Information AboutDolchstosslegende |
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The Dolchstoßlegende, ( German "dagger-thrust legend", often translated in English as "stab-in-the-back legend") refers to a social Mythos and Persecution - Propaganda theory popular in post- World War I Germany . It attributed Germany's defeat on those who supposedly lacked dedication to the national cause in the war. However, the primary focus was on the alleged debilitation of the war effort that began on the home front. MOTIVATION Views of the War, Spirit of 1914 Most Germans supported, fought in, or suffered during the enormously costly war and were initially under the impression that the Triple Entente had ushered in the war. Imperial Russia was seen to have expansionist ambitions and France 's dissatisfaction due to the consequences of was widely known. At the same time, it seemed as though the United Kingdom was using the Belgian neutrality issue to enter the war and neutralize Germany, which threatened Britain's commercial interests. The outbreak of the war erased many of the divisions that had existed in German society initially; Roman Catholics , Jews , Lutherans, socialists, right-wingers and liberals were all admittedly overcome by the phenomenon of the " Spirit Of 1914 ". Yet, as the war dragged on, old divisions resurfaced. Suspicion of Catholics, Social Democrats and Jews grew as initial enthusiasms subsided and as the war dragged on, national loyalties came into question once again. There was a considerable amount of political tension prior to the war, especially due to the growing presence of Social Democrats in the Bundesrat . This was a great concern for those in power and it is also true that this contingent failed to allow the expenditures for the German Army that Erich Ludendorff found necessary and lobbied for. Divided Loyalties and Profiteering Those who were profiting from the war were also subject to criticism, as well as industrial workers involved in labor strikes. Krupp himself was accused of manufacturing arms for both sides, an extremely profitable practice. Individual interests took precedence in other sectors. As administrators meddled with the economy by introducing price ceilings and other measures, producers often responded by switching goods, which creating shortages. This created a great amount of tension between urban and rural settings and, more importantly, exacerbated hardships and bred discord. In 1917, there were roughly five hundred strikes across Germany, resulting in over 2,000,000 total work days lost. Still, civil disorder was a result of an inability to make ends meet, not a shortage of patriotism. While it is true that production slumped in 1917 and 1918, the nation had maximized its war effort and could take no more. Raw production figures confirm that Germany could not have possibly won a war of attrition against Britain, France and the United States combined. Despite its overwhelming power, Germany's industrial might and population were matched and outclassed by the Entente as a whole. Russia's exit in 1917 did little to change the overall picture, as the United States joined the war shortly thereafter on April 16, 1917. American industrial capacity overtook Germany's singlehandedly. Efforts of Allied Propaganda In his memoirs, Erich Ludendorff consistently points out that the Hohenzollern leadership failed to acknowledge the power of Allied propaganda and conduct a successful campaign of its own. British and American presses were particularly successful with their leaflet and tabloid war and the view that the German autocracy was an exporter of Prussian "militarism" and guilty of crimes against humanity even permeated German society. After Imperial Russia dropped out of the war, the supposed contrast between the "free" world that wanted peace and "barbaric" German-led autocracies that supposedly wanted war was heavily exploited. Although frequently depicted as primordial aggressors responsible for the war, German peace proposals were all but rejected. Ludendorff was convinced that the Entente wanted little other than a Draconian peace. This was not the message most Germans heard coming from the other side and Wilson's Fourteen Points plan was particularly popular amongst the German people. Socialists and liberals, especially the Social Democrats that formed the majority of the parliamentary body, were already agitators for social change prior to 1914. When peace and full restoration were promised by the Allies, patriotic enthusiasm began to wane. Likewise, Germany's allies began to question the reason for the war as the conflict dragged on and found their answer in Allied propaganda. When the armistice finally came in 1918, Ludendorff's prophecy appeared accurate almost immediately; although the fighting had ended, the British maintained their blockade of the European continent for a full year, leading to starvation and severe malnutrition. The non-negotiable peace agreed to by Weimar politicians in the Treaty Of Versailles was certainly not what the German peace-seeking populace had expected. The Treaty of Versailles As a result of the Treaty, Germany's territory was reduced by a third, the Rhineland was demilitarized and Allied troops were to occupy many areas. There were also enormous war reparations to be paid for a period of 70 years (until 1988), although they ended in 1931 amidst complicated circumstances. Perhaps the most important aspect of the Treaty relating to the Dolchstosslegende was the War Guilt Clause, which forced Germany to accept complete responsibility for the war. The Treaty was enormously unpopular in Germany, in no small part because it impinged extensively on internal German sovereignty. The Dolchstosslegende was the accepted antithesis of the War Guilt Clause, as the latter was in stark contrast to what the population found to be factual. Post-War Reactions and Reflections on the Situation in 1918 Conservatives, nationalists and ex-military leaders began to speak critically about the peace and Weimar politicians, socialists, Communists , and Jews were viewed with suspicion due to their supposed extra-national loyalties. It was rumored that they had not supported the war and had played a role in selling-out Germany to its enemies. These ''November Criminals'', or those who seemed to benefit from the newly formed Weimar Republic, were seen to have "stabbed them in the back" on the Home Front , by either criticizing the cause of German Nationalism , instigating unrest and strikes in the critical military industries or profiteering. In essence the accusation was that the accused committed Treason against the "benevolent and righteous" common cause. These theories were given credence by the fact that when Germany surrendered in November 1918, its armies were still in French and Belgian territory. Not only had the German Army been in enemy territory the entire time on the Western Front , but on the Eastern Front , Germany had already won the war against Russia, concluded with the Treaty Of Brest-Litovsk . In the West, Germany had come close to winning the war with the Michael Offensive . Contributing to the Dolchestosslegende, its failure was blamed on strikes in the arms industry at a critical moment of the offensive, leaving soldiers without an adequate supply of Materiel . The strikes were seen to be instigated by treasonous elements, with the Jews taking most of the blame. This overlooked Germany's strategic position and ignored how the efforts of individuals were somewhat marginalized on the front, since the belligerents were engaged in a new kind of war. The Industrialization Of War had dehumanized the process, and made possible a new kind of defeat which the Germans suffered as a Total War emerged. Nevertheless, this social mythos of domestic betrayal resonated among its audience, and its claims would codify the basis for public support for the emerging Nazi Party , under a Racialist -based form of nationalism. The Anti-Semitism was intensified by the Bavarian Soviet Republic , a Communist government which ruled the city of Munich for two weeks before being crushed by the Freikorps militia. Most of the Bavarian Soviet Republic's leaders were Jewish, a fact exploited by anti-Semitic propagandists to tar all Jews with the brush of "Communist treason". ORIGINS In the latter part of the war, Germany was practically governed as a ") and General Field Marshal Paul Von Hindenburg as commander-in-chief advising The Kaiser . After the last German offensive on the western front failed in 1918 , the German war effort was doomed. In response, OHL arranged for a rapid change to a civilian government. General Ludendorff, Germany's Chief of Staff, said: ''"I have asked His Excellency to now bring those circles to power which we have to thank for coming so far. We will therefore now bring those gentlemen into the ministries. They can now make the peace which has to be made. They can eat the soup which they have prepared for us!"'' On November 11 , 1918 , the representatives of the newly formed Weimar Republic signed an armistice with the Allies which would end World War I. The subsequent Treaty of Versailles led to further territorial and financial losses. As the Kaiser had been forced to abdicate and the military relinquished executive power, it was the temporary, "civilian government" which sued for peace. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Even though they publicly despised the treaty, it was most convenient for the generals - there were no war crime tribunals, they were celebrated as undefeated heroes, and they could covertly prepare for removing the republic which they had helped to create. In 1919 the Reichswehr (National Militia) already began "educating" an impressionable Adolf Hitler about the causes of the war and the defeat, firmly placing the ''Dolchstoßlegende'' in his mind; it was Ludendorff who would lead the unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch on November 8 , 1923 together with Hitler; it was the Reichswehr which provided early funding to the Nazi Party and it was an 85-year-old Paul von Hindenburg who would appoint Hitler as chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. . The basis of charged complicity drew heavily upon figures like Kurt Eisner; a Berlin born Jew (by his own description) who lived in Munich. He was producing literature about the illegal nature of the war from 1916 onwards and he also had a large hand in the Munich revolution, from which the right wing counter revolution then took place. The Weimar Republic under Friedrich Ebert violently suppressed workers' uprisings with the help of the Reichswehr and tolerated the Paramilitary Freikorps forming all across Germany. In spite of such tolerance of the extreme right, the Republic was viciously attacked. Many of its representatives such as Walther Rathenau were assassinated, and the leaders were branded as "criminals" and Jews by the right-wing press dominated by Alfred Hugenberg . RELATED CONCEPTS OUTSIDE OF WEIMAR GERMANY Other wars have been viewed as winnable but being lost due to betrayal at home. For example, some view this as happening with the Vietnam War , in what was dubbed the Vietnam Syndrome . Some critics consider the post- WWII Stalin Note to be a second post-war stab in the back because the 1952 Stalin Note proposed German Reunification and Superpower Disengagement from Central Europe but the United States and its allies rejected the offer. NOTES SOURCES
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