Divided We Fall

United We Stand

by raihaikyo

And here is the second part. Enjoy!

As always I'd love to hear, what you think of it.

PART II - Divided We Fall

13. August 1961

Exactly at midnight, just like clockwork construction trucks started rolling on and off with blocks of concrete. Both the workers and machines were protected by army and police from each side of the wall.

Gilbert stood at the last open space of the wall clenching his fists from time to time. "Brother…" he couldn't get any more out than that. The tears in his eyes spoke for him.

On the other side Ludwig was looking back at him. Seeing his brother was on the verge of breaking down he took a step forward wanting to cross. America grabbed his arm preventing him to go. "Ludw-"

"Fuck you." The taller man cut him off and turned to the Allied force. "I've never given you permission to call me by that name," he said narrowing his eyes and yanked his arm free. America had such a tight grip on him that it hurt. For a second he thought this would lead to a dislocated shoulder, but deep down he was beyond caring. "To you I am Germany."

He took one huge step forward and held out his hand as far as he could through the opening. If even going to his brother one last time was not possible then at least reaching out would have to do. Ludwig refused to part ways without even holding his brother's hand.

Gilbert was watching the exchange with wide eyes. His younger brother was not exactly known for using crude words and having sudden emotional outburst in public. It was rare. So rare in fact, Gilbert could count on one hand how often it had happened. When something like this occurred, then that was really saying something about his mental state.

'I've never given you permission to call me by that name. To you I am Germany.'

As he heard Ludwig' statements Prussia raised his head high and grinned, whipping away the tears quickly.

Their former leaders were defeated.

Their country lay in ruins.

People were dead.

The scars they had because of it would take years to heal, if ever.

Other nations were deciding their fate. One part would belong to the West and the other to the East separated by a wall of concrete, barbed wire, landmines, dogs and automatic gun installations.

Despite all that, both of them continued to live. Ludwig was the best example, that all of it did not break his perseverance and will. As the older brother, he could not show the other his crying face. Not now. Gilbert was in fact more than proud of him for saying these two sentences. It was everything Gilbert had hoped for Ludwig, because he would carry a great burden on his own in the decades to come. Just as his little brother and even more, he had to be strong.

Deep down all the nation spirits were influenced by the population and its leaders of each country. They rarely had the option of overruling the majority of their nation. Former Prussia was in that regard no exception, but his reasons ran even deeper. As Gilbert, his destiny was entwined with his younger brother. He may have been an artificial state created out of war. He also may have been pulled into WWII and participated in it. In hindsight, you always regret some of the decisions one's nation had taken. However, he could not and would not let Ludwig think he was alone. If Germany was at war, then former Prussia would stand by his side on the front-line.

Ivan was standing next to him and just gave him a light push forward. "Go." This was the last time the brothers would be able to talk like family. He was witnessing yet another tragic historical moment of a country being divided. Letting Gilbert say goodbye to his other half was done by Ivan, not the USSR.

Gilbert grinned at him before leaping forward and landing right on the borderline. "I'm proud of you," he whispered as Ludwig pulled him into a tight hug, cradling his head against his chest. "Ich wünsche dir alles Glück der Welt, Ludwig." His younger brother had become so tall and actually needed to lean down to hold him. ("I wish you all the best")

"Don't…" Ludwig replied holding him even tighter. When had his big brother become so much smaller? "Don't say goodbye."

Gilbert gently pushed him away. "I'm not. Never." He needed to see his brother's face for what was about to be said. "You are a part of me. Don't ever forget that, you hear?"

His older brother had put both hands on each side of his face and pulled him down so they would be on eye level. Ludwig blinked and nodded his head quickly in agreement. Gilbert had dark eye bags from lack of sleep and worry. The ruby red eyes were in pain too, both mentally and physically. After breaking down the day before he was exhausted beyond what humans would be able to bear. At the same time his eyes were smiling. Pupils wide which only manifested when they were seeing somebody he loved. Despite the anguish, Gilbert's eyes had that glint, which was practically saying: I will not back down.

"I don't know how long this will be, but I will come back to you. In the meantime, help our people. After all, we are here because of the people. We are the first servants of the state. (1) Never forget that." He leaned up and gently placed his lips to Ludwig's forehead. "I, Prussia am the past. You are the future. May your reign be longer than mine, Ludwig Beilschmidt." Gilbert closed his eyes and leaned their foreheads together. "I'll be watching you as the Deutsche Demokratische Republik and one day…" his voice broke and he took a deep breath clutching at his chest. "One day…" His chest was burning, right where his heart was. It felt like a knife was slowly being dragged over the skin in an excruciatingly slow manner. Carving every second of this moment into his skin as a lasting memory. He refused to give in to the pain and looked up catching Ludwig's heartbroken eyes again. "I swear, we will see each other again."

Ludwig started to tremble and grabbed onto Gilbert to make it stop. His heart hurt. It was like a mirror, which had gotten a hit so hard it developed cracks and started to break. Bit by bit. He witnessed Gilbert kiss people's foreheads before. It was performed right before a battle, which the national spirit of Prussia was not able to attend in person. This gesture was only done to those he had respected greatly and had been fond of. These people went to battle and rarely came back. Ludwig had understood only later that this gesture was Gilbert's way of saying 'I'm proud of you, stay save and come back'. If these special people did not return, his older brother looked for the first opportunity to ride out and look for them himself. The man did find them, but not in the state he had hoped for.

Stay save and come back.

No matter how long this Wall would stand and what challenges he was about to face on his own, he was going to wait for his brother. "I, Ludwig Beilschmidt, am the Bundesrepubliek Deutsch-" he said slowly and stopped as the realization hit him even harder. They were literally dividing up the country, their hearts and souls.

Gilbert saw his brother's hesitation and pressed their hands together and bound them in a brotherly handshake. It was a silly thing to do, but it had saved them so often, when times had gotten tough. This was their symbolic oath that would last forever. "Say it, brother."

The blonde man tightened his grip in the handshake and then relaxed his hand while letting out a sigh to calm himself. If that was even possible. Here he was almost renouncing his own brother. Separating both of them for god knew how long. "I, Ludwig Beilschmidt, am the national spirit of the new Bundesrepubliek Deutschland." Since he had also a hold of the now DDR, he pulled him closer and placed a kiss on his forehead as well. "Stay save, brother…come back to me."

Gilbert stared into his face, surprised that the other knew exactly what the gesture meant and he even said it out loud. "You know…"

He smiled, but his eyes could not. "You are the East. I am West. But together we are one Germany." They were separated by a wall and overseen by different nations, but Ludwig personally hoped that one day all of the parts would come together again. Until then he would bear the painful scar over his heart. It was bleeding now, trickling down his chest and staining his clothes. He accepted the pain as a sign of being alive. Alive meant there was hope.

Gilbert squeezed his chest again with the free hand and looked at it with a small smile when he saw the bloodstains. How ironic that his life was always painted in blood. It had started with blood and would probably end that way. "Alright! You better do your best! Don't you dare embarrass your big brother!" He stood straight and held his iron cross out to him. "Keep it safe for me..."

Ludwig hesitated for a moment. Their twin iron crosses were one of a kind and held a very special meaning to both of them. "Why would y-"

"I will come back to you." Gilbert emphasized again, grabbing his hand and pressed the item in Ludwig's hand. He did not want to explain with others present and just hoped his brother would understand.

The Iron Cross was the symbol of the Teutonic Order of Knights, an elite force of noble men who had only answered to the Holy Roman Empire. His brother had started his very existence with that order. Without them invading pagan Prussia, thus forcefully Christianizing it and put it on the world map as a region, Gilbert Beilschmidt would not exist. If Gilbert were not here, Ludwig himself might have not existed the way he was now. The Teutonic Knights with their Iron Cross were their beginning. Gilbert was asking him to keep their origins save, no matter how morally questionable they were. (2)

"I'm waiting for you." Ludwig nodded and held the cross to his chest.

"Comrade Beilschmidt," Ivan Braginski, the national spirit of the USSR cleared his throat as a sign that it was time to leave.

"Da," the albino called in acknowledgement, but looked past his brother for a second to America. He glared at him as a warning to not mess around with West Germany for there would be consequences. The war had not been won by America alone and the biggest sacrificed had not been on their side, but the USSR. Gilbert knew what his responsibilities and duties were now. He might not like them and being a vassal state was a concept he needed to get used to, but he would fulfill his duties nonetheless. If necessary, he as the DDR, would remind the Allies that the world had finally a chance at peace. The price for it was the death of 26.6 million on the USSR side alone and the division of his country. (3)

Gilbert turned back to his brother again. "I love you, West." he said and hugged him tightly for the last time.

"Ja…" Ludwig replied as he reluctantly accepted his new role. Being a capitalist country meant his own brother was the enemy now. "Forgive me…" It was hard to look at him and Ludwig buried his head in his brother's shoulder.

He brushed gently trough the golden hair and looked up at the night sky with a sigh. They had never been apart for longer than three months at a time. This time would probably be decades, if not more. They would see the same stars, breathe the same air, but be divided by walls, politics and the schemes of their human leaders. Gilbert only hoped the future politics of the DDR would not make his brother suffer. He was unaware that he himself was going to suffer the most and come close to death. "Mein Lieber…you have to let go." He said gently, patting his head as if he were a child. Compared to him Ludwig actually was.

"I know…" he mumbled into his older brother's shoulder and then stood straight again towering over him with a forlorn expression on his face.

"13th August 1961." (4) Former Prussia said loudly and lifted his hand as if in a greeting. "Never forget."

"Never." West caught the hand in mid-air and held it for a second before letting go reluctantly.

Gilbert did his best to smile for his baby brother and took one step back to let the workers continue with sealing the wall. The last thing he wanted to show him was a pathetic crying face. His title might change, but he was and would always be the great Prussia. The small backwater kingdom that had overthrown kings, queens and eventually changed all of Europe.

Ludwig willed himself to smile back. It was probably just a forced grin on his part, but that was the best he could do given the circumstances. He would not disappoint his older brother. If it was in his power, he would create the right circumstances and influence the nation so that both of them could exist at the same time. He tightened his grip on the Iron Cross until it dug into his skin and made a vow to himself. Whatever happened, he would be prepared to give up many things and make compromises, but Ludwig would never give up on the reunion with his brother.

See you in PART III!

Translation

- ‚Ich wünsche dir alles Glück der Welt' is the direct quote from the song ‚An deiner Seite' by Unheilig. I could have directly translated: 'I wish you all the luck in the world', but that would be a literal translation into English. I do not like those. So, I looked for one which would be close to native English and ended up with 'I wish you all the best'.

- Mein Lieber can be translated as 'my dear' more or less. It is hardly used anymore and usually only in written language e.g. a letter. It can also be used to reprimand someone. However, the use was more common in the 17th, 18th and probably still in the 19th century by both men and women. Since the brothers lived through the centuries mentioned above, it can work. Especially, in Ludwig's case because he came into existence in the 18th century. Mein Lieber here is again symbolic for their close relationship. Gilbert had been a father figure and a brother to him for a very long time.

Information

(1) Reference to a quote from Frederick the Great or Old Fritz. His credo was 'I am the first servant of the state'. I believe Gilbert had a close bond and a lot of respect for him. It would not be a surprise, if he took over some traits which stayed with him even after Frederick's death.

(2) The Order of the Teutonic Knight Cross. The full name of the order was: The Order of Brothers of the German House of St. Mary of Jerusalem and was founded in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order was called upon the pope of the Holy Roman Empire to subjugate the regions of Prussia. The whole European continent needed to be Christianized so the Empire would gain more power. The region of Prussia was inhabited by pagans, who vehemently refused to become Christians and were constantly fighting. The Teutonic Knights were the elite of experienced noblemen, who were also the most ruthless of all. Pagan tribes, who refused to comply were cut down and their villages pillaged. This happened in Prussia, in the regions of present day Lithuania, Estonia and Czech Republic. That is the reason I hint at the morally questionable origins of the Order and that Gilbert's existence started with spilling blood.

(3) I am stating pure facts here. No other nation had suffered and sacrificed so much as the USSR did during the war. Because they defended their regions and freed other countries to the last man, the war could even be won.

(4)Gilbert is referring to the official date when the last part of the Wall between West and East Berlin was erected overnight.