Life in the Weimar Republik

Social Structure and Standards of Living

The population of the Weimar Republik homeworld was split into four categories, and the standards of living and facilities available to the people depended on which category they belonged to. All individuals living within the Republik were issued with ID bracelets at the age of 11, and it was illegal to remove them thereafter, except at special ID facilities if changes needed to be made to the information stored in the bracelet.

Ubermensch

The Ubermensch comprised those who were deemed to fit the Aryan ideal, and accounted for roughly 40% of the population. Employment was around 99%, as to be without any form of employment was strongly frowned upon. Many of the Ubermensch served in white-collar capacities, such as government, commerce, education. management and the military. Others worked as warrior farmers in the Occupied Territories, following the Himmler ideal for the East, or held skilled manufacturing positions. Only Ubermensch were allowed to be taught and use more than basic magic.

The attitude of the government was that for the nation state to be healthy, the people should be healthy, and thus it provided a very high standard of healthcare. For the Ubermensch, this was provided by the state, and was both mundane and magical in nature. The medical system was good, but was geared towards short- and medium-term injuries and illnesses. Long-term ill health was not considered to be acceptable, with very few exceptions. The long-term infirm risked a downrating of their status to Untermensch.

The natural life expectancy for the Ubermensch was roughly one-and-a-half times the human norm. Youth spells (which affected appearance and general health, but did not extend longevity) were available, but were restricted to mages, high Party officials and other faithful servants of the Republik. The usual age of retirement for the Untermensch was 100 for both men and women.

Untermensch

This classification covered individuals who were of non-Aryan European (eg Slavic, Celtic, Mediterranean) or North African descent, and comprised roughly 40% of the population. These people received decent housing and affordable food and clothing, and had access to education and healthcare. The Untermensch occupied the blue-collar and semi-skilled positions, although the could gain access to more skilled manufacturing roles or junior white-collar ones if they could demonstrate an aptitude for them. They were also allowed to enlist in the armed forces at the lower ranks, although it was very rare that they could become officers.

Healthcare was provided by the state to a certain degree, although beyond a certain point, they were expected to contribute to their care. As with the Ubermensch, the medical system was geared towards short- and medium-term injuries and illnesses. Long-term ill health was not considered to be acceptable, and the long-term infirm risked a downrating to the Slave class, after which they would be sent to special “infirmaries” where the standard of care was somewhat lower and life expectancies were variable.

The natural life expectancy for the Untermensch was roughly the human norm, and the usual age of retirement was 65 for both men and women.

Slaves

The 20% of the population who were even further from the Aryan ideal, were used primary for slave labour in activities such as road and rail building, construction and the extractive industries. Slaves were fed, housed and given basic medical care. They were educated in basic reading, writing and arithmetic until the age of 11, at which point they were assigned to the lighter work parties. They were not entitled to any of the benefits accruing to either the Ubermensch or the Untermensch.

Shapeshifters

The attitude to shapeshifters within the Weimar Republik was even more hostile than the Reich in the old days, and it exported these attitudes to the Occupied Worlds. As worlds were conquered, all shapeshifters were rounded up and sent to the camps, where they were systematically exterminated. It is believed that a shapeshift inhibitor was part of the Zyklon-S gas. Camps were established once the Weimar Republik had 50% or more control of a world.

The only exceptions to the automatic kill sentence for shifters was for members of the Forstapo. It was never ascertained how the Forstapo recruited new members, although it was posited that there might have been a restricted version of the Lebensborn Eingetragener Verein orphanage system, dealing specifically with the rearing and indoctrination of suitable children with the shifting gene. These were almost certainly taken from the ranks of the Ubermensch.

Education

Among the Weimar Ubermensch, literacy was around 98%, with a full state education system up to the age 18, including specialised academies. Children could choose to leave at 14 if they could give a good reason why, for example, going into an apprenticeship or working full-time with the Weimar Youth organisation. They were not allowed to join the Weimar armed forces until their sixteenth birthday.

As far as further education was concerned, undergraduate university courses were of four or five years, depending on the subjects studied. All the major provincial cities and many of the minor ones had their own universities and there was a certain rivalry between them. Below the surface, however, the nature of their charters, traditions and curriculum was firmly legislated by the government. Potential students had the choice of going to university straight from school, or deferring until after undertaking their Compulsory State Service. Undergraduate education was state-funded for the Ubermensch.

Literacy levels for the Untermensch were slightly lower than for the Ubermensch, at c.96%, and free state education was only provided up until the age of 16, but they could pay to remain in education until the age of 18. They were even allowed to apply to university undergraduate programmess if they could demonstrate the ability to pay their way, but not have access to post-graduate study.

There was a single Mage College, located in the Weimar Capital. Full courses in magic were only open to the Ubermensch, and lasted five years for undergraduate study, and an additional one to five year for either Masters or Doctorate studies. Any Untermensch who were found to be Talented could take a one-year course in basic industrial magic, such as boiler spells, power generation and communications repair.

State-Organised Institutions

Weimar did not subscribe to the old-fashioned Kuche, Kinder, Kirche attitude to women, and both sexes had equal opportunities to progress.

The Republiksarbeitsdienst (National Labour Service) existed to assist job seekers from both the Ubermensch and the Untermensch with finding emloyment, and to run national projects which provided state employment. A higher proportion of Untermensche than Ubermensch were employed within the national projects run by the RAD.

Public health programmes were encouraged and there were awareness campaigns on the dangers of smoking, drinking and drug taking, although these  had mixed results. All public places had no smoking areas, and smoking was confined to specific areas in many government and public buildings.

Various Republik-run organisations encouraged healthy lifestyles, sports and leisure. These including the Nordic Circle, which catered for the Ubermensche and promoted health and suitable Aryan traits through sports and self-discipline; and Kraft durch Freude (KdF), which provided affordable leisure activities such as concerts, day-trips and holidays for the Untermensch.

Religion

The Weimar Republik was primarily secular, although it did have a semi-official, vaguely monotheistic religion. This was based on pseudo-Biblical principles, but with the Aryan race considered as predominant in its beliefs, which had similarities to the Reich’s Universal Church. Churches and chapels were found in most major population centres and some of the smaller ones. Services were attended by both the Ubermensch and the Untermensch.

In addition, there was a strongly pagan element to Weimar life, which harked back to the old Norse and Germanic beliefs of old, and there was strong interest in ritual and the occult among the Ubermensch.

Finally, there was a small branch of the New Oceania Brotherhood of the Martyr in Weimar City.

Compulsory State Service

With the exception of the Talented, all Weimar Ubermensch and Untermensch of both sexes were obliged to serve the Republik for a period of at least two years, unless they opted to enter the Weimar armed forces on a more permanent basis immediately on leaving school. The individual could choose whether State Service would be undertaken in the armed forces, or by virtue of physical or clerical work for the greater glory of the State (construction or other RAD projects, joining the bureaucracy, serving in a state hospital or other beneficial organisation, etc). The Talented were exempted from the requirement, although some did opt to serve the Reich in this way.

For the Untermensch, State Service was sometimes the only way to get out of the rut that their circumstances of birth drive them into, but for those who chose to take the State Service route, they generally had to work twice as hard as the Ubermensch to make inroads.

Men and women who chose to stay on in the armed forces after Compulsory Service, or agreed to rejoin them armed forces after going to university, were given preferential treatment when new land was parcelled out, either on their home world, or on the Occupied Worlds.

The Military

The Weimar Republik military was exclusively based around the Waffen-SS, under Oberstgruppenführer Lena Steiner. There was no Wehrmacht muddying the waters. It had both land and air forces which operated cross-Shadow, and a small navy which was restricted to the Weimar homeworld.

The Weimar-SS mirrored the Reichs-SS department structure, including responsibility for everyday policing, with three major exceptions: there was no separate Ahnenerbe, which comes under the RFSS’s personal staff; no Arcane Defence Group, although Sable agents reported the use of anti-sentience wards on at least one Forstapo facility; and the Ausland-SD was not a separate division. The head of the Weimar RSHA was Oberstgruppenführer-SD Fabian Auer.

The Weimar Republik was a strongly expansionist power, and the military, in combination with wielders of the Weimar Power, conquered a number of Shadows in the thirty-odd years between establishment of the Republik and its discovery by Sable agents.

Further details on the Weimar Republik’s External Landholdings from its discovery in August SY 155 to 31 January SY 158 can be found here.