Stab-in-the-back myth

The stab-in-the-back myth falsely claimed that Germany’s army remained undefeated in World War I and lost because civilians, socialists, and Jews betrayed it.

Armistice of 11 November 1918: The agreement that ended fighting between Germany and the Allied powers in World War I. The ceasefire, signed before Allied forces entered Germany, fed claims that the army had not truly been defeated.
Dolchstoßlegende: The German name for the stab-in-the-back legend that blamed defeat on betrayal at home. The term itself packaged a complex military collapse into a vivid accusation.
Nazi Party: The German far-right party led by Adolf Hitler that established a dictatorship in 1933. The party used the myth to attack republicans and promote antisemitic nationalism.
German spring offensive: A series of German attacks on the Western Front in 1918, intended to win the war before American forces arrived in strength. Its initial gains did not prevent the German army’s later exhaustion and retreat.
Erich Ludendorff: A German general who helped lead the army during World War I and later promoted the betrayal narrative. His postwar claims helped shift responsibility for defeat from military leaders to civilians.
War guilt clause: Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, which assigned Germany and its allies responsibility for war damages. The clause became a target that nationalists could connect to their broader betrayal narrative.
Adolf Hitler: The leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 and a central instigator of the Holocaust and World War II. Hitler turned the betrayal narrative into a recurring claim in Nazi propaganda.
Hundred Days Offensive: The Allied campaign of offensives from August to November 1918 that forced German forces back and led toward the armistice. The Allied advances contradict the claim that Germany’s army remained undefeated.
Hindenburg testimony: Paul von Hindenburg’s 1919 testimony to a parliamentary inquiry into Germany’s defeat in World War I. Hindenburg invoked the betrayal charge before an official body, lending it military authority.
November Criminals: A nationalist insult for German politicians who accepted the armistice and helped establish the republic in November 1918. The label personalized the myth by branding republican leaders as traitors.

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