Paul von Hindenburg: Encyclopedia II - Paul von Hindenburg - Aftermath of the war

Paul von Hindenburg - Aftermath of the war

After the end of the war, von Hindenburg again retired from the military in 1918, and announced his intention to retire from public life. In 1919, Hindenburg was called before a Reichstag Commission that was investigating the responsibility for both the outbreak of war in 1914 and for the defeat in 1918. Hindenburg had not wanted to appear before the commission, and had been subpoenaed. The appearance of Hindenburg before the commission was an eagerly waited public event. Ludendorff, who had fallen out with Hindenburg over the decision to continue seeking the armistice in October 1918, was concerned that Hindenburg might reveal that it was he who had advised seeking an armistice in September 1918. Ludendorff wrote a letter to Hindenburg, informing that he was writing his memoirs and threatened to expose that Hindenburg did not deserve the credit that he received for his victories. Ludendorff's letter went on to suggest that how Hindenburg testified would determinate how favorably Ludendorff would present Hindenburg in his memoirs.

When Hindenburg did appear before the commission, he refused to answer any questions about the responsibility for the German defeat, and instead read out a pre-written statement that had reviewed in advance by Ludendorff's lawyer. Hindenburg testified that the German Army had been on the verge of winning the war in the fall of 1918, and that only a "stab in the back" by disloyal elements on the home front and unpatriotic politicians had caused the defeat. Despite being threatened with a contempt citation for refusing to respond to questions, Hindenburg simply walked out of the hearings after reading his statement. Hindenburg's status as a war hero protected him from prosecution. With his testimony, Hindenburg coined the phrase "stab-in-the-back" (Hindenburg credited a unnamed British general for first uttering the phrase during his testimony) and helped popularize the "stab-in-the-back" idiom.

Afterwards, Hindenburg had his memories entitled Mein Leben (My Life) ghost-written in 1919-20. Mein Leben was huge best-seller in Germany, but was dismissed by most military historians and critics as a boring apologia that skipped over the most controversial issues in Hindenburg's life. Afterwards, Hindenburg retired from most public appearances and spent most of time with his family. A widower, Hindenburg was very close to his only son, Major Oskar von Hindenburg and his grand-daughters.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Aftermath of the war", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki