Читать книгу A History of Germany 1918 - 2020 - Mary Fulbrook - Страница 13

Despite the success of the spring offensive against Russia, by summer 1918 it was clear even to the leaders of the army that the war was lost. The Army High Command now felt that it would be advisable to hand over power to a civilian administration: army leaders – who were already propagating the myth of a ‘stab in the back’, the alleged betrayal of an undefeated Germany by Jews and Bolsheviks at home, an enemy within – preferred that a civilian government should have to shoulder the opprobrium of accepting national defeat.

Accordingly, in October 1918 a new civilian government was formed under the chancellorship of Prince Max von Baden. Faced with considerable domestic unrest, this government introduced certain reforms. The reforms were not simply (as they are often described) a ‘last revolution from above’, a desperate attempt to salvage some credibility for the Imperial system; they also resulted from very strong pressures in Parliament, particularly on the part of the moderate Social Democrats. Most notable among the reforms were the introduction of ministerial responsibility to Parliament, the control of the armed forces by the civilian government, and the abolition of the iniquitous Prussian three-class voting system. The removal of this system, along with the other reforms, constituted a progressive move in the eyes of democratic forces; but there was one step that Prince Max von Baden’s government failed to take. Despite efforts to persuade Emperor Wilhelm II to abdicate in favour of one of his sons, the obdurate emperor, supported by his sons, refused to assume sole responsibility for Germany’s ills. Had he agreed to leave the political scene gracefully in October, the monarchy might have been saved.