When Civil Servants Doubt the State: The Splintering of the German Administration during World War I
Vincent, Marie-Bénédicte
When Civil Servants Doubt the State: The Splintering of the German Administration during World War I - 2012.
95
Pursuing the historiographical reflection of recent years on the early breakdown of Germany’s inner consensus during the First World War, the article analyzes the war culture of the local civil servants in the district of Osnabrück in Prussia. It particularly deals with their criticism of the State, focusing on the period between April 1916 and December 1918. In the monthly reports of opinion addressed to their hierarchy, they denounce the failures of the central political and military authorities as far as feeding the population is concerned. The local civil servants accept responsibility for public discontent and question the legitimacy of the State to face the situation of crisis inland. The article shows that the internal disintegration of the monarchic state precedes the revolution of November 1918 and leads to a profound disorientation of the local elites before the military defeat.
When Civil Servants Doubt the State: The Splintering of the German Administration during World War I - 2012.
95
Pursuing the historiographical reflection of recent years on the early breakdown of Germany’s inner consensus during the First World War, the article analyzes the war culture of the local civil servants in the district of Osnabrück in Prussia. It particularly deals with their criticism of the State, focusing on the period between April 1916 and December 1918. In the monthly reports of opinion addressed to their hierarchy, they denounce the failures of the central political and military authorities as far as feeding the population is concerned. The local civil servants accept responsibility for public discontent and question the legitimacy of the State to face the situation of crisis inland. The article shows that the internal disintegration of the monarchic state precedes the revolution of November 1918 and leads to a profound disorientation of the local elites before the military defeat.
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