The Radicalization of German Political Conservatism During World War I

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to determine whether the final transformation of the German Conservative Party (Deutschkonservative Partei; DKP) into a right-wing radical organisation, that lost its connection to traditional conservative values and paved the way for the takeover of power by National Socialists, took place during World War I. The article examines both the factors contributing to the radicalisation of the DKP’s policy during the war and the main arguments within the Party during 1914-1918, comparing external political events with the DKP’s reaction to them in the press and the Reichstag.