What was the significance of the ‘stabbed in the back myth’?

The ‘stabbed-in-the-back myth’ was a crucial piece of propaganda propagated by the Nazis in order to undermine the strength and morality of the Weimar Republic. In order to fully understand its significance it is important to briefly examine the context of the Weimar Republic’s creation. Germany since its unification in 1871 had a long history of a proud military tradition in its government and non-elected leaders. However defeat in the First World War called for rapid change leading to Germany’s first democratic government, the Weimar Republic. Unlike other democratic countries such as Britain or France, Germany’s transition to democracy was not a long development over time leaving it weaker in the face of its opponents. For those such as Hitler and the Nazi Party who were fundamentally against democracy Weimar needed to be undermined and the ‘stabbed-in-the-back myth’ was a key part of this campaign.The myth itself detailed that the German army (the core element of the previously mentioned martial tradition) had been betrayed by the officials of Weimar in signing the armistice. Hitler and the Nazis erroneously claimed that victory was still possible. This is significant for two main reasons. First it crucially portrayed Weimar as corrupt and weak providing a sharp contrast with the Nazi images of strength and a return to Germany’s proud military traditions of the past that the Nazis promised and that in the face of the humiliating Treaty of Versailles much of the country wanted. Secondly it tapped into a crucial element of support that the Nazis required if they wished to take control of government - the right wing groups created after the defeat in the war and the creation of Weimar. These groups such as the Freikorps heavily bought into the rhetoric of betrayal and weakness partly because many of the members were recently returned servicemen. A final bit of significance is the anti-semitic undertones of the myth which placed much of the blame for the mythical betrayal on the Jewish community and its representatives in civilian government. This early setting out of an ant-semitic agenda was a first step towards the atrocities that would follow.