The Spirit of 1914: Militarism, Myth, and Mobilization in Germany (review)

The Spirit of 1914: Militarism, Myth, and Mobilization in Germany By Jeffrey Verhey (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000) 268 pp. $59.95

Verhey's book offers more than an analysis of the mood of the German people in the summer of 1914, as their country confronted an international crisis that culminated in a catastrophic world war. He examines the currents and undercurrents of public opinion, concluding that the concept of a collective "spirit of 1914" was a myth useful for military, political, and ideological purposes but without much basis in fact. Like many accounts of the Dos de Mayo in Spain in 1808 or of a mass clamor for war in France in 1870 or of the unshakable American resolve to punish Japan in 1941, the "spirit of 1914" was a deliberate simplification of popular feelings and attitudes in a time of grave danger. Actually, there was much greater diversity of views regarding the crisis than those glib phrases describing the popular mood suggest.

What was portrayed in the German press as a collective resolve to defend the fatherland at all costs was really a mixture of various attitudes: excitement, curiosity, escape from routine, and hunger for adventure, in conjunction with suspicion, insecurity, depression, and fear. Differences in popular perception reflected, in part, social or class differences. City dwellers tended to be more warlike than villagers; workers and peasants were more dubious than members of the bourgeoisie; and the educated were more convinced than the uneducated that the nation must stand firm, even to the point of war. Verhey might have added that popular support for the government's policy grew as the central issue changed from an endorsement of the Austrian ultimatum against Serbia to a desire to prevent the mobilization of the Russian army for an attack on Germany. But there can be no denying that divisions and differences persisted right up to the outbreak of war and beyond.

What accounts then for the persistence of the myth of the "spirit of 1914"? The answer is that as the war dragged on, it became important to maintain public morale by invoking an imaginary, singleminded national resolve that had supposedly emerged at the beginning of the struggle. To the high command, this myth was an attempt to counter the effect of mounting casualties and sacrifices. To conservatives, it meant the continuation of established interests and values. Liberals argued that it signified the end of traditional social prejudices. Socialists saw in it a means of achieving suffrage reform. Some intellectuals even maintained that it created a new sense of community in Germany.

The importance of Verhey's book lies, above all, in his analysis of the concept of the "spirit of 1914." Should I also mention that his tone becomes at times a little portentous or even oracular? Should I complain that his prose slips occasionally into social science jargon? No, those are perhaps simply the grumblings of a captious reviewer. Verhey has written an interesting and important book.

Theodore S. Hamerow
University of Wisconsin, Madison

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