Dolchstosslegende Redux

The Dolchstosslegende (stabbed-in-the back legend) was a powerful narrative that originated with Field Marshal von Hindenburg following the disasterous defeat of the German army in World War I.  The German army, the legend goes, was all-powerful, but was betrayed by "internal forces", which forced Germany into a humiliating defeat.  That narrative was neatly taken on by the Nazis, who explicitly identified the treacherous internal forces as Jews, homosexuals, communists, etc.

The Dolchstosslegende was exported to the United States following World War II; the narrative was taken on by the right-wing political forces to gain popular support.  "Subversive elements" (Democrats) and "intellectuals"(code word for homosexuals) had sold out eastern Europe at Yalta to the Soviet Union.  This narrative was so successful in reversing the fortunes of the Republican Party, that it was reused to explain the setbacks in the Korean War conflict and then later the debacle of the Vietnam War. 

The writer Kevin Baker has a good article in this month’s issue of Harper’s Magazine: Stabbed in the Back! The past and future of a right-wing myth. Unfortunately, the article is not available online. Baker has a detailed history of how the myth has been used in the United States since the 1940s, and how it is now being redeployed by the Bush administration to explain the failure of its Iraq War. Here is how the formula works, according to Baker:

"Since the end of World War II [the myth of the stab-in-the-back] has been the device by which the American right has both revitalized itself and repeatedly avoided responsibility for its own worst blunders. Indeed, the right has distilled its tale of betrayal into a formula: Advocate some momentarily popular but reckless policy. Deny culpability when that policy is exposed as disastrous. Blame the disaster on internal enemies who hate America. Repeat."

Bush and his neocon minions are trying valiantly to revitalize the myth:  the invasion of Iraq was heroic. The (communist, terrorist, gay) critics of the policy are treasonous and are demoralizing the troops while giving comfort to al-Qaeda.  They and their allies in the liberal press are to blame for all of the carnage we see on TV and in our military hospitals. Only problem is, despite the best efforts of the Fox News Network, the legend is not working so well this time:  Bush and his war are so unpopular that only his most loyal base believes in this myth.  But the myth of the Dolchstosslegende will no doubt rise from the ashes like a phoenix when the next war presents itself. The narrative of  a treacherous fifth column inside the ranks is a powerful aspect of the reactionary imagination.