Stab-in-the-back legend




The stab-in-the-back myth (German:Dolchstoßlegende, pronounced[ˈdɔlçʃtoːsleˌɡɛndə]) was the notion, widely believed in right-wing circles in Germany after 1918, that the German Army did not lose World War I but was instead betrayed by the civilians on the home front, especially the republicans who overthrew the monarchy in the German Revolution of 1918–19. Advocates denounced the German government leaders who signed the Armistice on November 11, 1918, as the "November Criminals" (German:Novemberverbrecher).