Oh, they're citizens in most of the world by 1946, certainly. In some countries, even legally equal citizens, at least in principle. Principle and practice can be pretty far apart, though, and there's still a lot of cultural background noise in a lot of the more inherently conservative societies (of which Karlsland's, even—perhaps especially—after the turmoil of the Evacuation, must fairly be counted).

In a sense, what Fritz is doing there isn't mandating full equality so much as admitting witches to the patriarchal privilege club. To 21st-century liberal sensibilities, this could be read as a weird half-measure at best and a patronizing farce at worst, but in his time and place it's radical as hell—and keep in mind, that was just the introductory proclamation, made in the context of a war-crisis speech to the Reichstag (and the Karlsland public, and the world beyond, by conscious extension). It's not the endgame of what he's up to there; only the opening move. It'll take years, until (with any luck) well after the end of the war, for the full ramifications of that address to play out, not only in Karlsland, but around the world.

And I didn't even get to how Hirohito will be burying the lede when he makes his similar announcement in re Neuroi contact to his nation. :)

--G.
(also, IJLS "the first Neurotic war")
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.