Abstract
This article compares German attempts at the end of the two world wars at producing soldiers who knew how to fight and what to fight for, and who had a confident home front that backed them. Both the political and military leadership in charge in 1917/18 and 1944/45 used strong patriotic language to transfer a victory-winning spirit into the troops and the country. In comparison, it becomes clear that both efforts to uplift morale, even invigorate enthusiasm, were integral elements of the overall conduct of war. The official racism and enemy image of Jewish Bolshevism, however, separates Hitler’s ideological indoctrination from Ludendorff’s patriotic instruction.
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