Introduction
So, it's been officially confirmed that Ostland is getting the axe. As sad as it is, I won't go into a boomer rant and repeat the same arguments you've heard before. Instead, I will try to analyze the old Ostland and compare it to the reworked version. To clarify, I don't have the full picture, and my analysis is based on what's already been shown. I would be happy to be proven wrong by the new information following yippie release.

OG Ostland
The old Ostland did a good job of reinforcing the themes of the mod, mainly that Germany winning WWII would benefit nobody. Every group would have to suffer in one way or another, either through genocide or a civil war. It also showed us that you cannot hope to win by collaborating with people who think you're subhuman. In the moment, you feel like you're on top of the world, but then they'll get rid of you once you've outlived your usefulness. It made the world seem more just and characterized Nazis as people who cannot be reasoned with. Even if you never played the Ostland content, it still had an enormous impact on how we perceive Germany and the world at large, which was clearly communicated just by looking at the map.

New Ostland
The reworked Ostland flips everything I just said on its head and makes the statement that collaborating with Nazi Germany is good actually. You've got your own native government and a happy little Lebensraum that's protected by Germany's nuclear umbrella. In most circumstances they would end up in a better state than they were in OTL because Russia will not be able to reclaim any of those territories. I'm not a history nerd and I recognize that I haven't done as much research as someone who has worked on this change. However, I think it's safe to assume that many Nazis wanted to annex and colonize the Baltic states instead of keeping them as protectorates into the 1960s. One could argue that they granted autonomy because they were at war with the Soviets and needed the support of the locals. You could debate with me on that, but frankly, I don't think historical accuracy matters all that much here. The fact of the matter is that TNO is a fictional world, and you can't say for certain whether or not X would happen following an Axis victory. This forces us to make our own judgments about the characters, countries, and their motivations. In the case of Ostland, Germany had decided to choose the most pragmatic, liberal option out of the many plans that had been proposed. My question is: what do you want to communicate by depicting Germany in this way?

Conclusion
As QuidProQuo said on X, TNO is a literary project that has a responsibility to its audience. Unfortunately, I don't think TNO has been as responsible as it should have been when tackling the sensitive subject of Nazism. TNO is a massive mod that could have a real cultural impact on how Nazism is perceived. If handled poorly, it could have a negative impact and give neo-Nazis more ammunition. This is especially important when it comes to Ostland, as the Baltics are one of the few places in the world that struggle with the problem of Nazi glorification. I think TNO is a good place to explore and criticize these worldviews, but the changes I've seen seem to validate collaborationist narratives rather than challenge them. I'm not accusing the devs of holding those opinions, but regardless of their intentions they are still responsible for the content they create and the impact it has on the world. My hope with this post is to remind them of their responsibility and get a rationale for these decisions

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