The First World War increased rather than narrowed political divisions in Germany? How far do you agree with this judgement?
The First World War increased rather than narrowed political divisions in Germany? How far do you agree with this judgement?
When the First World War broke out in 1914 the political divisions that had existed before narrowed as the German people became united in the defence of their country. The Kaiser’s declaration that he ‘knew no political parties, only Germans’, is evidence and a reflection of the national sense of patriotism that was felt throughout the Germany at the outbreak of war. The division between the right and the left ceased to exist with the SPD voting for war credits as did the clear division by the poor and the rich with men from the countryside as well as the towns joining together to fight. However, as the war progressed, the resentment towards the war began to grow; this was due to the fact that Germany had experienced huge losses and also because of the economic crisis that they were facing. Therefore, because of this, the First World War increased the political divisions in Germany.
In August 1914, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, also known as the Burgfrieden, which was the concept of national unity based on shared suffering. The Act was supposed to reinforce the pre-war institutional structures, the Reichstag also passed all of its legislative powers over to the Bundesrat which was to rule the Home Front by emergency legislation. The War Ministry took over the bureaucratic function of running the war, which strengthened the hand of the traditional bureaucracy. There were also marches of cheering crowds in support of the outbreak of war in Berlin and in Munich in 1914. National unity was at its peak by the time of the outbreak of the war as it was portrayed to the German public as being a defence campaign, the people of Germany saw it as their national duty to support their country. This suggests that the First World War did narrow political divisions in Germany as differences between the rich and the poor, the left and the right
When the First World War broke out in 1914 the political divisions that had existed before narrowed as the German people became united in the defence of their country. The Kaiser’s declaration that he ‘knew no political parties, only Germans’, is evidence and a reflection of the national sense of patriotism that was felt throughout the Germany at the outbreak of war. The division between the right and the left ceased to exist with the SPD voting for war credits as did the clear division by the poor and the rich with men from the countryside as well as the towns joining together to fight. However, as the war progressed, the resentment towards the war began to grow; this was due to the fact that Germany had experienced huge losses and also because of the economic crisis that they were facing. Therefore, because of this, the First World War increased the political divisions in Germany.
In August 1914, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, also known as the Burgfrieden, which was the concept of national unity based on shared suffering. The Act was supposed to reinforce the pre-war institutional structures, the Reichstag also passed all of its legislative powers over to the Bundesrat which was to rule the Home Front by emergency legislation. The War Ministry took over the bureaucratic function of running the war, which strengthened the hand of the traditional bureaucracy. There were also marches of cheering crowds in support of the outbreak of war in Berlin and in Munich in 1914. National unity was at its peak by the time of the outbreak of the war as it was portrayed to the German public as being a defence campaign, the people of Germany saw it as their national duty to support their country. This suggests that the First World War did narrow political divisions in Germany as differences between the rich and the poor, the left and the right