WW23+Attitudes

=The variety of attitudes to the war and how they changed over time in Britain and Germany= = Britain =


 * Who opposed the war in Britain?
 * Why did Britain not experience large-scale opposition to the war as it continued?

The attitude to the war didn’t change much within Britain. It was popular at the start, and despite the loss of life and the sacrifices on the home front, support was maintained throughout the war. The propaganda campaign was important in maintaining this attitude, though other factors were the competent political leadership, especially under Lloyd George, and the belief in the justice of their cause.


 * Opposition to the war**

The British Labour Party was opposed to war, though when the war started it supported it. The Labour leader, **Ramsay MacDonald**, could not abide this decision and he quit the leadership of the party. He was subsequently attacked in the media as a traitor. He ended up losing his seat in parliament in the 1918 election.

**Bertrand Russell**, a British intellectual was sacked from Trinity College for his stance on the war. He was convicted twice under the DORA, the second time being sentenced to six months imprisonment.


 * Socialist groups** opposed the war, though their opinions had little influence. The **Herald League** was able to meet freely until 1917, when they were prohibited under the Defence of the Realm Act. The **Independent Labour Party** opposed the war based on the principle that it was a war of workers fighting other workers. James Keir Hardie was its leader.

The **Union of Democratic Control** was an anti-war organisation formed in 1914. It received support from Bertrand Russell, Ramsay MacDonald, the Society of Friends (Quakers) and pacifist groups. It was vilified in the media and its meetings were attacked. By 1917 there were 10,000 members.

The **No Conscription Fellowship** opposed the introduction of conscription, and when it was introduced, they opposed punishment of conscientious objectors. It had similar support as the Union of Democratic Control, and received similar treatment from the media.

David Lloyd George was appointed Minister for Munitions in May 1915. He was able to maintain labour support for the war by ensuring that workers’ rights were maintained and by providing wage rises. As Prime Minister from December 1916, he effectively controlled the war effort on the home front, though strikes became more frequent in the second half of the war.
 * Role of Lloyd George**

**The Easter Rebellion in Ireland**

At the start of the war, Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom. A group of Irish nationalists, with the support of Germany, used the perceived weakness of Britain to stage a rebellion. On Easter Monday, 1916, the rebellion began. The GPO was taken as the rebels’ headquarters and an Irish Republic was proclaimed. It was short-lived. The rebellion was crushed and the leaders executed.

The rebels represented only a small minority of Irish people and most remained loyal to Britain. Over 200,000 Irish volunteered to fight, with over 50,000 killed.

However, voluntary enlistment declined throughout the war. Following Pope Benedict XV’s peace proposal in August 1917, the Irish Bishops called on the Irish MP John Redmond to withdraw his support for the war.

Conscription was not introduced in Ireland. The plan to introduce it in 1918 led to strikes and protests. The plan was withdrawn in June.

= Germany =


 * Who opposed the war in Germany?
 * Why did opposition to the war increase in Germany as the war progressed?

As with the Labour Party in Britain, the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) was opposed to war but supported the war when it began. Due to the British naval blockade, Germans on the home front suffered much more than the British. The unrealised expectations of a quick victory and the growing war-weariness led to a rise in opposition. The political leadership failed to realise the importance of contented workers.

Late September 1917

[The] general populace... was hungry, cold and weary of war. Henrich von Oppen, police president of Greater Berlin, informed the ministry of the Interior that most people believed that it would be ‘business as usual’ under Michaelis. In a report that Oppen later censored for fear of its brutal honesty, he suggested that the public was gripped by a mood of ‘despondency and fear of the future’. Women stormed food centres. Public kitchens could not meet the demand for meals. The ‘food question’ dominated daily life; ‘all other [considerations] receive little attention’. Few Berliners were willing to make additional sacrifices, and many stated openly that any peace was better than continuation of the war. ‘One fears the fourth winter of the war’.

Herwig, HH, //The First World War//, 1997


 * Karl Liebknecht** and **Rosa Luxemburg** were significant socialist opponents of the war. They were able to get more support for their views than their British equivalents. As the war progressed and the home front worsened, strikes became more prevalent. 60,000 people protested against the war on 1 May 1916. There were violent strikes in April 1917 and in January 1918, 1,000,000 workers were on strike.


 * Radical members** of the SPD split from the party and formed the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD). In 1917, **Hugo Haase** called for the war to end.

On 19 July 1917, the **Reichstag** passed a **peace resolution** by 212 to 127 votes:

As on August 1, 1914, so also now on the verge of a fourth year of war, the words of the speech from the throne still hold: "We are not impelled by the lust of conquest."

Germany took up arms in defence of her freedom, her independence, and the integrity of her soil. The Reichstag strives for a peace of understanding and a lasting reconciliation of peoples. Any violations of territory, and political, economic, and financial persecutions are incompatible with such a peace.

The Reichstag rejects any plan which proposes the imposition of economic barriers or the solidification of national hatreds after the war. The freedom of the seas must be maintained. Economic peace alone will lead to the friendly association of peoples. The Reichstag will promote actively the creation of international organizations of justice.

However, as long as the enemy governments refuse to agree to such a peace, as long as they threaten Germany and her allies with conquest and domination, so long will the German people stand united and unshaken, and they will fight until their right and that of their allies are made secure.

Thus united, the German people remain unconquerable. The Reichstag feels that in this sentiment it is united with the men who have fought with courage to protect the Fatherland. The undying gratitude of our people goes out to them.

//Text of the Reichstag peace resolution, 19 July 1917.// //[]//

As a result of the resolution, the Chancellor, **Bethmann-Hollweg**, was forced to resign.The discontent with the war resulted finally in the Kiel mutiny on 3 Nov 1918, the establishment of workers and soldiers councils, the forced abdication of the Kaiser (9 Nov) and the declaration of a republic. Unlike Britain, the war resulted in revolution and defeat for Germany.