Meanwhile, although Schiller knew full well that Hydra was not a good ally, it was still a useful tool. He had actually reached a deal with the Hydra Baron long ago. The terms were simple: Schiller would expose Pierce, and the Baron would help Schiller get rid of Iron Man.
This was still an exploitation of the information gap. After all, how could the Hydra Baron possibly know that Iron Man was the protagonist, or how powerful he truly was? In the Baron's eyes, Schiller helping him get rid of Pierce was an opportunity that came once in a millennium.
Schiller had mentioned part of it during his earlier conversation with Pierce, but had not gone into detail. In truth, the feud between Pierce and the Baron dated back decades. But if one were to explain it fully, it was nothing more than the old grudges between the United States and Germany during World War II.
Simply put, Pierce had once promised the Baron that he would stop the United States from aiding the Soviet Union. But Pierce had not kept his promise, so the Baron believed that Pierce had betrayed him and the German people, leading to Little Mustache's defeat.
As everyone knew, in Nazi Germany's eyes, the most hateful enemy was not the Soviet Union fighting the Great Patriotic War, but the other countries that had supported the Soviet Union at its most critical moment. Or rather, they simply refused to admit that the great bear had defeated them head-on, preferring to pin the credit on others.
The Baron could have fled before Iron Man arrived, but in order to fulfill his deal with Schiller, he chose to remain stationed in Germany. That led to the string of tragedies that followed.
With all three sides gathered at Hydra's