Dolchstosslegende
Dave Neiwert on
Liberal traitors:
But this particular form of scapegoating is one with a history. In fact, it's commonly referred to as "Dolchstosslegende":
The stab-in-the-back legend ... refers to a social myth and persecution-propaganda theory popular in Germany in the period after World War I through World War II. It attributed Germany's defeat to a number of domestic factors instead of failed militarist geostrategy. Most notably, the theory proclaimed that the public had failed to respond to its "patriotic calling" at the most crucial of times and some had even intentionally "sabotaged the war effort."
2 comments:
The real subtlety of the cosmic jest that is the dolchstosslegende is that the people who stood most to gain from it and forwarded it most fervently – German conservative establishment types and the military – were, in many cases, involved in negotiating the surrender and prosecuting the process of devolving the German Second Empire into the Weimar Republic.
Maybe they had buyer's remorse.
Similarly today, a lot of conservatives who were smug about being in the ascendancy over the past several years (they didn't care who brung them to the dance) are crying that they (and, therefore by extension, the country) have been betrayed. If Democrats or liberals do come to power, be sure that they are right now trying to make as much advantage for themselves of it as they can ... all the while vigorously protesting how they (and of course, the country) have been betrayed by someone with the gall to get them turned out into the wilderness.
Makes sense. Both sides gain from getting us out so some or many Rs will do what they can to help get there - crying "Liberal surrendur!" all the way. No way around that, I guess.
Post a Comment