ABSTRACT
Given their significance in totalitarian ideologies, conspiracy theories have been studied by historians of the Soviet and Nazi regimes but, depending on the country, conspiracy theories in other contexts have remained under the radar of history. The early twentieth century continued with the conspiracy obsessions of the previous one. Because of the triumph of nationalism in Europe, fears of a Jewish or Masonic conspiracy, often linked to foreign powers, continued to thrive. The First World War increased the echo of conspiracy theories in the public opinion of the participating countries. In the UK, hostility towards Germans and ‘spy-fever’ that were already existing before the war increased with the outbreak of the conflict. It developed into the myth of the ‘hidden hand’ of Germans secretly operating in the UK; one conspiracy theory claimed German agencies caused the death of Kitchener in 1916.
