Versailles'sta maailmanherruuteen : Versailles'n rauhansopimus johtavien kansallissosialistien propagandassa 1919-1923 ja Hitlerin ulkopoliittisessa konseptiossa

Abstract

Topicality was the essential feature in the use of the Treaty of Versailles in the propaganda of leading National Socialists between 1919 and 1923. It was caused by the fact that the execution of many of the treaty's articles was dependent on the later negotiations and decisions. On the basis of extant data it is possible to show that the support given to the National Socialist Party increased when the various articles of the Treaty of Versailles became topical. As to the peace treaty it was also important for the National -Socialist Party to stand out from the other parties and various groups that were ideologically close to it as all Germans wanted a revision of some sort. The propaganda of the National Socialist Party differed from that of the others m its demands for the complete nullification of the treaty and above all the branding of the statesmen of the Weimar Republic as traitors. Thus the peace treaty presented an important weapon in domestic policy. During the Third Reich tactics which were seemingly revisionistic (so-called Scheinrevisionismus) were applied and bringing up the Treaty of Versailles could have been a conscious bluff with regard to their own nation and to foreign powers. If Hitler's ultimate goal was world domination, then the discussion about the Treaty of Versailles would have had only propagandistic value; however, the nullification of the treaty was also a concrete objective, which was gradually realised before more far-reaching undertakings were attempted. Many things also indicate that there was real resentment to the peace treaty, or at least to the situation in 1918-1919 in general. The peace treaty always formed an integral part of public speeches and was set aside only when wider objectives could be openly expressed.