The Peak of the Kaiser's Hegemony in Eastern Europe in the Historical Memory of the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich

Abstract

The peak of the expansion of the German Empire was reached in the short period of the implementation of the Brest peace treaties in 1918. Despite of a strong demand in the public opinion of the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich for journalism that could glorify imperial might and victories, this particular fragment of recent history did not receive proper reflection. This has become part of the general phenomenon of the replacing by the Western Front all others in historical memory, but it does not explain the position of professional military historians who could and should balance this trend for political purposes. The analysis of the factors of the development of historiography and journalism about the history of the First German Occupation and the Eastern Front in 1918 allows us to recognize the combination of various factors that prevented the necessary understanding of the course and consequences of the attempt to establish German hegemony in Eastern Europe. Herein have affected both the institutional features of the organization of military historiography and a number of subjective factors, as well as political conflicts within the military elite. Rather low level of research of the events of 1918 in the East, which could not be raised before the outbreak of World War II, should be considered as one of the important reasons for the success of the Nazi expansionist course in German society and the successful beginning of its implementation with military way in 1939.