First, a little background:
Dolchstoßlegende – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Dolchstoßlegende, (German “dagger-thrust legend,” often translated in English as “stab-in-the-back legend”) refers to a social mythos and persecution-propaganda theory popular among post-World War I Germany’s nationalists , which claimed that Germany’s defeat was attributable to German citizens who had sabotaged or otherwise ‘lacked dedication to’ the promoted cause for the war effort—ie. “to unify the German nation.”
Then, a look at the modern uses of this once obscure term.