The Reichstag Peace Resolution () was a resolution passed by the Reichstag of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

on 19 July 1917 seeking a negotiated peace treaty to end

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It called for no annexations, no indemnities, freedom of the seas, and international arbitration. The resolution was rejected by the Reichstag's conservative parties, the German High Command, and the Allied powers. It had no effect on the progress of the war but brought the moderate parties that supported the resolution into a group that would shape much of the post-war

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

Background

On 1 February 1917, the

resumed its controversial strategy of

unrestricted submarine warfare Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships such as freighters and tankers without warning. The use of unrestricted submarine warfare has had significant impacts on international relations in ...

during

, which the military predicted that would force the United Kingdom to make peace within six months. Unrestricted submarine warfare was also one of the principal reasons for the United States entry into World War I on the side of the Allies in April, further complicating the German war effort. By the summer, it was clear that the blockade was not working and that the goal of pressuring the British into submission would not be achieved. On 6 July 1917, Centre Party deputy Matthias Erzberger, in the main committee of the Reichstag, recommended that Germany continue the war but end unrestricted submarine warfare and seek a negotiated peace (). It was a position that was in stark contrast to the far-reaching annexation plans of the

Pan-German League The Pan-German League () was a Pan-German nationalist organization which was officially founded in 1891, a year after the Zanzibar Treaty was signed. Primarily dedicated to the German question of the time, it held positions on German imperia ...

and most of the deputies in the Reichstag's conservative parties. The

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD) and the Progressive People's Party (FVP), on the other hand, had already advocated for a peace initiative. By proposing the peace resolution, Erzberger hoped to secure the Social Democrats' approval for the continuation of war bonds. Erzberger's efforts led to the Reichstag Peace Resolution drafted by the newly formed Inter-Party Committee () that included representatives of the SPD, FVP, Centre and, initially, National Liberal parties. It was the first time that the Reichstag had attempted to actively intervene in the political events of the war. The resolution was intended to announce Germany's readiness for peace to the world, in particular its ally

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, which under the dual monarchy's new emperor, Charles I, was pressing for peace.

Content

The text of the document:

As it did on August 4, 1914, the word uttered from the throne still holds true for the German people at the threshold of the war’s fourth year: “We seek no conquest.” Germany resorted to arms in order to protect its freedom and independence, to defend its territorial integrity. The Reichstag strives for a peace of understanding, for durable reconciliation among the peoples of the world. Territorial acquisitions achieved by force and violations of political, economic, or financial integrity are incompatible with such a peace. The Reichstag furthermore rejects all plans that envisage economic exclusion or continuing enmity among nations after the war. The freedom of the seas must be guaranteed. Only economic peace will lay the groundwork for amicable coexistence among the peoples of the world. The Reichstag will actively promote the creation of international legal organisations. As long, however, as enemy governments do not agree to such a peace, as long as they threaten Germany and its allies with territorial conquests and violations, the German people will stand together as one man, persevere unshakably, and fight on until its right and the right of its allies to life and free development is guaranteed. United, the German people is unconquerable. In its determination, the Reichstag stands united with the men who are protecting the Fatherland in heroic combat. They can be certain of the never-ending gratitude of the entire nation.

The resolution, introduced by Erzberger, Eduard David,

Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until ...

, and

Philipp Scheidemann Philipp Heinrich Scheidemann (26 July 1865 – 29 November 1939) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In the first quarter of the 20th century he played a leading role in both his party and in the young Weimar ...

– the latter three from the SPD – was adopted by a vote of 216 to 126. In favour were the SPD, Centre, and Progressive People's Party; against were the National Liberals, Conservatives, and Independent Social Democrats (USPD) – a more leftist and antiwar party that had broken away from the SPD in April 1917 and that opposed the resolution because they saw it as ambiguous and the product of foreign and domestic policy tactics. The resolution's supporters were the parties that had held the majority in the Reichstag since 1912 and would later form the

Weimar Coalition The Weimar Coalition () is the name given to the coalition government formed by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the German Democratic Party (DDP) and the Catholic Centre Party (Z), who together had a large majority of the delegates ...

, the group that was most supportive of the republic during the Weimar era.

Consequences

Michaelis' opposition

The Reichstag Peace Resolution was passed five days after

Georg Michaelis Georg Michaelis (pronunciation, gee-ORG MEH-kay-liss; 8 September 1857 – 24 July 1936) was the imperial chancellor of the German Empire for a few months in 1917. He was the first (and, in the German Empire, the only) commoner to hold the pos ...

was appointed

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

to replace

Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry ...

who had lost the support of the majority in the Reichstag and was strongly opposed by Germany's military leaders. Michaelis was inwardly an opponent of the peace resolution: "I was clear about the fact that I could not accept the resolution in such a form." An overt conflict, however, did not occur since Michaelis said that he accepted the resolution, presenting it in his inaugural address as a workable framework but speaking of the "resolution ''as I conceive it''." The policy of the peace resolution was therefore stillborn under Michaelis.

Significance for German war aims

The peace resolution did not mean a renunciation of Germany's war aims. Even Erzberger, who was later ostracised by the political right for signing the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

and for his insistence on approving the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, and who was assassinated in 1921 by members of the right-wing terrorist group Organisation Consul, thought that German interests in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and the east were not affected by the resolution. The practical significance and implementation of the peace resolution was called into question from the outset by Michaelis' Reichstag speech demanding that Germany's borders be secured for all time, within the peace resolution "as I conceive it." The "best chance during the war to reach an amicable peace" passed by unused when in August and September 1917 no negotiations were started on the basis of the peace resolution under the mediation offered by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

Effects

General Erich Ludendorff attributed the majority parties' change in attitude towards war aims to a "relapse of sentiment" and a "prevalence of international, pacifist, defeatist thinking". As a direct counter-reaction to the peace resolution, the annexationist, ethno-nationalist

German Fatherland Party The German Fatherland Party (, abbreviated as DVLP) was a short-lived far-right political party active in the German Empire during the last phase of World War I. It rejected the Reichstag Peace Resolution of July 1917, which called for a negoti ...

was founded with Ludendorff's participation. Along with the

German Conservative Party The German Conservative Party (, DkP) was a Right-wing politics, right-wing political party of the German Empire founded in 1876. It largely represented the wealthy landowning German nobility and the Prussian Junker (Prussia), Junker class. The p ...

, it was the most significant predecessor of the national-conservative

German National People's Party The German National People's Party (, DNVP) was a national-conservative and German monarchy, monarchist political party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major nationalist party in Weimar German ...

that was founded in late November 1918 and became an important force during the Weimar Republic. In spite of the adoption of the peace resolution, the Reichstag majority and the Supreme Army Command (OHL) did not subsequently stand as two opposing political camps. The newly formed "war-goal majority" in the Reichstag, in cooperation with the OHL and the Reich government, succeeded in repressing the peace resolution's offers in the period that followed. Heightened by annexation fanaticism and the Fatherland Party on the one hand and by war weariness, hunger, and the Independent Social Democrats on the other, the social and political divide became increasingly irreconcilable as the last year of the war began. The class antagonisms of German society visibly intensified. After the war, the peace resolution was seen by the radical right as part of the " stab in the back" against the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

. The Allies condemned the resolution as unacceptable. In line with Erzberger's own views, they believed that under the resolution Germany would keep the territory in France that it had occupied, along with both Belgium and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, because the German people would not accept arbitration over what they had suffered so long to gain. The peace resolution was, however, a first step towards inter-party cooperation and full parliamentarisation of the Reichstag. The combination of political Catholicism, the workers' movement, and liberalism became a driving force behind the moderate outcome of the Revolution of 1918–1919 and in the political development of the Weimar Republic.

References

External links

The Reichstag’s Peace Resolution (July 19, 1917)
''Documents – Germany at War, 1914–1918: Seeking an End to War'', from German History in Documents and Images (GHDI). {{authority control Government documents of Germany Reichstag (legislative body) Resolutions (law) World War I documents 1917 documents Peace treaties