The Spirit of 1914 Militarism, Myth, and Mobilization in Germany [Paperback]

This book, first published in 2000, examines the real state of German public opinion on the Great War and its aftermath.This book is the first systematic analysis of German public opinion at the outbreak of the Great War. Jeffrey Verhey's powerful study demonstrates that the myth of war enthusiasm was historically inaccurate. Jeffrey Verhey also examines the development of the myth in newspapers, politics and propaganda, and the propagation and appropriation of this myth after the war. His innovative analysis sheds new light on German experience of the Great War and on the role of political myths in modern German political culture.This book is the first systematic analysis of German public opinion at the outbreak of the Great War. Jeffrey Verhey's powerful study demonstrates that the myth of war enthusiasm was historically inaccurate. Jeffrey Verhey also examines the development of the myth in newspapers, politics and propaganda, and the propagation and appropriation of this myth after the war. His innovative analysis sheds new light on German experience of the Great War and on the role of political myths in modern German political culture.This is the first systematic analysis of German public opinion at the outbreak of the Great War. Jeffrey Verhey's powerful study demonstrates that the myth of war enthusiasm was historically inaccurate. He also examines the development of the myth in newspapers, politics and propaganda, and the propagation and appropriation of this myth after the war. His innovative analysis sheds new light on German experience of the Great War and on the role of political myths in modern German political culture.Acknowledgements; Introduction: the myth of the 'spirit of 1914'; 1. Public opinion in Germany, July 1914: the evidence of the crowds; 2. The response to the outbreak of war; 3. The 'August experiences'; 4. The 'spirit of 1914' in the immediate interpretations of the meaning of the war; 5. The government's myth of the spirit of 1914; 6. Tl3*