123-607: Defunct Defunct Wolfgang Kapp (24 July 1858 – 12 June 1922) was a German conservative and nationalist and political activist who is best known for his involvement in the 1920 Kapp Putsch . He spent most of his career working for the Prussian Ministry of Finance and then as director of the Agricultural Credit Institute in East Prussia . During World War I , Kapp was a vocal annexationist and critic of
246-448: A totalitarian ruler, but a monarch, or a traditionalist who acts like one. Many such movements in Spain, Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Italy have been explicitly monarchist […] The supporters of these movements differ from those of the centrists, tending to be wealthier, and more religious, which is more important in terms of a potential for mass support. Edmund Fawcett states that fascism
369-414: A "right-wing viewpoint occupying the political spectrum between [classical] liberalism and fascism ". Conservatism has been called a "philosophy of human imperfection" by Noël O'Sullivan , reflecting among its adherents a negative view of human nature and pessimism of the potential to improve it through 'utopian' schemes. Thomas Hobbes , the "intellectual godfather of the realist right", argued that
492-621: A Berlin-born German Jew who lived in Munich. He had written about the illegal nature of the war from 1916 onward, and he also had a large hand in the Munich revolution until he was assassinated in February 1919. The Weimar Republic under Friedrich Ebert violently suppressed workers' uprisings with the help of Gustav Noske and Reichswehr general Wilhelm Groener, and tolerated the paramilitary Freikorps forming all across Germany. In spite of such tolerance,
615-632: A badge of honor". Despite this, the descriptor has been adopted by intellectuals such as the Italian esoteric traditionalist Julius Evola , the Austrian monarchist Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn , the Colombian political theologian Nicolás Gómez Dávila , and the American historian John Lukacs . Religious conservatism principally applies the teachings of particular religions to politics—sometimes by merely proclaiming
738-536: A basis for discussions. Wilson's response insisted that Germany institute parliamentary democracy, give up the territory it had gained to that point in the war, and significantly disarm, including giving up the German High Seas Fleet . On 26 October, Ludendorff was dismissed from his post by the Emperor and replaced by Lieutenant General Wilhelm Groener , who started to prepare the withdrawal and demobilisation of
861-565: A concentric advance on Munich by three Allied armies, which would be assembled on the Austro-German frontier within five weeks. In addition Trenchard ’s Independent Air Force was about to bomb Berlin: on a scale hitherto unattempted in air warfare. And the number of American troops in Europe had now risen to 2,085,000, and the number of divisions to forty-two, of which thirty-two were ready for battle. German historian Imanuel Geiss also emphasised
984-654: A degree of religious toleration . Burke ultimately justified the social order on the basis of tradition: tradition represented the wisdom of the species, and he valued community and social harmony over social reforms. Another form of conservatism developed in France in parallel to conservatism in Britain. It was influenced by Counter-Enlightenment works by philosophers such as Joseph de Maistre and Louis de Bonald . Many continental conservatives do not support separation of church and state , with most supporting state cooperation with
1107-574: A gas attack on the front. In Mein Kampf , he described a vision at this time which drove him to enter politics. Throughout his career, he railed against the "November criminals" of 1918, who had stabbed the German Army in the back. German historian Friedrich Meinecke attempted to trace the roots of the expression "stab-in-the-back" in a 11 June 1922 article in the Viennese newspaper Neue Freie Presse . In
1230-517: A large Freikorps unit, was able to take control of Berlin’s government quarter after the cabinet of Gustav Bauer and other leading officials fled the city. Kapp declared the government deposed, the Weimar National Assembly and the Prussian government dissolved, then named himself German chancellor and minister president of Prussia and Lüttwitz Reichswehr minister and commander-in-chief of
1353-564: A member of the Progressive People's Party in the Reichstag , used the term to exhort his listeners to keep fighting: As long as the front holds, we damned well have the duty to hold out in the homeland. We would have to be ashamed of ourselves in front of our children and grandchildren if we attacked the battle front from the rear and gave it a dagger-stab ( wenn wir der Front in den Rücken fielen und ihr den Dolchstoß versetzten ). However,
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#17328687164361476-442: A moderate alternative to the extremes of right-wing nationalism and left-wing communism. Christian-democratic parties were especially popular among European women, who often voted for these parties to a large extent due to their pro-family policies. Social conservatives believe that society is built upon a fragile network of relationships which need to be upheld through duty, traditional values, and established institutions; and that
1599-461: A new position, and we could not prevent it". When asked about how long he believed it would take for German forces to be pushed across the Rhine, Foch responded "Maybe three, maybe four or five months, who knows?". In private correspondence Haig was more sanguine. In a mid-October letter to his wife he stated that "I think we have their army beaten now". Haig noted in his diary for 11 November 1918 that
1722-513: A new thrust in the rear through Austria. Analysing the role that developments on the western front had played in the German decision to capitulate, Hart emphasised particularly the importance of new military threats to Germany that they were ill-equipped to meet, alongside developments within Germany, stating that: More truly significant was the decision on November 4, after Austria’s surrender, to prepare
1845-475: A powerful reactionary movement was German Romanticism , which centred around concepts of organicism, medievalism , and traditionalism against the forces of rationalism, secularism, and individualism that were unleashed in the French Revolution . In political discourse, being a reactionary is generally regarded as negative; Peter King observed that it is "an unsought-for label, used as a torment rather than
1968-1367: A stream of anti-rationalist, romantic conservatism, but would still stay separate. Whereas Burke was more open to argumentation and disagreement, Maistre wanted faith and authority, leading to a more illiberal strain of thought. Authoritarian conservatism refers to autocratic regimes that portray authority as absolute and unquestionable. Authoritarian conservative movements show strong devotion towards religion, tradition, and culture while also expressing fervent nationalism akin to other far-right nationalist movements. Examples of authoritarian conservative dictators include Marshal Philippe Pétain in France, Regent Miklós Horthy in Hungary, General Ioannis Metaxas in Greece, King Alexander I in Yugoslavia, Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal, Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in Austria, Generalissimo Francisco Franco in Spain, King Carol II in Romania, and Tsar Boris III in Bulgaria. Authoritarian conservative movements were prominent in
2091-550: A tribute to the German soldier, but it only contributed to the prevailing feeling. Further "proof" of the myth's validity was found in British general Frederick Barton Maurice 's book The Last Four Months , published in 1919. German reviews of the book misrepresented it as proving that the German Army had been betrayed on the home front by being "dagger-stabbed from behind by the civilian populace" ( von der Zivilbevölkerung von hinten erdolcht ), an interpretation that Maurice disavowed in
2214-485: Is "resting on an established belief in the sanctity of immemorial traditions and the legitimacy of those exercising authority under them". Alexandre Kojève distinguishes between two different forms of traditional authority: Robert Nisbet acknowledges that the decline of traditional authority in the modern world is partly linked with the retreat of old institutions such as guild , order , parish , and family —institutions that formerly acted as intermediaries between
2337-435: Is a strand in conservatism which reflects the belief that societies exist and develop organically and that members within them have obligations towards each other. There is particular emphasis on the paternalistic obligation ( noblesse oblige ) of those who are privileged and wealthy to the poorer parts of society, which is consistent with principles such as duty , organicism , and hierarchy . Its proponents often stress
2460-464: Is desperate, if not hopeless, but it is nothing compared to the interior condition due to the rapid spread of Bolshevism.". Writing in 1930, the British military theorist Basil Liddell Hart wrote that: The German acceptance of these severe terms [i.e., the Armistice terms] was hastened less by the existing situation on the western front than by the collapse of the "home front," coupled to exposure to
2583-402: Is less an attempt to uphold old institutions and more "a meditation on—and theoretical rendition of—the felt experience of having power, seeing it threatened, and trying to win it back". On another occasion, Robin argues for a more complex relation: Conservatism is a defense of established hierarchies, but it is also fearful of those established hierarchies. It sees in their assuredness of power
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#17328687164362706-460: Is necessary to ensure law and order, and social institutions are needed to nurture a sense of duty and responsibility to the nation. Originally opposed to capitalism and the industrial revolution , the conservative ideology in many countries adopted economic liberalism , especially in the United States where this ideology is known as fiscal conservatism . National conservatism prioritises
2829-410: Is strongly influenced by liberal stances. It incorporates the classical liberal view of minimal economic interventionism , meaning that individuals should be free to participate in the market and generate wealth without government interference. However, individuals cannot be thoroughly depended on to act responsibly in other spheres of life; therefore, liberal conservatives believe that a strong state
2952-572: Is totalitarian, populist, and anti- pluralist , whereas authoritarian conservatism is somewhat pluralist but most of all elitist and anti-populist. He concludes: "The fascist is a nonconservative who takes anti-liberalism to extremes. The right-wing authoritarian is a conservative who takes fear of democracy to extremes." During the Cold War , right-wing military dictatorships were prominent in Latin America, with most nations being under military rule by
3075-718: The Auxiliary Services Act of December 1916, which under the Hindenburg Programme aimed at a total mobilisation of the economy for war production. In order to implement the Act, however, Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg and his Chief-of-Staff, First Quartermaster General Erich Ludendorff had to make significant concessions to labour unions and the Reichstag . Hindenburg and Ludendorff threatened to resign in July 1917 if
3198-532: The Catholic Church , such as had existed in France before the Revolution. Conservatives were also early to embrace nationalism , which was previously associated with liberalism and the Revolution in France. Another early French conservative, François-René de Chateaubriand , espoused a romantic opposition to modernity, contrasting its emptiness with the 'full heart' of traditional faith and loyalty. Elsewhere on
3321-566: The Dolchstoßlegende , the overall failure of the German offensive was blamed on strikes in the arms industry at a critical moment, leaving soldiers without an adequate supply of materiel . The strikes were seen as having been instigated by treasonous elements, with the Jews taking most of the blame. The weakness of Germany's strategic position was exacerbated by the rapid collapse of the other Central Powers in late 1918, following Allied victories on
3444-634: The Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and the Georg-August University of Göttingen , where he became a member of the student organization Corps Hannovera Göttingen . In 1886, he completed his doctorate in law and was appointed to a position in the Prussian Ministry of Finance the same year. In 1907, through the intercession of his friend Elard von Oldenburg-Januschau , an influential Junker from East Prussia , Kapp took over
3567-630: The Emperor did not remove Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg . He had lost his usefulness to them when he lost the confidence of the Reichstag after it passed the Reichstag Peace Resolution calling for a negotiated peace without annexations. Bethmann Hollweg resigned and was replaced by Georg Michaelis , whose appointment was supported by the OHL. After only 100 days in office, however, he became
3690-720: The French Revolution but supported the American Revolution , is credited as one of the forefathers of conservative thought in the 1790s along with Savoyard statesman Joseph de Maistre . The first established use of the term in a political context originated in 1818 with François-René de Chateaubriand during the period of Bourbon Restoration that sought to roll back the policies of the French Revolution and establish social order. Conservatism has varied considerably as it has adapted itself to existing traditions and national cultures. Thus, conservatives from different parts of
3813-456: The Heer (army), and that they were over-represented in non-fighting positions. Instead, the census showed just the opposite, that Jews were over-represented both in the army as a whole and in fighting positions at the front. The Imperial German Army then suppressed the results of the census. Charges of a Jewish conspiratorial element in Germany's defeat drew heavily upon figures such as Kurt Eisner ,
Wolfgang Kapp - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-619: The House of Hohenzollern in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 . Advocates of the myth denounced the German government leaders who had signed the Armistice of 11 November 1918 as the " November criminals " ( Novemberverbrecher ). When Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in 1933, they made the conspiracy theory an integral part of their official history of the 1920s, portraying
4059-788: The Macedonian and Italian fronts. Bulgaria was the first to sign an armistice on 29 September 1918, at Salonica. On 30 October the Ottoman Empire capitulated at Mudros . On 3 November Austria-Hungary sent a flag of truce to the Italian Army to ask for an armistice. The terms, arranged by telegraph with the Allied Authorities in Paris, were communicated to the Austro-Hungarian commander and accepted. The armistice with Austria-Hungary
4182-627: The Rockingham branch of the Whig party . Together with the Tories, they were the conservatives in the late 18th century United Kingdom. Burke's views were a mixture of conservatism and republicanism. He supported the American Revolution of 1775–1783 but abhorred the violence of the French Revolution of 1789–1799. He accepted the conservative ideals of private property and the economics of Adam Smith , but he thought that capitalism should remain subordinate to
4305-702: The University of Königsberg . During the First World War , Kapp became widely known among the German population as one of the most high-profile advocates of far-reaching German war goals. He called for extensive annexations and high reparations payments from the nations of the Triple Entente . He considered it indispensable that occupied Belgium be permanently linked to the German Empire militarily, economically and politically, that German naval bases be established on
4428-471: The Weimar Republic as the work of the "November criminals" who had "stabbed the nation in the back" in order to seize power. Nazi propaganda depicted Weimar Germany as "a morass of corruption, degeneracy, national humiliation, ruthless persecution of the honest 'national opposition' – fourteen years of rule by Jews, Marxists , and ' cultural Bolsheviks ', who had at last been swept away by
4551-607: The social transformation of society. In popular usage, reactionism refers to a staunch traditionalist conservative political perspective of a person who supports the status quo and opposes social, political, and economic change. Some adherents of conservatism, rather than opposing change, seek to return to the status quo ante and tend to view the modern world in a negative light, especially concerning mass culture and secularism , although different groups of reactionaries may choose different traditional values to revive. Some political scientists, such as Corey Robin , treat
4674-432: The state of nature for humans was "poor, nasty, brutish, and short", requiring centralised authority with royal sovereignty to guarantee law and order . Edmund Burke , often called the father of modern conservatism, believed that human beings are steeped in original sin and that society therefore needs traditional institutions, such as an established church and a landed aristocracy , in order to function. Despite
4797-500: The "stab-in-the-back myth", in which Hindenburg and Ludendorff were held to be blameless, the German Army was seen as undefeated on the battlefield, and the republican politicians – especially the Socialists – were accused of betraying Germany. Further blame was laid at their feet after they signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which led to territorial losses and serious financial pain for
4920-755: The 1924 national election, the Munich cultural journal Süddeutsche Monatshefte published a series of articles blaming the SPD and trade unions for Germany's defeat in World War I, which came out during the trial of Hitler and Ludendorff for high treason following the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. The editor of an SPD newspaper sued the journal for defamation , giving rise to what is known as the Munich Dolchstoßprozess from 19 October to 20 November 1925. Many prominent figures testified in that trial, including members of
5043-547: The 21st century, the authoritarian style of government experienced a worldwide renaissance with conservative statesmen such as President Vladimir Putin in Russia, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, and President Donald Trump in the United States. Liberal conservatism is a variant of conservatism that
Wolfgang Kapp - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-856: The Allied armies had only crossed the 1914 German frontier in a few places in Alsace-Lorraine (see below map). Meanwhile, on the Eastern Front , Germany had already won its war against Russia , concluded with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk . In the West, Germany had successes with the Spring Offensive of 1918 but the attack had run out of momentum, the Allies had regrouped and in the Hundred Days Offensive retaken lost ground with no sign of stopping. Contributing to
5289-555: The Army which he said was based on evidence gathered during his participation on the Judenzählung , a military census which had in fact shown that German Jews had served in the front lines proportionately to their numbers. Roth's work claimed that most Jews involved in the war were only taking part as profiteers and spies, while he also blamed Jewish officers for fostering a defeatist mentality which impacted negatively on their soldiers. As such,
5412-637: The French lines two evenings before, had sent no report as to the nature of the conditions. Hindenburg, Chief of the German General Staff at the time of the Ludendorff Offensive, also mentioned this event in a statement explaining the Kaiser's abdication: The conclusion of the armistice was directly impending. At moment of the highest military tension revolution broke out in Germany, the insurgents seized
5535-563: The German army was in "very bad" condition due to insubordination and indiscipline in the ranks. British army intelligence in October 1918 assessed the German reserves as being very limited, with only 20 divisions for the whole western front of which only five were rated as "fresh". However, they also highlighted that the German Class of 1920 (i.e., the class of young men due to be conscripted in 1920 under normal circumstances, but called up early)
5658-416: The German press, to no effect. According to William L. Shirer , Ludendorff used the reviews of the book to convince Hindenburg about the validity of the myth. On 18 November 1919, Ludendorff and Hindenburg appeared before the Committee of Inquiry into Guilt for World War I ( Untersuchungsausschuss für Schuldfragen des Weltkrieges ) of the newly elected Weimar National Assembly , which was investigating
5781-409: The National Socialist movement under Hitler and the victory of the 'national revolution' of 1933". Historians inside and outside of Germany, whilst recognising that economic and morale collapse on the home front was a factor in German defeat, unanimously reject the myth. Historians and military theorists point to lack of further Imperial German Army reserves, the danger of invasion from the south, and
5904-432: The Reichstag in which he spoke of "loathsome abuse and slanders". In reaction to the Reichstag Peace Resolution of 1917, Kapp and Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz founded the German Fatherland Party ( Deutsche Vaterlandspartei ), of which Kapp was briefly the chairman. Through a by-election, he became a member of the last Reichstag of the Empire on 2 Feb 1918 for a constituency in Gumbinnen , East Prussia. Kapp felt
6027-616: The Reichswehr. The putsch failed to take hold and was over by 18 March. It collapsed due a general strike, lack of participation by the Reichswehr and the refusal of the majority of government officials to take orders from Kapp. He and Lüttwitz also had differing goals. Kapp wanted a complete overthrow of the government, while Lüttwitz had more limited and personal aims. Kapp handed his offices over to Lüttwitz on 17 March and fled to Sweden. Lüttwitz went into exile in Hungary then returned to Germany in 1924 after being granted amnesty. The German government did not ask for Kapp's extradition, and he
6150-439: The Republic's legitimacy was constantly attacked with claims such as the stab-in-the-back. Many of its representatives such as Matthias Erzberger and Walther Rathenau were assassinated, and the leaders were branded as "criminals" and Jews by the right-wing press dominated by Alfred Hugenberg . Anti-Jewish sentiment was intensified by the Bavarian Soviet Republic (6 April – 3 May 1919), a communist government which briefly ruled
6273-402: The Rhine bridges, important arsenals, and traffic centres in the rear of the army, thereby endangering the supply of ammunition and provisions, while the supplies in the hands of the troops were only enough to last for a few days. The troops on the lines of communication and the reserves disbanded themselves, and unfavourable reports arrived concerning the reliability of the field army proper. It
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#17328687164366396-421: The United Kingdom with exponents such as Prime Ministers Disraeli, Stanley Baldwin , Neville Chamberlain , Winston Churchill , and Harold Macmillan . In 19th-century Germany , Chancellor Otto von Bismarck adopted a set of social programs, known as state socialism , which included insurance for workers against sickness, accident, incapacity, and old age. The goal of this conservative state-building strategy
6519-409: The armistice must be concluded as soon as possible, since the army had supplies for only six to eight days more and was cut off from all further supplies by the rebels, who had occupied all the supply storehouses and Rhine bridges; that, for some unexplained reason, the armistice commission sent to France–consisting of Erzberger, Ambassador Count Oberndorff , and General von Winterfeldt–which had crossed
6642-419: The army. On 11 November 1918, the representatives of the newly formed Weimar Republic – created after the Revolution of 1918–1919 forced the abdication of the Kaiser – signed the armistice that ended hostilities. The military commanders had arranged it so that they would not be blamed for suing for peace, but the republican politicians associated with the armistice would: the signature on the armistice document
6765-425: The back?" Ludendorff's eyes lit up and he leapt upon the phrase like a dog on a bone. "Stabbed in the back?" he repeated. "Yes, that's it, exactly, we were stabbed in the back". And thus was born a legend which has never entirely perished. The phrase was to Ludendorff's liking, and he let it be known among the general staff that this was the "official" version, which led to it being spread throughout German society. It
6888-424: The book offered one of the earliest published versions of the stab-in-the-back legend. A version of the stab-in-the-back myth was publicised in 1922 by the anti-Semitic Nazi theorist Alfred Rosenberg in his primary contribution to Nazi theory on Zionism , Der Staatsfeindliche Zionismus (Zionism, the Enemy of the State). Rosenberg accused German Zionists of working for a German defeat and supporting Britain and
7011-456: The causes of the war and Germany's defeat. The two generals appeared in civilian clothing, explaining publicly that to wear their uniforms would show too much respect to the commission. Hindenburg refused to answer questions from the chairman, and instead read a statement that had been written by Ludendorff. In his testimony he cited what Maurice was purported to have written, which provided his testimony's most memorable part. Hindenburg declared at
7134-409: The city of Munich before being crushed by the Freikorps . Many of the Bavarian Soviet Republic's leaders were Jewish, allowing antisemitic propagandists to connect Jews with communism, and thus treason. In 1919, Deutschvölkischer Schutz und Trutzbund (German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation) leader Alfred Roth , writing under the pseudonym "Otto Arnim", published the book The Jew in
7257-448: The civil population's collapse is a fiction of German militaristic imagination Although Roskill also balanced this by saying that what he characterised as "the triumph of unarmed forces" (i.e., pressure from the German civilian population for peace under the influence of the Allied blockade) was a factor in Allied victory alongside that of armed forces including naval, land, and air forces. According to historian Richard Steigmann-Gall ,
7380-408: The class basis of right-wing extremist politics in the 1920–1960 era. He reports: Conservative or rightist extremist movements have arisen at different periods in modern history, ranging from the Horthyites in Hungary, the Christian Social Party of Dollfuss in Austria, Der Stahlhelm and other nationalists in pre-Hitler Germany, and Salazar in Portugal, to the pre-1966 Gaullist movements and
7503-592: The coast of Flanders and that vigorous action be taken against Great Britain. As a vocal advocate of unrestricted submarine warfare , Kapp came into conflict with Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg , who sought to prevent it out of fear that it would lead to America entering the war. A pamphlet of Kapp's published in the early summer of 1916 entitled "The National Circles and the Chancellor" ( Die Nationalen Kreise und der Reichskanzler ) criticized German foreign and domestic policy under Bethmann Hollweg. The pamphlet evoked an indignant reply from Bethmann Hollweg in
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#17328687164367626-450: The conservative social ethic and that the business class should be subordinate to aristocracy. He insisted on standards of honour derived from the medieval aristocratic tradition and saw the aristocracy as the nation's natural leaders. That meant limits on the powers of the Crown, since he found the institutions of Parliament to be better informed than commissions appointed by the executive. He favoured an established church, but allowed for
7749-444: The continent, German thinkers Justus Möser and Friedrich von Gentz criticised the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen that came of the Revolution. Opposition was also expressed by German idealists such as Adam Müller and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel , the latter inspiring both leftist and rightist followers. Both Burke and Maistre were critical of democracy in general, though their reasons differed. Maistre
7872-412: The core group behind the Kapp Putsch that attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic. On 10 March 1920, General Walther von Lüttwitz decided to stage a coup after Reichswehr Minister Gustav Noske relieved him of the command of several Reichswehr divisions. Kapp, who was in Berlin with a delegation from East Prussia, met with Lüttwitz to help plan the coup. On 13 March, the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt ,
7995-514: The defeat of the First World War as a national disgrace. He became a proponent of the stab-in-the-back myth , the belief that the German army had remained undefeated in the field and was stabbed in the back by Jews and communists at home. He joined the German National People's Party (DNVP) in 1919 and participated in the anti-republican National Union ( Nationale Vereinigung [ de ] ).The members, which included General Erich Ludendorff , Colonel Max Bauer and Captain Waldemar Pabst , were
8118-458: The defence of national and cultural identity , often based on a theory of the family as a model for the state . National conservatism is orientated towards upholding national sovereignty , which includes limited immigration and a strong national defence. In Europe, national conservatives are usually eurosceptics . Yoram Hazony has argued for national conservatism in his work The Virtue of Nationalism (2018). Paternalistic conservatism
8241-447: The eleventh hour. When consulted on terms for an armistice in October 1918, Douglas Haig , commander of the British and Commonwealth forces on the western front, stated that "Germany is not broken in the military sense. During the last weeks her forces have withdrawn fighting very bravely and in excellent order". Ferdinand Foch , Supreme Allied Commander, agreed with this assessment, stating that "the German army could undoubtedly take up
8364-530: The end of his – or Ludendorff's – speech: "As an English general has very truly said, the German Army was 'stabbed in the back'". Furthering, the specifics of the stab-in-the-back myth are mentioned briefly by Kaiser Wilhelm II in his memoir: I immediately summoned Field Marshal von Hindenburg and the Quartermaster General, General Groener. General Groener again announced that the army could fight no longer and wished rest above all else, and that, therefore, any sort of armistice must be unconditionally accepted; that
8487-413: The established institutions of their time. According to Quintin Hogg , the chairman of the British Conservative Party in 1959: "Conservatism is not so much a philosophy as an attitude, a constant force, performing a timeless function in the development of a free society, and corresponding to a deep and permanent requirement of human nature itself." Conservatism is often used as a generic term to describe
8610-511: The execution of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and other top-ranking Romanian fascists. The exiled German Emperor Wilhelm II was an enemy of Adolf Hitler and stated that Nazism made him ashamed to be a German for the first time in his life. The Catholic seminarian António de Oliveira Salazar , who was Portugal's dictator for 40 years, denounced fascism and Nazism as a "pagan Caesarism " that did not recognise legal, religious, or moral limits. Political scientist Seymour Martin Lipset has examined
8733-440: The first chancellor to be ousted by the Reichstag. After years of fighting and having incurred millions of casualties, Britain and France were wary about an invasion of Germany with its unknown consequences. However the Allies had been amply resupplied by the United States , which had fresh armies ready for combat. On the Western Front , although the Hindenburg Line had been penetrated and German forces were in retreat,
8856-550: The government has a role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or practices. A social conservative wants to preserve traditional morality and social mores , often by opposing what they consider radical policies or social engineering . Some social-conservative stances are the following: Traditionalist conservatism, also known as classical conservatism, emphasises the need for the principles of natural law , transcendent moral order, tradition , hierarchy , organicism , agrarianism , classicism , and high culture as well as
8979-406: The government those circles who are largely responsible for things having developed as they have. We will now see these gentlemen move into the ministries. Let them be the ones to sign the peace treaty that must now be negotiated. Let them eat the soup that they have cooked for us! In this way, Ludendorff was setting up the republican politicians – many of them Socialists – who would be brought into
9102-479: The government's policies, which he saw as not aggressive enough. His strong dislike of parliamentary government and the Weimar Republic led him to take a leading role in the 1920 putsch that bears his name. Following the putsch's failure to overthrow the German government, Kapp went into exile in Sweden. He returned to Germany in late 1921 to appear in court, but died while under medical care before he could testify. Kapp
9225-400: The government, and would become the parties that negotiated the armistice with the Allies , as the scapegoats to take the blame for losing the war, instead of himself and Hindenburg. Normally, during wartime an armistice is negotiated between the military commanders of the hostile forces, but Hindenburg and Ludendorff had instead handed this task to the new civilian government. The attitude of
9348-577: The homeland." The birth of the specific term "stab-in-the-back" itself can possibly be dated to the autumn of 1919, when Ludendorff was dining with the head of the British Military Mission in Berlin, British general Sir Neill Malcolm . Malcolm asked Ludendorff why he thought Germany lost the war. Ludendorff replied with his list of excuses, including that the home front failed the army. Malcolm asked him: "Do you mean, General, that you were stabbed in
9471-580: The implementation of the Balfour Declaration . The Dolchstoß was a central image in propaganda produced by the many right-wing and traditionally conservative political parties that sprang up in the early days of the Weimar Republic, including Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party. For Hitler himself, this explanatory model for World War I was of crucial personal importance. He had learned of Germany's defeat while being treated for temporary blindness following
9594-535: The importance of a social safety net to deal with poverty, supporting limited redistribution of wealth along with government regulation of markets in the interests of both consumers and producers. Paternalistic conservatism first arose as a distinct ideology in the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli 's " One Nation " Toryism . There have been a variety of one-nation conservative governments in
9717-488: The importance of the Austro-Hungarian collapse, alongside internal factors affecting Germany, in the final decision by Germany to make peace: Whatever doubts may have lingered in German minds about the necessity of laying down arms they were definitely destroyed by events inside and outside Germany. On 27th October Emperor Karl threw up the sponge [...] Germany lay practically open to invasion through Bohemia and Tyrol into Silesia, Saxony, and Bavaria. To wage war on foreign soil
9840-454: The intersecting spheres of loyalty . Some traditionalists have embraced the labels reactionary and counter-revolutionary , defying the stigma that has attached to these terms since the Enlightenment . Having a hierarchical view of society, many traditionalist conservatives, including a few notable Americans such as Ralph Adams Cram , William S. Lind , and Charles A. Coulombe , defend
9963-399: The lack of a universal definition, certain themes can be recognised as common across conservative thought. According to Michael Oakeshott : To be conservative […] is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the possible, the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the sufficient to the superabundant, the convenient to
10086-518: The last German offensive on the Western Front failed in 1918, Hindenburg and Ludendorff admitted that the war effort was doomed, and they pressed Kaiser Wilhelm II for an armistice to be negotiated, and for a rapid change to a civilian government in Germany. They began to take steps to deflect the blame for losing the war from themselves and the German Army to others. Ludendorff said to his staff on 1 October: I have ... asked His Majesty to include in
10209-505: The lucrative position of director of the East Prussian Agricultural Credit Institute, a post he held until March 1920. He successfully lobbied for the agricultural workers' movement, peasant settlement and agricultural debt relief, and against strong opposition he founded a non-profit public life insurance company. In 1912 he was elected to the supervisory board of Deutsche Bank . He was also an honorary doctor of
10332-487: The middle of the 1970s. One example of this was General Augusto Pinochet , who ruled over Chile from 1973 to 1990. According to Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn , military dictatorships arise in democratic systems in order to stop leftist parties from becoming totalitarian. The most recent instance occurred in Bolivia in 2024, when General Juan José Zúñiga staged a coup in order to overthrow the far-left president Luis Arce . In
10455-488: The military was "[T]he parties of the left have to take on the odium of this peace. The storm of anger will then turn against them," after which the military could step in again to ensure that things would once again be run "in the old way". On 5 October, the German Chancellor, Prince Maximilian of Baden , contacted U.S. President Woodrow Wilson , indicating that Germany was willing to accept his Fourteen Points as
10578-414: The monarchical political structure as the most natural and beneficial social arrangement. Conservative parties vary widely from country to country in the goals they wish to achieve. Both conservative and classical liberal parties tend to favour private ownership of property, in opposition to communist , socialist , and green parties, which favour communal ownership or laws regulating responsibility on
10701-402: The monarchists in contemporary France and Italy. The right extremists are conservative, not revolutionary. They seek to change political institutions in order to preserve or restore cultural and economic ones, while extremists of the centre [fascists/Nazis] and left [communists/anarchists] seek to use political means for cultural and social revolution. The ideal of the right extremist is not
10824-466: The overwhelming of German forces on the western front by more numerous Allied forces particularly after the entrance of the United States into the war , as evidence that Germany had already lost the war militarily by late 1918. In the later part of World War I, the Supreme High Command ( Oberste Heeresleitung , OHL) controlled not only the military but also a large part of the economy through
10947-408: The parliamentary committee investigating the reasons for the defeat, so some of its results were made public long before the publication of the committee report in 1928. The Allied policy of unconditional surrender was devised in 1943 in part to avoid a repetition of the stab-in-the-back myth. According to historian John Wheeler-Bennett , speaking from the British perspective, It was necessary for
11070-399: The part of property owners. Where conservatives and liberals differ is primarily on social issues, where conservatives tend to reject behaviour that does not conform to some social norm . Modern conservative parties often define themselves by their opposition to liberal or socialist parties. The United States usage of the term conservative is unique to that country, where its first modern usage
11193-425: The particular nation, conservatives seek to promote and preserve a range of institutions, such as the nuclear family , organised religion , the military , the nation-state , property rights , rule of law , aristocracy , and monarchy . Conservatives tend to favour institutions and practices that enhance social order and historical continuity. Edmund Burke , an 18th-century Anglo-Irish statesman who opposed
11316-517: The party leader, told troops returning to Berlin on 10 November 1918 that "No enemy has vanquished you," ( kein Feind hat euch überwunden! ) and "they returned undefeated from the battlefield" ( sie sind vom Schlachtfeld unbesiegt zurückgekehrt ). The latter quote was shortened to im Felde unbesiegt (undefeated on the battlefield) as a semi-official slogan of the Reichswehr . Ebert had meant these sayings as
11439-453: The peace to preserve the status quo, and one "from below" that wished to use the peace to establish a socialist, democratic state. Naval historian and first world war Royal Navy veteran Captain S.W. Roskill assessed the situation at sea as follows: There is no doubt at all that in 1918 Allied anti-submarine forces inflicted a heavy defeat on the U-boats ... the so-called 'stab in the back' by
11562-487: The perfect, present laughter to utopian bliss. Such traditionalism may be a reflection of trust in time-tested methods of social organisation, giving 'votes to the dead'. Traditions may also be steeped in a sense of identity . In contrast to the tradition-based definition of conservatism, some left-wing political theorists like Corey Robin define conservatism primarily in terms of a general defence of social and economic inequality . From this perspective, conservatism
11685-777: The role of religion in public life. Christian democracy is a moderately conservative centre-right ideology inspired by Christian social teaching . It originated as a reaction against the industrialisation and urbanisation associated with laissez-faire -capitalism . In post-war Europe, Christian-democratic parties dominated politics in several nations—the Christian People's Party in Belgium, CDU and CSU in Germany, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in Ireland, and Christian Democracy in Italy. Many post-war Europeans saw Christian democracy as
11808-460: The same era as fascism , with which it sometimes clashed. Although both ideologies shared core values such as nationalism and had common enemies such as communism , there was nonetheless a contrast between the traditionalist and elitist nature of authoritarian conservatism and the revolutionary and populist nature of fascism—thus it was common for authoritarian conservative regimes to suppress rising fascist and Nazi movements. The hostility between
11931-494: The shaky new republic, including a crippling schedule of reparation payments. Conservatives, nationalists, and ex-military leaders began to speak critically about the peace and Weimar politicians, socialists, communists , and Jews. Even Catholics were viewed with suspicion by some due to supposed fealty to the Pope and their presumed lack of national loyalty and patriotism. It was claimed that these groups had not sufficiently supported
12054-516: The social hierarchy, which includes factors such as age, experience, and wisdom. Conservatives often glorify hierarchies, as demonstrated in an aphorism by conservative philosopher Nicolás Gómez Dávila : "Hierarchies are celestial. In hell all are equal." The word hierarchy has religious roots and translates to 'rule of a high priest.' Authority is a core tenet of conservatism. More specifically, conservatives tend to believe in traditional authority . According to Max Weber , this form of authority
12177-434: The source of corruption, decadence and decline. Ruling regimes require some kind of irritant, a grain of sand in the oyster, to reactivate their latent powers, to exercise their atrophied muscles, to make their pearls. In Conservatism: A Rediscovery (2022), political philosopher Yoram Hazony argues that, in a traditional conservative community, members have importance and influence to the degree they are honoured within
12300-601: The stab-in-the-back concept can be traced back to a sermon preached on 3 February 1918, by Protestant Court Chaplain Bruno Doehring , nine months before the war had even ended. German scholar Boris Barth, in contrast to Steigmann-Gall, implies that Doehring did not actually use the term, but spoke only of 'betrayal'. Barth traces the first documented use to a centrist political meeting in the Munich Löwenbräukeller on 2 November 1918, in which Ernst Müller-Meiningen ,
12423-479: The state and the individual. Hannah Arendt argues that the modern world suffers an existential crisis with a "dramatic breakdown of all traditional authorities," which are needed for the continuity of an established civilisation. Edmund Burke has been widely regarded as the philosophical founder of modern conservatism. He served as the private secretary to the Marquis of Rockingham and as official pamphleteer to
12546-755: The term has been used to describe a wide range of views . Conservatism may be either libertarian or authoritarian , populist or elitist , progressive or reactionary , moderate or extreme . Scholars have tried to define conservatism as a set of beliefs or principles. Andrew Heywood argues that the five central beliefs of conservatism are tradition, human imperfection, organic society, authority/hierarchy, and property. Russell Kirk developed five canons of conservatism in The Conservative Mind (1953): Some political scientists, such as Samuel P. Huntington , have seen conservatism as situational. Under this definition, conservatives are seen as defending
12669-475: The two ideologies is highlighted by the struggle for power in Austria, which was marked by the assassination of the ultra-Catholic dictator Engelbert Dollfuss by Austrian Nazis . Likewise, Croatian fascists assassinated King Alexander I of Yugoslavia . In Romania, as the fascist Iron Guard was gaining popularity and Nazi Germany was making advances on the European political stage, King Carol II ordered
12792-455: The value of those teachings, at other times by having those teachings influence laws. In most democracies, political conservatism seeks to uphold traditional family structures and social values. Religious conservatives typically oppose abortion, LGBT behaviour (or, in certain cases, identity), drug use, and sexual activity outside of marriage. In some cases, conservative values are grounded in religious beliefs, and conservatives seek to increase
12915-453: 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 criticising German nationalism , instigating unrest and mounting strikes in the critical military industries, or by profiteering. These actions were believed to have deprived Germany of almost certain victory at
13038-403: The war, and that Germany itself was unoccupied while occupying a great deal of foreign territory, it was no wonder that the German public was mystified by the request for an armistice, especially as they did not know that their military leaders had asked for it, nor did they know that the German Army had been in full retreat after their last offensive had failed. Thus the conditions were set for
13161-458: The widespread dissemination and acceptance of the "stab-in-the-back" myth came about through its use by Germany's highest military echelon. In Spring 1919, Max Bauer – an army colonel who had been the primary adviser to Ludendorff on politics and economics – published Could We Have Avoided, Won, or Broken Off the War? , in which he wrote that "[The war] was lost only and exclusively through the failure of
13284-550: The words reactionary and conservative as synonyms. Others, such as Mark Lilla , argue that reactionism and conservatism are distinct worldviews. Francis Wilson defines conservatism as "a philosophy of social evolution, in which certain lasting values are defended within the framework of the tension of political conflict". Some reactionaries favour a return to the status quo ante , the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary society. An early example of
13407-414: The world, each upholding their respective traditions, may disagree on a wide range of issues. One of the three major ideologies along with liberalism and socialism , conservatism is the dominant ideology in many nations across the world, including Hungary , India , Iran , Israel , Italy , Japan , Poland , Russia , Singapore , and South Korea . Historically associated with right-wing politics ,
13530-539: Was an antisemitic and anti-communist conspiracy theory that was widely believed and promulgated in Germany after 1918 . It maintained that the Imperial German Army did not lose World War I on the battlefield, but was instead betrayed by certain citizens on the home front – especially Jews , revolutionary socialists who fomented strikes and labour unrest, and republican politicians who had overthrown
13653-469: Was being held back as an additional reserve and would be absorbed into German divisions in the winter of 1918 if the war continued. Aerial reconnaissance also highlighted the lack of any prepared fortified positions beyond the Hindenburg line. A report from the retired German general Montgelas , who had previously contacted British intelligence to discuss peace overtures, stated that "The military situation
13776-459: Was being held found a tumor behind his right eye. He died of cancer shortly after the operation to remove it. Conservative Conservatism is a cultural , social , and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions , customs , and values . The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilisation in which it appears. In Western culture , depending on
13899-756: Was born in New York City where his father Friedrich Kapp , a political activist and later Reichstag delegate for the National Liberal Party , had settled after the failed European revolutions of 1848 . In 1870 the family returned to Germany, and Kapp's schooling continued in Berlin at the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium . Wolfgang Kapp married Margarete Rosenow in 1884; the couple had three children. Through his wife's family, Kapp acquired connections with politically conservative elements. He studied law at
14022-546: Was for pro-free enterprise opponents of the New Deal . Imperial China Republic of China (before 1949) People's Republic of China (Mainland) Hong Kong (pro-Beijing) Macau (pro-Beijing) Republic of China (Taiwan, pan-Blue) Hong Kong (pro-Beijing) Hong Kong (centrist) Stab-in-the-back myth The stab-in-the-back myth ( German : Dolchstoßlegende , pronounced [ˈdɔlçʃtoːsleˌɡɛndə] , lit. ' dagger-stab legend ' )
14145-509: Was granted permanent residency in Sweden. The trial against his co-conspirators in the putsch began in December 1921. After Dietrich von Jagow was sentenced to five years in prison, Kapp returned to Germany intending to claim his innocence and that the true criminals were those behind the German Revolution of 1918–1919 . Before he could testify, a medical examination in the prison in Leipzig where he
14268-474: Was of Matthias Erzberger , who was later murdered for his alleged treason. In his autobiography, Ludendorff's successor Groener stated, "It suited me just fine when the army and the Supreme Command remained as guiltless as possible in these wretched truce negotiations, from which nothing good could be expected". Given that the heavily censored German press had carried nothing but news of victories throughout
14391-459: Was one thing, to have the destructions of modern warfare on German soil was another. Geiss further linked this threat to Germany's borders with the fact that the German revolutionary movement emerged first in the lands that were most threatened by the new invasion threat – Bavaria and Saxony. In Geiss's account, this led to the two competing movements for peace – one "from above" of establishment figures that wished to use
14514-439: Was particularly this testimony of Hindenburg that led to the widespread acceptance of the Dolchstoßlegende in post-World War I Germany. The antisemitic instincts of the German Army were revealed well before the stab-in-the-back myth became the military's excuse for losing the war. In October 1916, in the middle of the war, the army ordered a Jewish census of the troops, with the intent to show that Jews were under-represented in
14637-464: Was pessimistic about humans being able to follow rules, while Burke was sceptical about humans' innate ability to make rules. For Maistre, rules had a divine origin, while Burke believed they arose from custom. The lack of custom for Burke, and the lack of divine guidance for Maistre, meant that people would act in terrible ways. Both also believed that liberty of the wrong kind led to bewilderment and political breakdown. Their ideas would together flow into
14760-485: Was picked up by right-wing political factions, and was even used by Kaiser Wilhelm II in the memoirs he wrote in the 1920s. Right-wing groups used it as a form of attack against the early Weimar Republic government, led by the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which had come to power with the abdication of the Kaiser. However, even the SPD had a part in furthering the myth when Reichspräsident Friedrich Ebert ,
14883-771: Was progressive conservative, and he described himself as a believer in progressive conservatism. President Dwight D. Eisenhower also declared himself an advocate of progressive conservatism. In Canada , a variety of conservative governments have been part of the Red Tory tradition, with Canada's former major conservative party being named the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1942 to 2003. Prime Ministers Arthur Meighen , R. B. Bennett , John Diefenbaker , Joe Clark , Brian Mulroney , and Kim Campbell led Red Tory federal governments. Reactionary conservatism, also known as reactionism, opposes policies for
15006-551: Was signed in the Villa Giusti , near Padua , on 3 November. Austria and Hungary signed separate treaties following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Importantly the Austro-Hungarian capitulation left Germany's southern frontier under threat of Allied invasion from Austria. Indeed, on 4 November the Allies decided to prepare an advance across the Alps by three armies towards Munich from Austria territory within five weeks. After
15129-536: Was to make ordinary Germans, not just the Junker aristocracy, more loyal to state and Emperor . Chancellor Leo von Caprivi promoted a conservative agenda called the "New Course". In the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt has been identified as the main exponent of progressive conservatism. Roosevelt stated that he had "always believed that wise progressivism and wise conservatism go hand in hand". The Republican administration of President William Howard Taft
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