dolchstoss

• germans felt betrayed and backstabbed by the government, as german propaganda made it seem like victory was imminent. even after german advances in France were halted in march 1918, the 24th of march was called as a national holiday to celebrate the success of the spring offensive, meaning germans were kept in the dark on their failures
• as a result of propaganda, by autumn 1918 the war effort and support was still high despite allied naval blockades. this meant that the armistice and abdication were a massive humiliating surprise.
• germans viewed the treaty as a dictated peace and resented the backstabbing government that agreed to it. very few germans were willing to accept moral responsibility for the treaty's terms
• given that germany was a highly nationalistic and proud nation, accepting full blame and being weakened by the treaty was impossible to accept