German Civilization

On September 29, 1918, the German General Staff concluded that their army must stop the hostilities. German people considered this as an unreasonable defeat of Germany in the First World War. The facts in the form of German victories in the last year of the war and economic superiority in Europe have given rise to the creation of myths and reasons for the defeat of this country in the war. These facts contributed the establishment of a convenient theory of the “stab in the back.” The goal of the essay is to analyze the myth of “stab in the back” and political implications of this theory for the newly founded Weimar Republic.
German society has refused to accept the fact of defeat, and this psychological aversion led to a mythology that has justified the bitterness of military catastrophe. The most common myth was named as “stab in the back.” The fact that the German military authorities handed over their powers to a civilian government before the surrender has created a certain image of the “invincible German army.” On October 1, 1918, General Ludendorff, convening the General Staff, announced that they should hand over power to a civilian government. However, Ludendorff did it to remove government and military responsibility for the mistakes and their share of the blame for the defeat of Germany. According to his version, the causes of the loss were the machinations of internal strength and civilian opposition. Besides, Ludendorff claimed that there were no reasons to blame the German army. The purpose of this self-rehabilitation has been facilitated by the fact that the allies agreed to negotiate only with the civil power that helped the generals to avoid direct responsibility for the results of the war. In fact, a government could not blame the German Command, big capitalists, and representatives of right-wing circles in the failure of the military campaign. Thus, a more convenient object was pacifists and left-wing circles. In addition, the emergence of the left extremist putsches in the early post-war years only enhanced the effect of “accusations”. Moreover, the target of their constant criticism was the weak government of the Weimar Republic that sought to domestic and foreign policy compromises but mired in corruption and hostile to the national interests of the German people.
In fact, the value of this theory made a negative impact on the political and social life of Germany. A load of bitterness brought demobilized soldiers from the front, and their frustration with the inability to find a place in the post-war reality aroused deep resentment among the German people. Because of the defeat, German people changed the worldview of the traditional hierarchy of public authorities and stopped to believe a government. Besides, most of the Germans suffered from rampant inflation, which was supported by the imperial government who were hoping to get rid of government debt and reduce the actual amount of reparations. In fact, this theory made a catastrophic impact on the fate of the Jews. Thus, Jews stood out for active participation in various spheres of life in Germany. Furthermore, they participated in the organization of the revolutionary chaos, and in the process of formation of the Republic. The Jew Kurt Eisner led the “Soviet Republic” in Bavaria; Rosa Luxemburg played a key role in “Spartacus uprising” in Berlin; Bela Kun became the head of the Hungarian Republic, which arose on the ruins of the Habsburg Empire. In the Weimar Republic, many Jews were in the ranks of moderate leftist and liberal parties. They were engaged in all areas of economic, cultural, and intellectual life. Moreover, the percentage of Jews in the forefront was higher than their percentage in the general population. After the war, many Jews felt that they must be actively involved in social and political life.
The article is prepared by Robert Cooper, a writer on https://123helpme.org/.