Abstract

An open lecture with Boris Barth, supported by the Leverhulme funded Conspiracy and Democracy Research Project

Most historians agree that the so called stab in the back legend destabilized the weak Weimar democracy in Germany to a very high degree and contributed to the rise of National Socialism. Obviously after WW I not only single persons, but social groups found evidence that in the most critical moment of the war the well prepared revolution forced the Germans to surrender although further military resistance still would have been possible. The paper deals with the question how and why such a typical theory of conspiracy became so powerful that millions of people did believe in it. Further the question will be discussed why it was so difficult for the German society to accept defeat and to come to terms with the experiences of the Great War.

The event is followed by a wine reception.