At last finished Winchester and started Jeffrey Verhey's The Spirit of 1914: Militarism, Myth, and Mobilization in Germany (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare) (yes, Forsyte is languishing, as usual with novels)
What many ascribe to 'enthusiastic' response at the start of the war was in fact in 1870, not 1914. Mostly youths and Nationalists in urban areas were euphoric, whereas working class and rural peasants were sombre and depressed. Naturally Rightist and bourgeois newspapers blew this out of all proportions and contributed to the war propaganda and hysteria.
Naturally Verhey mentions Fritz Fischer, and he describes his work as 'courageous'.
His work was published in the 1960s. Imagine that. Fischer must have faced torrents of anger from the German Historical Establishment, who stubbornly clung to the myth of 'universal' blame on starting WWI.
Some hilarious and freightening instances of Chauvinistic mob violence in Germany at that time;
Patrons of cafe or restaurants who didn't stand up during recital of patriotic songs were lynched.
They shot at the clouds thinking those were French airplanes
Driving car was very dangerous, since they were shot at, mistaken as French cars hoarding money away(of course, false rumour). Most of the victims, killed or otherwise, were members of High Society, who could afford cars.
Gangs roamed the streets checking for foreign words on the shops: issued ultimatum, and when the shop owner didn't erase it, trashed the shop.
The Spy Scare prompted massive lynching too; almost all of the victims were innocent and were in fact reservists, etc.
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