Rathma

yeah I've changed history in a story I'm writing and I need advice, thoughts, ideas of what the world would be like in a time frame from the July 20th 1944 when Hitler was killed by two bombs in his bunker and other key leaders were also killed. 18th of September 1944, Germany surrendered and Japan would surrender sometime in March 1945.

Questions I would like other peoples thoughts, ideas, advice of what would happened to the Cold War, Soviet Union, nuclear arms race, space race and terriosts. the time frame is September 18th 1944 (when Germany surrendered) to the current day.

breezyblock

You will probably not like me for this but it was my first thought after reading your post and then after pondering for a while was my overriding thought.

Its your story, you are the one who wants to be the writer so its up to you to create the world you are suggesting. If you can't then maybe you are out of your depth.

Having said that I would never sugest you give it up and if it was me I'd be reading and researching as much as I could on the actual history and trying to link the events and see why and how each event led to and influenced the outcome.

You say other key leaders, which ones? Depending on who is left will be what influences what happens next. You leave a whole year before Japan surrenders but if the war is over in Europe then America would have more resources to concentrate on Japan. Thus possibly quicken their surrender. Again I think a good knowledge of the actual events will help you plot a course of change. Its a bit like SF, the best writers have a fantastic knowledge of current science, knowledge of the universe, physics etc.. to enable them to predict and write plausible future/world.

Its your story just go with what ever comes into your mind. If you have not got the ideas then you need to question why are you writing it. I read an interview with Stephen King and he said he never has any idea where his story is going or whats going to happen he just gets on and writes it. And I have to say as a budding writer my self I am finding the same is working for me. I just sit and write because that is the hard part. Its easy once you've got the story down to go back and add some research, factual data or whaterever to make it all plausible.

Take this reply for example. I was only going to say piss off and get your own ideas but end up writing an entire essay on the subject. I'm no expert but if there is one thing I do know it is that a writer has the stories in them. Getting them onto the page now thats the hard part! Just go for it and read loads I'm sure it'll come to you.

ClancyBoy

What would have happened if... what? If Hitler hadn't been killed? Germany hadn't surrendered?

I hope that this doesn't come out the wrong way, but there are literally thousands of alternate histories centering around WWII and the Civil War. Is there maybe some other moment in history you could change? Anything at all?

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Mishki

I concur, there are too many of those... here are a few ideas, I don't know if or how often any of them have been used: Hannibal sacked Rome, the Chinese colonized America, Pilate refused to execute Jesus, George Washington became king of America.

Most of these "what if" stories, I would think, regard which nation/culture becomes the dominant superpower? Maybe you ought to think about it the other way--"this is what I want the world to be like, and what event in history could I change that would make this occur?" Just a thought.

Rathma

Clancyboy, sorry im going to knock your thoughts away because that wasn't what I was asking.

Mishki, it isn't a world history of what would happen, it's only making reference to that time period. thanks for your last thoughts by the way.

I've done my work anyway and I'm going to post it once i've finished my next part.

Mike C

They would have been pretty much the same. Russia would still have grabbed as much of Europe as possible, America would still have had big issues with the rise of communism.

The space race could have been hugely different if the Russians had laid hands on Werner von Braun, however. They would most likely have had the first man on the moon.

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ClancyBoy

Ah, thence comes the writers' block. Thanks a lot Rathma.

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"Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons wait for you down there. Little pets they are, little little little pets. Cute little things, they say. Don't you believe it. No man ever saw them and walked away alive. You won't either. That's the final dash, flash. That's the utter clobber, cobber." --Cordwainer Smith, Norstrillia.

Rathma

^ dude, it wasn't answering what I was asking for

ClancyBoy

So you knocked all my thoughts away? You better replace them. How will I feed my family with an empty head?

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"Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons wait for you down there. Little pets they are, little little little pets. Cute little things, they say. Don't you believe it. No man ever saw them and walked away alive. You won't either. That's the final dash, flash. That's the utter clobber, cobber." --Cordwainer Smith, Norstrillia.

Rathma

Ok here are thoughts you could think about. The story I've written so far is: America turns corrupted on a very high level. Australia, USA and New Zealand never signed the ANZUS Treaty. The ANZAC Treaty was signed between Australia and New Zealand. And Australia becomes friends with China and the Soviet Union as well as Japan. Another thing, America never dropped the Atomic Bomb, a British SAS company kidnap the Emperor of Japan and ransom back for full surrender. In 1983, the Soviet Union remianed strong and America started a nuclear program.

hobbish

Are you saying that those events would happen becuase America didn't sign the ANZUS? Because there was a pretty active hatred of Bolshevism before WW2 too, it just wasn't much of a threat.

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Rathma

^ it's just a possiblity what could happen. I mean, it's not the prefect possibility mind you. Like I said, America turned corrupted and it isnt a nice thing to happen to anyone.

Nefieslab

meh i'd just say that germany was split up just like at the beginning of the cold war and that the Soviet Union and the USA began the arms/space race 'early'. But, taking the early start into account the cold war would end sooner than it did in real life.

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hobbish

I've always wondered what would have happened if the Russian revolution hadn't happened, but was quelled by a relative who became Tsar after Romanov assassinations. He oculd have done a lot of non-political reform and kept the communists out. We'd have a world where communism was basically untested.

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ClancyBoy

So you're saying without a Russian Revolution the idea of communism would never have gained traction?

I disagree. It was a popular idea even back in the 19th century. Without a Soviet bugaboo to scare the West it's quite likely that the idea could have taken off somewhere closer to home.

Also, without the benefit of a revolution do you think a decrepit and disunified Czarist Russia would have been able to hold back Hitler?

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"Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons wait for you down there. Little pets they are, little little little pets. Cute little things, they say. Don't you believe it. No man ever saw them and walked away alive. You won't either. That's the final dash, flash. That's the utter clobber, cobber." --Cordwainer Smith, Norstrillia.