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The Statue of Liberty is being torn down.
For the related Season Three finale, see here.
Jahr Null, or Year Zero, was a Nazification social-engineering initiative and a cultural genocide, carried out by the Greater Nazi Reich in Nazi America beginning in Summer of 1963. The goal of Jahr Null was to erase all traces of American history and national identity and encourage new and future generations to identify as contributing citizens of the Reich. Nicole Dörmer oversaw the planning for much of the initiative alongside collaborator Billy Turner.
In reality, it was a violent, cultural revolution and a political and cultural purge that involves a forced assimilation and a cultural genocide.
Numerous American landmarks and icons were slated for destruction, including Mount Rushmore, Independence Hall, and the Alamo. The Liberty Bell was melted down and used to make a Nazi swastika, and the Statue of Liberty was demolished during Jahr Null's opening ceremony to make way for a new monument called The "New Colossus".
Hitler Youth members celebrating Year Zero.
The onset of Jahr Null inspired the Hitler Youth across New York City to take to the streets, where they attacked elderly citizens and vandalized or set fire to schools, museums, and libraries, actions which Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler praised as reminiscent of Kristallnacht. As Himmler watched the demonstrations, he was shot by an American sniper, who was furious at the attack on the American people and identity. Jahr Null may have been called off seeing it had failed to erase the US, only making the american people angry and the resistance stronger.
Outside of the Reich, this meant an influx of Americana for antique dealers, such as Robert Childan.
Notes & Trivia[]
- This Nazification event was a violent, cultural revolution and a political and cultural purge that involves a forced cultural assimilation and a cultural genocide.
- "Jahr Null" is a German phrase for "Year Zero." This terminology was also used by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in our timeline.
- Although not stated behind the scenes, the event does appear to be inspired by the Cultural Revolution that took place in our timeline in the People’s Republic of China under the direction of the CCP chairman Mao Zedong between 1966 and 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. In reality, the Cultural Revolution was used by Mao to tighten his control over the country by employing Chinese youth in the Red Guard organization to assault and arrest his enemies in the government and destroy cultural sights associated with pre-Communist China.
- The phrase "New Colossus" is a reference to Emma Lazarus' poem The New Colossus, used to promote the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, also set in a world where the Nazis achieved global domination, also references the same poem. The video game story, also tells that the Nazis are planning to erase the American culture, national identity, and history, similar to The Man in the High Castle series.