The Reich

The standard of living within the Reich is surprisingly high, given that it is a land constantly at war, and there is a very strong, 1940s-level infrastructure (buildings, roads, railways, sewers, telephones, etc). As in Sable, the primary source of power is magic, and electricity is supplied either through magical means, or from magic-powered steam turbines. There is also a telephone system which works on more traditional industrial lines. The currency is the Reichsmark, and there is a fairly stable relationship of RM2 to £1. All private purchases are usually made by cash or cheque, although there is an inter-bank system of money transfers for larger transactions. The Reichsmark is the sole legal tender in the Fatherland, the Sudentenland and the Außenhandel der Reichsverband, having replaced the native currencies of the trading Shadows when they became part of the Reich External Trade Association, although Sanguine does still have an exchange rate system with other currencies.

Employment is almost full (99%), as to be without any form of employment is strongly frowned upon: after all, there is a war on. In addition, the Reichsarbeitsdienst (National Labour Service) exists to assist with job seeking, and to run national projects which provide state employment (for example, road and rail building, construction). Poverty among the Citizenry is rare, although in the Non-Citizen population it is more common - about 30% of such people live in disadvantaged circumstances, and even those who are employed are in the lowest paying menial jobs. There are therefore a higher proportion of Non-Citizens than Citizens employed within the initiatives of the RAD.

There are those in government who believe that for the nation state to be healthy, the people should be healthy, and Reich Citizens therefore have a very high standard of healthcare. All healthcare for Citizens is also provided by the state, and is both mundane and magical in nature. Non-Citizens are entitled to a certain amount of healthcare under the state system, although they will often be expected to supplement their treatment costs. In addition, public health programmes are encouraged and there have been awareness campaigns on the dangers of smoking and drinking, although these have had mixed results. All public places have no smoking areas, and smoking is confined to specific places in many government and public buildings. There are also several Reich organisations which encourage healthy lifestyles, sports and leisure, including the Nordic Circle, which promotes health and suitable Aryan traits through sports and self-discipline, and  Kraft durch Freude (KdF, literally Strength Through Joy), which provides affordable leisure activities such as concerts, day-trips and holidays for the lower and middle classes.

Despite this promotion of a healthy lifestyle, the natural life expectancy within the Reich (and on the rest of Magica Superior) is lower than that in Sable: between two and two-and-a-half times that of the human norm, or about 150-200 years. Of course, the hazards of living in a state such as the Fatherland can have a foreshortening effect, which most likely affects the average. Youth spells (which affect appearance and general health, but do not extend longevity) are available, as in Sable, but are usually restricted to mages, high Party officials and other faithful servants of the Reich. The usual age of retirement, both from government service and private concerns, is 140 for men and 130 for women.

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Education

Among the Citizenry, literacy is around 98%, with a full state education system up to the age 18, including specialised academies, the most prestigious of which are the Kaiserin Elsa academies, which have been attended by many senior political and military figures. Children can choose to leave at 14 if they can give a good reason why, for example, going into an apprenticeship or working full-time with the Reichsjugend, although they are not allowed to join the Reich armed forces until their sixteenth birthday. For Non-Citizens, literacy is a rather lower 90%, and state education is only provided up until 16, although they can pay to remain in education until 18. The academic year runs from the 1st February to the winter solstice, and there are national examinations held at the end of each term, to make sure that standards of education across the Fatherland remain consistent.

Parents are solely responsible for the behaviour of their children until they reach 14, and can be called to account if their offspring cause problems. Between 14 and 18, children are considered to be responsible for their own actions, although they aren't considered full Citizens (Non-Citizens, etc) until their 18th birthday, when they reach the age of majority and get the vote.

As far as further education is concerned, undergraduate university courses are of four or five years, depending on the subjects studied. There is no overarching national university system in the way there is in Sable: all of the major provincial cities and many of the minor ones have their own universities, and there is considerably rivalry between them. However, below the surface, the nature of their charters, traditions and curriculum is firmly legislated by the Department of Education and Science. Potential students have a choice of going to university straight from school, or deferring until after they have done their State Service, with the potential to defer until the person is older meaning that almost 25% of Citizens will eventually attend university, with a larger overall percentage attending other forms of vocational course. For Citizens, undergraduate education is state funded as long as the student has made a commitment to undertake State Service (or indeed, has already undertaken it), or if they intend to study magic. If they have not, then the student is expected to contribute a certain amount towards their higher education. For Non-Citizens, higher education must be privately funded unless they undertake State Service, when up to 50% of their higher education costs will be met by the government.

Scientific and technological progress - both magical and mundane - are encouraged. To this end, the Kaiser Wilhelm Scientific Institute was established about forty years ago, as an umbrella organisation for academic scientific and techno-magical research at a number of locations in Berlin, and projects deemed vital to the Fatherland can receive additional funding from the Kaiser Wilhelm Fund for Trade and Industry, to which all industrial concerns pay a small annual levy.

It is not unusual for adults to return to education - both magical and non-magical - to take selected courses, a delayed first degree, a full second degree, undertake a post graduate course, or any combination thereof , at a later date. Post graduate degrees take between one and three years to complete, depending on subject. For non-magical courses, the mature student would be expected to pay their own costs. However, this can include gaining sponsorship from a duly constituted Reich company, in return for a guarantee to work for that company for two to five years after graduation; or applying to the Kaiser Wilhelm Fund for a grant. For a delayed first degree, grants will often be made available from local or regional government, especially if the potential student has done their State Service or otherwise served in the military. The government fully funds post-graduate Mage College courses.

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Shape shifters

The position of shape shifters within the Reich lands has historically been a hazardous one: propaganda has ingrained a hatred of these impure creatures within society, and known shape shifters are shunned at best, and are often imprisoned or killed as a threat to the populous and the security of the State. There is even a specialist force within the Security Services, the Forstapo, which is specifically assigned to deal with the problem. After all, who is to say where a shape shifter's real loyalty lies, given that it does not even have a fixed form of its own?

This was not good news for the 2% of the population that does have the genetic marker for shape shift, and even less good news for the 1 in 10 of those (0.2%) where it is active in inherent crisis management (ICM) form. Because of the various purges of shape shifters during the history of the Reich, only about 1 in 40 (0.05%, or 1 in 20,000 of the overall population) of those with ICM survive to develop any conscious control, and if they are caught by the authorities their long-term future is bleak. Of course, rumours abound that the Reichsführer-SS has a group of shape shifters working directly for him, but such rumours have always been denied and those found to be spreading them dealt with in the severest manner.

Recently, however, there has been a relaxing of policy towards shape shifting infants, at least within the major cities of the Reich, and it is slowly spreading both on Magica Superior and out into the Außenhandel Shadows. A system of testing of newborns has been devised by the Forstapo, by which if an infant is discovered to carry the marker for shape shifting, the parents are given the opportunity of giving up the child to the State, for it to be brought up within the Lebensborn system. The majority of couples have taken advantage of this method of freeing them from the stigma of having a tainted child. What happens to the infants after they have been taken into care is, however, uncertain, although the Forstapo's brief has now been extended to cover regulation as well as policing.

However, the fate of shape shifters in the Reich occupied territories remains as perilous as ever.

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Religion

The major mainstream religion within the Reich is a monotheistic one based on semi-Biblical principles, but with the Aryan race considered as predominant in its beliefs, known as the Universal Church. While not originally completely accepted by the Reich government, it was never suppressed, as it has always been very careful about its criticisms of Reich policy. Moreover, over the last thirty years or so, acceptance of it from the Powers that Be has grown, and it is allowed to operate openly, with all major population centres having churches or chapels dedicated to it, and many landowners building smaller chapels on their lands to enable their tenants and subjects to worship if they wish. Around fifteen percent of the population of the Fatherland and the Sudetenland attend services on a semi-regular basis, with another fifteen to twenty percent attending major festivals, including some members of the Reich upper hierarchy. The Patriarch within the Reich is Archbishop Henning Gerlach, who was appointed to the position by the Reich Council of Bishops about ten years ago. His seat is at Saint Rafael's Cathedral, in Berlin.

However, there is also a strong pagan element to Reich life, especially within both arms of the Schutzstaffel, which harks back to the old Norse and Germanic beliefs of old, and there is strong interest in ritual and the occult among certain elements of the population.

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State Service

With the exception of the Talented, all men within the dominant racial group are encouraged to serve the Reich for a period of at least five years, unless they enter the Reich armed forces on a more permanent basis immediately on leaving school. Known as State Service, this can either be 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). While it is technically voluntary, and is not imposed by actual conscription, it is rare that anyone declines to serve because of the stigma and difficulties attached to doing so. The Talented are exempted from the requirement because they have key importance in other areas, although some do still choose to serve the Reich in this way.

For women, State Service is completely voluntary, although approximately 10% choose to join the forces, and another 15% choose to fulfil other functions.

For the racial minorities, State Service is sometimes the only way to get out of the rut that a person's circumstances of birth drive them into, but for those who choose to take the State Service route, they generally have to work twice as hard as the rest of the population to gain the trust of the establishment and be seen to be playing their part. That said, successful State Service is one of the best ways for these groups to gain some measure of acceptance within Reich Society, and may eventually lead to them being able to apply for Citizenship.

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The Lebensborn Eingetragener Verein

The Lebensborn Eingetragener Verein is run under the auspices of the SS Ahnenerbe division. It was founded to give young, female, unmarried, patriotic Reich Citizens the chance to serve their country in a more unusual way: by bearing a child for the Fatherland, without it having the stigma of illegitimacy, or the woman having to have the responsibility of bringing the child up beyond its second year. Such children are born within special enclaves and are either brought up by their mothers within those for the first two years, or the mothers are allowed in assigned housing outside them. 

On the child's second birthday, the mother is given the choice of staying within the enclave, possibly to bear more children if she wishes, or surrendering her child and then being able to go back to her previous life, but with the additional privileges which having served the Reich in this way grants her, including a substantial pension. The children are then brought up within the care of the Society, which is in charge of their education and development until such time as they leave its auspices: either by reaching their majority or, less commonly (about 30%), by being adopted by suitable Citizen families. 

The Society also acts as an orphanage system for children of Citizens who have lost their parents, and it has been known for Citizen couples to give children into the Society's care, so that they can have a proper upbringing and get the advantages that being brought up within the Society can offer. This includes a comprehensive academic education, as well as a strong emphasis on the military and military procedures and discipline, plus team sports and martial pursuits such as riding, hunting, fencing and shooting.

There is also a significant element of political education, with the unsurprising result that Lebensborn children are often the most outspoken adherents of the Reich system as they enter adulthood, and over half of them end up being recruited into the SS or the Waffen-SS. There are exceptions, of course, but in general, Lebensborn children have better opportunities and slightly more freedom to serve the Reich as they choose. In addition, their upbringing within the Society also confers legitimacy upon them, thus if a Lebensborn child can later prove his or her parentage, he or she could enter into noble succession.

Very detailed records are maintained of the lineage of children who have passed through the Lebensborn system, and the Society's Keeper of the Lineage, Brigadeführer Adam Cornelius (one of the best geneticists within the Reich), is himself a child of the Society.

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One of the fundamental beliefs of the Reich is that its future lies with its children, and therefore the offspring of Citizens, boys and girls alike, are encouraged to join the Reichsjugend, an organisation formed by the Lebensborn Society in conjunction with the Reich Military and the SS. Its purpose is to make sure all its members are instilled with a true understanding of the beliefs and principles of the country they live in, as well as preparing them for life in a country at war. It also serves as a youth organisation to make sure that children of the Reich are fit, healthy and have a grounding which can later be developed and built upon once they undertake State Service.

There are two branches of the Reichsjugend. Children from ten upwards join the Reichsjungvolk, where activities include team games to improve hand/eye co-ordination, sports - especially athletics, running and throwing - marching and moving together, and give a rough grounding in the history and beliefs of the Reich. At the age of thirteen, the children transfer to the Reichsjugend proper, where they remain until they reach the age of eighteen. Activities within the Reichsjugend include: shooting (mainly pistol, although the oldest children are sometimes taught the basics of rifle drill), bayonet drill, throwing and preparing for attacks (trench digging, gas defence, use of dugouts) and some unarmed combat, as well as continuing to encourage sports, including cross-country running and fencing, and a simple assault course. The older children, of sixteen and seventeen, sometimes find themselves assigned to help in the protection of the State - for example, manning road blocks or anti-aircraft weapons (the latter naturally on Shadows where airplanes are functional).

At the age of eighteen, the children often go into their State Service. If they choose to do this within the military, they enter it with the basic military grounding already in place such that they are likely to be sent on assignment within a few weeks, instead of a few months for those children who did not join the Reichsjugend programme. If they choose to take State Service in other areas, the grounding in the history and beliefs of their country attained within the movement is helpful for allowing them to progress quickly.

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The Reich Media

The Reich Media is overtly controlled by the Reich Department of Propaganda (RDP). As in Sable, there is no television in the Fatherland and the Sudentenland, but there is one crystal station. All publicly available crystal equipment leaves the factory tuned to the specific frequency, and attempting to change that frequency, or possessing a non-authorised receiver, is grounds for a fine, and imprisonment for repeated infractions.

There is audio and some visual entertainment available, in the form of rented illusion crystals: these have a play, performance or other such programme set into them by means of illusory and entertainment magic, and a magical player is available which will perfectly reproduce (either by sound, or three-dimensionally) recorded material. 

There are two State-certified newspapers commonly available across the Reich, and both of them are heavily State controlled.

Die Welt 

Generally toes the party line, although it has been known to publish the occasional unbiased report - although it usually stops short of outright criticising the Kaiser. Its editorial bias is towards the greatness of the Kaiser and the Reich, although it is willing to give credit where credit is due. It is widely available within the Reich itself.

Das Tag

The more obvious propaganda mouthpiece of the Reich. Das Tag dwells on the greatness of the Reich forces and their commanders, especially Rupert Delatz and the Empress. It has never been known to criticise, or even particularly question, Reich actions, and is very vehement against left-wing, bleeding heart Sable.

In addition, each Province will have its own newspaper, which deals with issues specific to the Province, covering the national news in less detail. However, these, too, are heavily regulated and monitored by the Provincial governments.

This site © Trish Hart 1999, 2004, 2006, 2008.
Writings and original artwork exhibited on player pages are published with the author's permission.
Trumps based on photographic originals use photographs obtained in the public domain.
Website administrator: Trish Hart (sable at fugue.org)