defeatism

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The term defeatism ( French défaitisme , from défaite , "defeat"; Swiss also defeatism ) can be described as a state of discouragement or ill-behaved. Originally it referred to the conviction that there is no (longer) prospect of victory and a resulting strong tendency to give up.

The term originated during the First World War in France and referred to the accusation of systematically nurturing discouragement, resignation and doubts about military victory in one's own ranks. Suspected as a means of opposing psychological warfare , such behavior was sanctioned by military tribunals.

Today the term describes rather a systematic bad-mouthing of social and political circumstances.

“Moral defeatism” is a defeatism that does not believe that (one's own / others) good action is possible.

Historical examples of state sanctions

Resistance to government policies, especially in connection with war aims, was punished by various regimes with imprisonment and death sentences:

  • Luigi Fabbri (1877–1935), an Italian anarchist, was sentenced to prison for “defeatism” during the First World War.
  • Elisabeth von Thadden (1890–1944), a teacher in the resistance against the Nazi regime, was sentenced to death for defeatism and treason and was executed.
  • Daniil Charms (1905–1942), a Russian author, was charged with defeatism by the NKVD and imprisoned during the siege of Leningrad by the German Wehrmacht . He died in prison.
  • Hans von Sponeck (1888–1944) was last lieutenant general in the Wehrmacht in World War II . He was sentenced to death in 1942 for "negligent disobedience in the field". He had given an order to withdraw from a military perspective that made sense but was not approved. Sponeck's own power saved his division from encirclement and destruction. The death penalty was later commuted to fortress detention, but Sponeck was ultimately killed in prison.
  • The members of the White Rose were sentenced to death on charges of defeatism. The verdict says: "During the war, the defendants called for sabotage in leaflets ..., propagated defeatist ideas and insulted the Führer in the most vicious manner."
  • Wolfgang Borchert (1921–1947) was sentenced to nine months in prison in 1944 for defeatism. He was released prematurely to the front for probation purposes.
  • Ezra Pound (1885–1972) was charged with treason in the United States for propaganda work for the Axis powers during World War II and was psychiatricized for 12 years. For the same reasons, Douglas Chandler (1889 to after 1963) and Robert Best (1896-1952) received life imprisonment.
  • Mildred Gillars (1900–1988) and Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino (1916–2006) were also sentenced to 10 years in prison for treason.
  • William Joyce (1906–1946) was executed in the United Kingdom for “promoting and assisting the king's enemies by broadcasting propaganda to the king's subjects for the benefit of the king's enemies”.
  • Herbert Selpin (1902–1942) was arrested while filming Titanic for criticizing the Wehrmacht and was presumably murdered by the Gestapo .

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: Defeatism  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to Duden. German universal dictionary .
  2. ↑ Defeatism. In: Wissen.de. Retrieved on May 15, 2015 : “The term means discouragement, ill-will, resignation and originally comes from a military context, where it refers to doubts about military victory. The French word défaitisme describes the belief that you will be beaten militarily. It goes back to défaite defeat (from the Latin de 'away' + facere 'to do'). "
  3. ↑ Peter Schallenberg : God, the good and man. Basics of Catholic moral theology. Bonifatius, Paderborn 2009, ISBN 978-3-89710-450-1 , p. 74.