 386 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:37,919 Speaker 1: generals were like, well, that's a that's a crime, sir um. 387 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 1: But eventually they decided to do it. And yeah, I'm 388 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,560 Speaker 1: going to read a quote from Hate Winds. Yeah, yeah, 389 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 1: it always does. Um, so I'm gonna find I'm gonna 390 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:50,160 Speaker 1: read a quote from a collection of eyewitness accounts from 391 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:52,959 Speaker 1: the Siege of Paris that were gathered by Salem College. 392 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,560 Speaker 1: Quote a Colonel Heitzler and his wife. We're giving breakfast 393 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,520 Speaker 1: at Avrone to several friends. A servant being in the room. 394 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:03,480 Speaker 1: One of the guests was laughing with the hostess and said, no, butters, certainly, 395 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:05,440 Speaker 1: but there may be a shell in its place. And 396 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:08,040 Speaker 1: as he spoke, a shell burst in the room, killed 397 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 1: six of the party and wounded severely the host and hostess, 398 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: and only the doctor of the regiment and the servant 399 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,119 Speaker 1: got off unscathed. The remains of the six came just 400 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,280 Speaker 1: now to valde Grass Hospital, but it was such a 401 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:22,320 Speaker 1: human ruin that no individuality could be recognized. Prussians are 402 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:24,479 Speaker 1: firing with eight e guns, some of them being hundred 403 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,160 Speaker 1: and twelve pounders, ranging from three miles to half three 404 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 1: miles and a half to four miles. So they're just 405 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,959 Speaker 1: killing anybody and everybody. Yeah, they're just showing. They're dropping 406 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:38,680 Speaker 1: hundred and twelve pound explosive shells on a city, blindly 407 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:42,399 Speaker 1: shooting into it. Jesus until people don't want to fight anymore. Yeah, 408 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 1: as terrifying. Yeah again, this would not have been possible 409 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:48,960 Speaker 1: without Alfred Krupp's invention, and this would become the norm. 410 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: This is the Norman warfare. Now you talk about the 411 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 1: Siege of Rocca, it was U S artillery pounding Rocca 412 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,400 Speaker 1: from miles away in order to clear out the Islamic state. 413 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,000 Speaker 1: And also all of the civilians who happened to me, 414 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:01,159 Speaker 1: I watched some of this ship happened in Moses like 415 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 1: this has been war ever since, and it starts here 416 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy thanks to the steel canons of Krupp. 417 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: That's sad. It's cool ship. It is cool ship. Archibald Forbes, 418 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: of war correspondent with the London Daily News, had this 419 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,400 Speaker 1: to say. He was there in Paris at the time 420 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,840 Speaker 1: and he had seen like bunches of wars previous to this, 421 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: but they've been like the little bit of European wars. 422 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:24,200 Speaker 1: We have like a bunch of lines of guys shoot 423 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,440 Speaker 1: at each other with shitty rifles and like a couple 424 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: of hundred die and then your war is done right now, 425 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:31,480 Speaker 1: he's in the middle of the first modern slaughter. And 426 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: here's what he writes. The terrible ghastliness of those dead 427 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:38,240 Speaker 1: transcended anything I had ever seen or even dreamed of 428 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: in the shuddering nightmare after my first battlefield. Remember how 429 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,080 Speaker 1: they had been slain. Not with the nimble bullet of 430 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:46,199 Speaker 1: the needle gun that drills a minute hole through a 431 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: man and leaves him undisfigured unless it has chanced to 432 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 1: strike his face, Not with the sharp stab of the bayonet, 433 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:55,160 Speaker 1: but slaughtered with missiles of terrible weight, shattered into fragments 434 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 1: by explosions of many pounds of powder, mangled and torn 435 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 1: by massive fragments of iron. Huh. Yeah, it's the first 436 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 1: modern modern deaths. That's how everybody dies. Now. It's good stuff. Yeah, yeah, 437 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 1: it's fucking rules. So cities have been ravaged by war before, 438 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:19,560 Speaker 1: but eighteen seventy marked the first time one was wrecked 439 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: by soldiers who never even entered the city's borders. Far 440 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 1: from horrifying the planet, it ignited a tremendous hunger for 441 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: krupt guns. So people see this fucking slaughter instead of 442 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:31,400 Speaker 1: being like, you guys just murdered a bunch of civilians 443 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:32,800 Speaker 1: and broke all the laws of war. They're like, I 444 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: gotta get some of those fucking cannons. I need some 445 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,440 Speaker 1: of that ship. Give me those, Give me those motherfucker's. Yeah, 446 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 1: this guy is really good at making guns. Look at 447 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: how many dead people there are in Paris. It's great. Sucks. 448 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,439 Speaker 1: This is not one of our more optimistic about people episodes. 449 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:56,120 Speaker 1: It sure isn't. At least government suck and a lot 450 00:22:56,160 --> 00:23:00,639 Speaker 1: of the tists. Yeah. So from the arms of Krupt 451 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,280 Speaker 1: quote krup cannon became the new status symbol of nations. 452 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:07,760 Speaker 1: Turkey used them to guard the Bosphorus Romania to protect 453 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: the forty bastions of Bucharest. According to legend, Tiny and 454 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: Dora bought a long range gun and then discovered that 455 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: it couldn't be fired without hitting French soil. In eighteen 456 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,040 Speaker 1: seventy three, the Corrupt Work payroll was half again as 457 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,680 Speaker 1: large as in eighteen seventy. The firm had surpassed the 458 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:24,919 Speaker 1: peak of its wartime production. Then came the Sino Japanese 459 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 1: War Scare of eighteen seventy four. In eighteen seventy five, 460 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:30,160 Speaker 1: the first in a long series of plums which fell 461 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,439 Speaker 1: into Alfred's lap. Tokyo had purchased cannon from Schneider, and 462 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,199 Speaker 1: the Chinese warlords had been buying from Armstrong, but by 463 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: now memoirs of men who had fought at Sadan Mets 464 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,120 Speaker 1: in Paris those are all battles from eighteen seventy were 465 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:43,919 Speaker 1: being read over the globe. When Krupp wrote flattering letters 466 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:46,199 Speaker 1: to Lee Hong Chang, the Bismarck of Asia, and sent 467 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: him a model railroad. Lee responded by ordering two hundred 468 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: seventy five field guns, another hundred fifty cannon to arm 469 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:55,119 Speaker 1: the Taku fort guarding the approach to Tiensen, and a 470 00:23:55,119 --> 00:23:58,439 Speaker 1: complete armament for eight warships. And gratitude. Alfred hung over 471 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: the head of his bed a portrait of Lee, despite 472 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 1: his fear of combustible combustible objects in the castle. Word, 473 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: if his Chinese coup reached Potstam, Krupp tells governments what 474 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:10,960 Speaker 1: they must buy. If governments were poor enough, He really did. 475 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 1: Backward countries were given shipments of obsolete weapons despite the 476 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 1: huge bill paid by Asia's Bismarck. Li Hong Cheng didn't 477 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: receive Essen's latest model, which was being delivered to St. Petersburg. 478 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,919 Speaker 1: That winter, the Taku forts got outdated cannon and a 479 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,680 Speaker 1: handsome order from bang Hawk was filled. From the same prescription, 480 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 1: Alfred wrote, tartly Chinese and Siamese can blow their enemies 481 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:35,119 Speaker 1: to bits well enough with these. Wow. Yeah, send the 482 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:40,240 Speaker 1: shitty guns that explode sometimes to the Asians. They're not white, damn. Yeah, 483 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,560 Speaker 1: he's a real piece of ship. Yep. Yeah, he's a 484 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:47,119 Speaker 1: terrible Person's a piece of horse ship. Sorry, yeah, no, 485 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 1: don't say that. He that's that's a compliment. Yeah, he 486 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:51,399 Speaker 1: would love to hear that. You tell him he's a 487 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 1: piece of horse. He would say thank you, yes. But 488 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: to everyone else, yeah, except for they have to pretend 489 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 1: it to like it, because they want his guns fair enough, Krupp. 490 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:02,840 Speaker 1: One of the things I guess that is kind of 491 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:05,639 Speaker 1: heartening here is that as successful as he was, Krupp 492 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 1: was fundamentally incapable of taking any pleasure in his success. 493 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,399 Speaker 1: He always found new things to worry about. And in 494 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,480 Speaker 1: the Yeah, as the eighteen seventies rolled on, this thing 495 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,159 Speaker 1: was communism. So in eighteen seventy one, like, I love 496 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,840 Speaker 1: that there's no like guilty conscious going on. It's like 497 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: it's not worried about how his guns are gonna sell. 498 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 1: He is incapable. The only thing he ever feels guilt 499 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,439 Speaker 1: about is when his guns blow up and kill German crews. 500 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: M M yeah, Um, he's a good dude, so he 501 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: starts flipping out about He thought communism was pretty funny 502 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy when the French went on strike and 503 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,080 Speaker 1: they didn't get their steel cannons in time. But in 504 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy one, the Social Democratic Party goes on strike 505 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: in Germany and threatens to shut down the minds that 506 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: brought Krupp his iron and coal. Alfred was furious. He 507 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,480 Speaker 1: issued a company directive that neither now nor at any 508 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 1: future time would a former striker be allowed to work 509 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:58,480 Speaker 1: for Krupp. He was kind of enough to recognize that 510 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: strikes and communist sympathy among workers were caused by the 511 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: fact that a lot of workers were miserable and desperate. 512 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 1: He decided to address this by issuing a groundbreaking list 513 00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:11,520 Speaker 1: that he called his General Regulations. These guaranteed his permanent 514 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,199 Speaker 1: employees a pension, healthcare, old age care, and a variety 515 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,200 Speaker 1: of other benefits that we now look together as part 516 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: of a social safety net. He invents welfare. Basically, he's 517 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 1: he's the first company to do a pension. Is see 518 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 1: if this was to be made into a movie, that's 519 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: the only thing that they would yeah, that they would 520 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,160 Speaker 1: say about him and ignoring all the weapons ship well 521 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,879 Speaker 1: and where it's not as good as it sounds. So 522 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,159 Speaker 1: he sends out a list of these benefits to his 523 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,720 Speaker 1: employees in part to make sure that they won't strike. 524 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:44,359 Speaker 1: But the list aren't mostly benefits. They're mostly a list 525 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 1: of obligations that the workers have to the company. Yeah, 526 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,880 Speaker 1: so he like really focuses on what the companies owe 527 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: the firm, and he liberally threatens his workers throughout the document. 528 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: As in this passage, the full force of a of 529 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: authority must be used to to suppress disloyalty and conspiracy. 530 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:07,240 Speaker 1: Those who commit unworthy acts must never be permitted to 531 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 1: feel safe, must never escape public disgrace. Good, like wickedness, 532 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:13,399 Speaker 1: should be examined through a microscope, for their truth is 533 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:15,639 Speaker 1: to be found. Even as a seed bears fruit and 534 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: direct ratio to the nourishment or poison it is given. 535 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:20,160 Speaker 1: So it is that from the spirit that an act 536 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:24,080 Speaker 1: benigner evil arises. And again the act that is evil. 537 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: He's talking about is like unionizing um, which is yeah. Now, 538 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:33,400 Speaker 1: the more corrupt played with the idea of his general regulations, 539 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,880 Speaker 1: the more they turned into a corporate dictatorship. He decided 540 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:39,160 Speaker 1: that his company was entitled because he was now paying 541 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,560 Speaker 1: them pensions and stuff. His company was entitled to an 542 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:45,280 Speaker 1: employee's full and undivided energy, and he gradually came to 543 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 1: feel that that meant CRUP should be the entire focus 544 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,200 Speaker 1: of a CRUP employees life. To that end, he developed 545 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: housing colonies for his employees, each building named after a 546 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: CRUP ancestor. He built a bread factory, a wine store, 547 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,320 Speaker 1: a butcher plant, and even a hotel. This city of 548 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 1: Essen turned into an extension of Alfred Krupp's personal property. 549 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,439 Speaker 1: From his vantage point, the best thing about providing all 550 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:08,920 Speaker 1: of these services to his employees was that he could 551 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 1: take them away from workers who did things he's disproved 552 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,960 Speaker 1: of and destroy their entire lives. A dismissed employee lost everything, 553 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,360 Speaker 1: even his pension and of course his company home. Alfred 554 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:21,639 Speaker 1: wrote to the Kaiser that this system would quote be 555 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 1: useful for the prevention of socialistic errors, because you lose 556 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 1: your whole life if you get fired now. Damn kind 557 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:36,920 Speaker 1: of true today. Yeah, thanks, Alfred, Yeah, not not much different. 558 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:39,840 Speaker 1: He's a trailblazer, not not like an Alfred Right now. 559 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: To help further prevent those errors, Krupp instituted a program 560 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: of snooping, the first centralized workplace espionage program. Yeah, you 561 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 1: talk about like the night early nineteen late eight hundred, 562 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: early night, like the eighteen nineties through the nineteen twenties. 563 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: This is huge in the United States. The Pinkerton's are 564 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:58,760 Speaker 1: a big deal. Kruff is doing this in the early 565 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:01,479 Speaker 1: eighteen seventies. He's he's the first company to have an 566 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 1: organized program of spy. Yeah, yeah, very ahead of his time. Today, 567 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 1: companies like the Pinkerton's provide corporations like Amazon with surveillance 568 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 1: of workers who might win a unionize. And that starts 569 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:17,280 Speaker 1: with Krupp, who ordered, quote a constant, quiet observation of 570 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: the spirit of our workers, so that we cannot miss 571 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: the beginning of any ferment anywhere. And I must demand 572 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,720 Speaker 1: that if the cleverest and best workman or foreman even 573 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,280 Speaker 1: looks as though he wants to raise objections or belongs 574 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 1: to one of those unions, he shall be discharged as 575 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:35,160 Speaker 1: quickly as practicable without consideration of whether he can be spared. Wow. Wow, 576 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: he's a fucking cool dude. Let's just go to ads 577 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:45,960 Speaker 1: and not think too much about any of this. We're back. 578 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: I love not thinking too deeply about history. Um So again, 579 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 1: a lot of as nice as some of these social 580 00:29:57,720 --> 00:29:59,479 Speaker 1: welfare things sound on the surface, a lot of them 581 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:01,600 Speaker 1: are really very negative and abusive. But I do have 582 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 1: to give Alfred credit for something which is that inspired 583 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 1: by the rules that Alfred puts in for his company 584 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 1: and the social like welfare that he gives his workers, 585 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:15,400 Speaker 1: Otto von Bismarck introduces a series of landmark German social 586 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 1: welfare legislation that is like based on the general regulations 587 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 1: that Alfred writes, and those become the backbone of all 588 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 1: German social security to this day. The entire German welfare 589 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:30,360 Speaker 1: state starts because of Alfred Krupp, like he he inspired, 590 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 1: like writes down the initial laws that become the backbone 591 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,520 Speaker 1: of everything that has done later, which is like something 592 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,120 Speaker 1: you have to make note of. I guess he doesn't 593 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,640 Speaker 1: do it for a good reason, but he does do it. 594 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 1: So yeah, wow right, yeah, it's it's it's fun. Um Now, Obviously, 595 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:55,560 Speaker 1: even that is more problematic than it might sound. Um, 596 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:57,840 Speaker 1: And I'm going to quote from the arms of Krupp here. 597 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: In nineteen eleven, the Reich's workman Insurance Code was extended 598 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:05,400 Speaker 1: to all laborhoods. Extended to was to extend to all 599 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 1: labors the rights that Krupp had given his men nearly 600 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,080 Speaker 1: four decades before. And the following year Kaiser Wilhelm the 601 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:14,200 Speaker 1: Second declared an essen that the Iron Chancellor Bismarck had 602 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 1: been prodded by Krupp. Echoes of the general regulations were 603 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,360 Speaker 1: to be heard in the third Reich. Hitler wrote in 604 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:21,400 Speaker 1: Mind comp that his own program had begun with a 605 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: study of Bismarck's social reforms, and the slogan of the 606 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:28,160 Speaker 1: Fewer's Labor Front leader Robert Ley community spirit must be drilled, 607 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: was taken almost verbatim from Alfred's fourth article, So both 608 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,720 Speaker 1: the Kaiser. Long after Alfred's death, both the Kaiser and 609 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 1: Hitler copy his labor reforms not because they care about 610 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 1: the workers, but because they're a good way to prevent 611 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: communism from taking place, because they provide just enough security 612 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:52,080 Speaker 1: that it makes people not want to unionize. And yeah, 613 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:54,920 Speaker 1: a little more complacent, and the Nazis recognized this and 614 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,760 Speaker 1: almost copy him word for word in some pet places 615 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 1: like yeah, it's good stuff. Good stuff would have made 616 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:04,920 Speaker 1: a pretty good dictator. He would have made it. He 617 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: was basically a dictator, and he would have made a 618 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,480 Speaker 1: fantastic Nazi. I mean his his his son was an 619 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 1: amazing like his like grandson, I guess was an amazing Nazi. 620 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:17,840 Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, his grandson was a huge Nazi, big, 621 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:23,200 Speaker 1: big solid Nazi. Uh great, a solid Nazi. Did he 622 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 1: inherit the horseship thing? Or was that just no? I 623 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:33,280 Speaker 1: think that was just Alfred. Yeah, yeah, it's a little peculiar. 624 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: Still stuff, it's weird. So Krupp himself never lived to 625 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 1: see the lot rise of the Third Reich, but his 626 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:43,280 Speaker 1: descendants loved it, and there's no reason I think he 627 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 1: wouldn't also have loved it. He Yeah. He wrote this 628 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,400 Speaker 1: in reference to the German Social Democratic Party, which, in 629 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:52,120 Speaker 1: spite of his best efforts, rose throughout Germany. In his 630 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,760 Speaker 1: later life, I wish somebody with great gifts would start 631 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:58,080 Speaker 1: a counter revolution for the best of the people, with 632 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 1: flying columns, labor battalions of young men. He's saying, he 633 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:04,320 Speaker 1: wants a Nazi party. Like that's what that statement is, is, like, 634 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: there's too many fucking liberals. I wish somebody would start 635 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:10,280 Speaker 1: a counter revolution with like flying columns of young men 636 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:14,080 Speaker 1: ready to beat the ship out of socialists. Yeah, that's 637 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:19,440 Speaker 1: definitely what humanity needs as a solution to things. Yeah. Yeah, 638 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:21,920 Speaker 1: when he's crying out for somebody with great gifts, he's 639 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:23,960 Speaker 1: he's crying out for Hitler, Like that's who he Like, 640 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 1: he doesn't know it at the time, but that's who 641 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,040 Speaker 1: he's begging for. What if he like built Hitler himself 642 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,520 Speaker 1: out of like a bunch of horseshit. Yeah, I mean, 643 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: in a way, he kind of did. He certainly was 644 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,440 Speaker 1: one of the people made Yeah, he was one of 645 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:42,960 Speaker 1: the people who made you know, Hitler possible. Obviously, you know, 646 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 1: you don't get a Hitler without a lot of people 647 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,200 Speaker 1: wanting a Hitler and a lot of ground work had 648 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:49,600 Speaker 1: to be laid. But Alfred's one of the guys who's 649 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 1: down there plugging away to make Germany ready for a Hitler. 650 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:56,000 Speaker 1: That is absolutely fair to say. Alfred was a staunch 651 00:33:56,040 --> 00:34:00,000 Speaker 1: opponent of democracy. He wanted the abolishment of universal human stuff, 652 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 1: Ridge and the franchise to vote withdrawn from people without property. 653 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,200 Speaker 1: He urged his workers to ignore politics and put up 654 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,400 Speaker 1: notices in his factory that a vote for the Social 655 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:12,399 Speaker 1: Democratic Party was a vote for the idle, dissolute, and incompetent. 656 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,200 Speaker 1: He went on to advise them, enjoy what you have 657 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 1: when work is over. Stay in the circle of your family, 658 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:19,640 Speaker 1: with your wife, children and the old people, and think 659 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:23,080 Speaker 1: about the household problems and education. Let that be your politics. 660 00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:25,880 Speaker 1: Then you will be happy. But spare yourself the excitement 661 00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:28,839 Speaker 1: of big cut. Questions of national policy, issues of high 662 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,640 Speaker 1: policy require more time and knowledge than the workman has 663 00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:36,120 Speaker 1: at his command. You're too dumb to think about politics. Yeah, 664 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:40,080 Speaker 1: when the Social Democrats, yeah, he's not. He himself is 665 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:43,320 Speaker 1: a pretty smart guy. When the Social Democrats won seats 666 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:45,719 Speaker 1: in the reichs doug anyway, he fired thirty men for 667 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:49,080 Speaker 1: suspicion of socialism. Now in his late sixties, Crupp became 668 00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:52,000 Speaker 1: a tyrant, cracking down or rationally on anything that seemed 669 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:54,920 Speaker 1: like the scent. Periodically he would flee Essen and his 670 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:57,600 Speaker 1: company for weeks at a time, hiding in his terrible 671 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:00,400 Speaker 1: house and sending missives out. He would invite p belover 672 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,040 Speaker 1: and then refused to see them, spying on them secretly 673 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:05,239 Speaker 1: through hidden chambers in his home and leaving them notes 674 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:08,600 Speaker 1: critiquing their behavior. Once, when an unmarried couple flirted in 675 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:10,360 Speaker 1: his home, they woke up to find a sheet of 676 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,840 Speaker 1: paper with his handwriting on it in their bedroom telling 677 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:14,800 Speaker 1: them that a carriage was ready to take them away 678 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,120 Speaker 1: because they kissing and ship. Yeah, he's a weird dude. 679 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:22,440 Speaker 1: In short, Alfred Krupp lost his damn mind. His wild 680 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:25,360 Speaker 1: success brought him a kind of megalomania. He mortgaged the 681 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:27,839 Speaker 1: company near the breaking point to buy up almost every 682 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,240 Speaker 1: mine in Germany on the notion that he must secure 683 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:32,920 Speaker 1: for his descendants a hundred years worth of raw materials 684 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,880 Speaker 1: to keep the company running. He threatened to sue employees 685 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:38,640 Speaker 1: who left Krupp for another company, and even attempted to 686 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:41,440 Speaker 1: have it made illegal for people to switch employers. Like, 687 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:44,800 Speaker 1: oh my god, Yeah, he's out of his damn mind 688 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:48,560 Speaker 1: by the time he's like in his fifties and sixties. Um, 689 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:50,719 Speaker 1: I'm gonna quote from the arms of Krupp again here. 690 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:54,160 Speaker 1: Since he was providing his employees with homes, schools, hospitals, 691 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:56,279 Speaker 1: and food, he reasoned that they're hours away from work 692 00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:58,960 Speaker 1: belonged to him too. It is an astonishing fact that 693 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,400 Speaker 1: most of them agreed, or at any rate right displayed 694 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:03,680 Speaker 1: no signs of mutiny. There is no evidence that he 695 00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:07,200 Speaker 1: provoked either indignation or amusement with what was, by any yardstick, 696 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,120 Speaker 1: his most extraordinary order to the men of my works. 697 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:12,080 Speaker 1: He had been thinking it over, he said, it had 698 00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:14,400 Speaker 1: come to the conclusion that a faithful workman's place of 699 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:17,600 Speaker 1: work included the marriage bed. Just as the sole proprietor 700 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:19,840 Speaker 1: was acquiring enough raw materials to last the house of 701 00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:22,719 Speaker 1: Krupp for the next ninety nine years, so must every 702 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:26,160 Speaker 1: conscientious CRUP employee strive to provide the state with plenty 703 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:28,920 Speaker 1: of loyal subjects and to develop a special breed of 704 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:31,680 Speaker 1: men for the works. In other words, you owe me 705 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:34,640 Speaker 1: a duty to have kids so that I have employees 706 00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:38,719 Speaker 1: in the future and my children have employees. Damn, this 707 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:42,920 Speaker 1: is messed up. Yeah, it's it's really bad. He's terrible, 708 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:46,960 Speaker 1: and a lot like Jeff Bezas. He's just open homeless 709 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,960 Speaker 1: shelters for Amazon employees. So the continued success of the 710 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:53,880 Speaker 1: social Democrats through Alfred into a constant rage in his 711 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,080 Speaker 1: waning years, he ran for election and lost amidst a 712 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:00,360 Speaker 1: massive leftward swing that saw the SPD. The Social Democratic 713 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:03,040 Speaker 1: Party allied with the Centrist Party to try and block 714 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:05,759 Speaker 1: a landmark military appropriations bill that would have been a 715 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:09,040 Speaker 1: lot of money for Alfred. Alfred became incredibly invested in 716 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:11,480 Speaker 1: that year's elections, pushing his employees to vote for an 717 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:13,840 Speaker 1: approved mandate and going so far as to have the 718 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,600 Speaker 1: local elections Commission, which he controlled, issue marked ballots so 719 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:20,200 Speaker 1: he could punish any employee who voted the wrong way. 720 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:23,120 Speaker 1: And yet still his candidate, who was his son at 721 00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:26,480 Speaker 1: this point, lost and the Social Democrats gained seats. Alfred 722 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:28,920 Speaker 1: threatened to dynamite his entire factory and had to be 723 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:31,360 Speaker 1: argued down by his employees, who pointed out that the 724 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,080 Speaker 1: Nationalists were still in charge and we're still going to 725 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:36,720 Speaker 1: pass the appropriations bill, so it was kind of stupid 726 00:37:36,719 --> 00:37:38,960 Speaker 1: to blow up his entire factory just because they were 727 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:42,840 Speaker 1: slightly less overwhelmingly in charge than they had been before. 728 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,960 Speaker 1: But he's that kind of guy, like, you're still in power, 729 00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:48,719 Speaker 1: but other people have had political success, so you want 730 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:54,000 Speaker 1: to blow up your own factory. Like he's yeah, he 731 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:56,799 Speaker 1: is kind of trumpy um, and the fact that the 732 00:37:56,920 --> 00:37:59,600 Speaker 1: SPD still existed and seemed to be gaining ground kind 733 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,200 Speaker 1: of bro Alfred. He posted a note in his shop 734 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:04,320 Speaker 1: that stated, the next time I go through the works, 735 00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:05,839 Speaker 1: I want to feel at home, and I would rather 736 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,799 Speaker 1: see the place empty than to find some fellow with 737 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,600 Speaker 1: venom in his heart, such as every social democrat is. 738 00:38:11,239 --> 00:38:14,440 Speaker 1: Oh boy, it's like maybe a little bit of it 739 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:17,920 Speaker 1: might be putting that a little bit, uh, projecting a 740 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:22,040 Speaker 1: little bit there, buddy, Like yeah. So next he hired 741 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,680 Speaker 1: inspectors to go through all the trash and his workshops 742 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:28,120 Speaker 1: and his worker housing projects and comb for literature critical 743 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:31,239 Speaker 1: of either company management or the German government. An old 744 00:38:31,239 --> 00:38:33,239 Speaker 1: man who had worked as a corrupt night watchman for 745 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 1: thirty three years was fired, so was a worker whose 746 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:38,920 Speaker 1: landlady had wrapped his lunch in a newspaper Alfred disliked. 747 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:41,759 Speaker 1: Alfred considered this program a great success, and so he 748 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:44,040 Speaker 1: hired a new inspector to go through the used toilet 749 00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:46,160 Speaker 1: paper to see if socialists had left any notes in 750 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:51,560 Speaker 1: the bathroom Like it's he's fucking out of his mind 751 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:54,840 Speaker 1: at this point, um, And it's weird because like the 752 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:57,479 Speaker 1: left never harmed his business in any way. In fact, 753 00:38:57,520 --> 00:38:59,320 Speaker 1: the last decade or so of his life was the 754 00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:02,279 Speaker 1: most profitable period in CRUP history to date. At least 755 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:05,640 Speaker 1: fifteen little wars broke out and involving countries he sold 756 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:10,120 Speaker 1: arms to. Sometimes his clients even fought. Yeah, yeah, and 757 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:13,160 Speaker 1: he loved this. Yeah. So the Russio Turkish War happens 758 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:15,799 Speaker 1: from eighteen seventy to eighteen seventy eight, and Krupp had 759 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,800 Speaker 1: sold guns to both sides, and so he starts asking 760 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:21,680 Speaker 1: both sides for testimonials both so he can improve the 761 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,319 Speaker 1: killing power of his weapons. And he takes these like 762 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:27,480 Speaker 1: testimonials from Russians and from Turks about how deadly his 763 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:29,840 Speaker 1: guns are, and he sends them to every member of 764 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:32,200 Speaker 1: the English House of Commons, and he's like, why are 765 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:34,319 Speaker 1: you guys buying British guns when my guns are so 766 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:36,600 Speaker 1: much better? Like look at how good, look at how 767 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:38,840 Speaker 1: good they are at killing my customers, Like you should 768 00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:43,480 Speaker 1: be buying guns for me. Geez, like drawing little pictures 769 00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:49,759 Speaker 1: like everything hurt this guy. Yeah, boom nico boom on him. Yeah, 770 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:52,880 Speaker 1: he's a little bit, it's just yeah, he's kind of 771 00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:55,359 Speaker 1: obsessed with England. Too, so he's very frustrated that they 772 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,640 Speaker 1: never do buy his weapons. By the late eighteen eighties, 773 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,360 Speaker 1: Alfred was constantly ill in more than half mad. He 774 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:04,440 Speaker 1: spent his twilight years constructing and attempting to sell what 775 00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:07,880 Speaker 1: was basically an enormous stationary tank. It was just a 776 00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:10,920 Speaker 1: giant armored gun that couldn't move and was wrapped in 777 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:14,480 Speaker 1: so much armor that it was basically destructible. During demonstrations, 778 00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:16,920 Speaker 1: Alfred would sit inside it and wait while his own 779 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:20,680 Speaker 1: gunners shot him with artillery shells. Despite this display, nobody 780 00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:23,240 Speaker 1: bought a single one of his guns. He hatched hatched 781 00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:26,120 Speaker 1: another scheme to create hollow islands topped by armored guns 782 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:27,640 Speaker 1: that he was going to use to blow up boats. 783 00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:30,040 Speaker 1: But everyone was like, these are crazy, And eventually his 784 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:34,439 Speaker 1: son instructed the factory to ignore any further communications from 785 00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:37,400 Speaker 1: his father because he had just gone mad. Uh Krupp 786 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:39,560 Speaker 1: finally ceased to rule the arms factory that had been 787 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:42,560 Speaker 1: his entire life's work, and he died almost immediately after that, 788 00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,680 Speaker 1: on July seven, from a heart attack. And that's the 789 00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:51,560 Speaker 1: story of Alfred Krupp. Wow, Yeah, he lived so long 790 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:55,160 Speaker 1: for a horseshit guy, for a guy who breathed in 791 00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:58,960 Speaker 1: nothing but industrial poisons and horseshit his whole life. Maybe 792 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:03,160 Speaker 1: there's something too that ship thing. Yeah, maybe he wasn't wrong. 793 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:05,960 Speaker 1: I'm gonna not try that, but let me know how 794 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:13,440 Speaker 1: that goes. Yeah yeah, somebody else wouldn't have to try it. Yeah, yep, yep, yep. 795 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:19,160 Speaker 1: So that's the story of the man who made everything 796 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:24,160 Speaker 1: else that happened in the twentieth century possible damn good. Yeah, 797 00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:27,279 Speaker 1: and the guy who helped in invent Germany. So him 798 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:29,279 Speaker 1: and Bertha did have a kid, Yeah, no, he had. 799 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:30,880 Speaker 1: He had a couple of kids with her, and the 800 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:33,440 Speaker 1: kids mostly Actually, the reason they finally split is in 801 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:38,000 Speaker 1: two she asks him to um like she comes to him, 802 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:39,680 Speaker 1: he's like, hey, our son wants to get married. And 803 00:41:39,719 --> 00:41:41,520 Speaker 1: it was to a woman that Alfred didn't like because 804 00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:43,920 Speaker 1: he didn't like anybody, and he was like no, and 805 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:45,600 Speaker 1: she packed up all of her ship and left for 806 00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:48,359 Speaker 1: good and it broke his heart and she never talked 807 00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:50,200 Speaker 1: to him again, even though he like let his kid 808 00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:53,560 Speaker 1: get married after that. Um because he's again just like 809 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:56,640 Speaker 1: a like a cussed piece of ship who was incapable 810 00:41:56,640 --> 00:41:59,760 Speaker 1: of like hated being with himself and as a result, 811 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:02,319 Speaker 1: it was miserable to be around, and so nobody could 812 00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:04,440 Speaker 1: be with him, and he just spent his entire waning 813 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:10,040 Speaker 1: years designing increasingly impossible weapons. Jeez, all he could think 814 00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:11,719 Speaker 1: about as an old man because he had nothing else. 815 00:42:11,719 --> 00:42:13,279 Speaker 1: All he could think about as an old man was 816 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:15,480 Speaker 1: how to make more ways for other people to kill 817 00:42:15,560 --> 00:42:18,920 Speaker 1: each other. What a life for in existence? Could have 818 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:21,120 Speaker 1: been the train track guy, Alfred, But instead you're the 819 00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:26,120 Speaker 1: guy who people killed. What a waste of being a 820 00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:29,319 Speaker 1: smart person. Yeah, if he just made better ways for 821 00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:32,080 Speaker 1: people to travel, everybody, Alfred crap, the train guy. What 822 00:42:32,160 --> 00:42:35,880 Speaker 1: a cool dude. Yeah yeah, but no, that is not 823 00:42:36,239 --> 00:42:39,320 Speaker 1: the way the story ends. So how are you feeling 824 00:42:41,239 --> 00:42:45,280 Speaker 1: taking it all in, absorbing all of these facts. Yeah, 825 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:49,279 Speaker 1: I had no idea. Yeah, yeah, this is definitely a 826 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:53,320 Speaker 1: little bit more German history nerd uh for our podcast. 827 00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:56,080 Speaker 1: I should also state for the record that Alfred was 828 00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:59,960 Speaker 1: pretty anti Semitic, but also so was everyone at the time. 829 00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,400 Speaker 1: Like I don't get the sense that like he was 830 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:04,880 Speaker 1: different from literally every other person in German and that 831 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:09,640 Speaker 1: right right right, Like he like everybody's racist against Jewish 832 00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:13,160 Speaker 1: people in Germany in the eighteen seventies. You know, history 833 00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:16,960 Speaker 1: has shown it's pretty easy to be Anicomitic. They were 834 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:21,720 Speaker 1: that racist in France and England, in America too, something 835 00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:27,480 Speaker 1: about us in Russia, Turkey, everywhere, but China pretty it 836 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:30,520 Speaker 1: wasn't anti China. China was good about In fact, there 837 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:33,560 Speaker 1: was there was I forget which city, but one of 838 00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:36,120 Speaker 1: the coastal cities in China had like a huge Jewish 839 00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:38,200 Speaker 1: population by the time World War two broke out, because 840 00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:41,360 Speaker 1: like the Chinese actually liked having Jewish people in their cities, 841 00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:43,359 Speaker 1: and then of course the Japanese killed all those people 842 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:45,000 Speaker 1: to please the Germans, and it was just like this 843 00:43:45,040 --> 00:43:48,200 Speaker 1: horrible thing, and that's why we eat Chinese food on Christmas. 844 00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:52,200 Speaker 1: And the China after that massacre, after like the city 845 00:43:52,239 --> 00:43:55,280 Speaker 1: was retaken, China build a giant monument to the murdered 846 00:43:55,320 --> 00:43:57,239 Speaker 1: Jews of that city because they felt bad about it. 847 00:43:57,239 --> 00:44:03,919 Speaker 1: Because yeah, there's that, there's that, but everybody else unbelievably 848 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:07,600 Speaker 1: racist against juan people. But yeah, Krupp is not like 849 00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:13,239 Speaker 1: a trailblazer in his as. Yeah, yeah, he's just kind 850 00:44:13,239 --> 00:44:16,480 Speaker 1: of like joining the mob on that one. Yeah, at 851 00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:19,200 Speaker 1: this point in time, anti Semitism is like liking Rick 852 00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:27,239 Speaker 1: and Morty. It's just not at all worth acknowledging. Okay, 853 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:31,439 Speaker 1: so Alison, you've got any pluggables to plug? I mean 854 00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:38,280 Speaker 1: I will speaking of Jews, plug my uitable original like Mother. 855 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:43,360 Speaker 1: It's very Jewish. I mean, I will say that's the 856 00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:46,560 Speaker 1: that's the most positive statement that's ever come after the 857 00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:50,880 Speaker 1: words speaking of juice. Normally that does not lead to 858 00:44:50,960 --> 00:44:55,520 Speaker 1: something good. Well, here we go. I'll give it to you. 859 00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:58,240 Speaker 1: Uh if you want to listen to a mother daughter 860 00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:03,959 Speaker 1: comedy called Like Mother that starts me and comedy legend 861 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:08,279 Speaker 1: Susie Esman, then there you go. There you go, check 862 00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:14,680 Speaker 1: out that, check out everything and check out I don't know, cannons. 863 00:45:15,360 --> 00:45:18,320 Speaker 1: I feel like that's a bad thing to check out. Cannons. 864 00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:21,560 Speaker 1: Don't check out horseshit. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I like 865 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:24,480 Speaker 1: to be honest, I much prefer people have a lot 866 00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:26,600 Speaker 1: of horseshit than a lot of cannons. I mean, fair 867 00:45:26,719 --> 00:45:31,960 Speaker 1: enough at the point, Yeah, what about cannons, but instead 868 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:36,680 Speaker 1: of like cannon balls, it's big horseship balls. He didn't 869 00:45:36,719 --> 00:45:39,680 Speaker 1: come up with that, just fling horseshit at the enemy 870 00:45:39,719 --> 00:45:43,799 Speaker 1: to try to give them better ideas. Yeah, weirdo what 871 00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:44,880 Speaker 1: a fucking weirdo,