All the belligerent nations of Europe entered the war in an orgy of patriotic fervour. It is legitimate to doubt the depth and nature of this phenomenon, for everywhere it eventually gave way to a disillusionment so profound that horror of war became the dominant emotion of the interwar years. There was fear and anxiety as well as euphoria and enthusiasm. It was the opinion-forming classes that showed most enthusiasm, and there was less of it outside the large cities. For the moment, however, the fever of war was real enough, for without it the relentless slaughter could hardly have been sustained for four years. Nowhere was the enthusiasm provoked by the outbreak of war a more defining experience than in Germany. Suddenly the hitherto deeply divided German society appeared to experience a feeling of total solidarity in defence of the fatherland. It was ‘the spirit of August’, a unique moment of national uplift, celebrated in innumerable poems, recalled ever after by all those who wished to mobilize the German national spirit. It was encapsulated in the Kaiser’s remarks, made on the advice of Bethmann Hollweg to the Reichstag deputies assembling in his Berlin palace before the meeting of 4 August: ‘I no longer see parties, I see only Germans.’ The most important political aspect of this spirit of national unity was the decision of the SPD to support the war. The German declaration of war did not require ratification by the Reichstag, but the initial credits to fight the war had to be voted by that body. There was also to be an enabling act which conferred on the Bundesrat almost unlimited powers to control and mobilize the German economy. In the Reichstag the attitude of the hitherto ostracised party was crucial. After the party presidium had by a majority decided to support the vote of credit, the parliamentary party followed suit, by a majority of 78 against 14. A three-line whip was imposed, against 24 dissenting votes. It fell to Hugo Haase, the chairman of the party and an opponent of the vote of credit, to declare the support of the party for the war at the crucial Reichstag sitting on 4 August. Not long ago the SPD had remained seated in the Reichstag when a cheer for the Kaiser was demanded; now by coupling the future of people and fatherland with the name of the Kaiser, they were able to join in the general patriotic acclamation.