Editing Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (section)

=== The Zabern Affair and censure by the Reichstag ===
{{Seealso|Zabern Affair}}
In late 1913 the Zabern Affair shook German politics and public opinion. In Zabern ([[Saverne]]) in Alsace, a young German lieutenant insulted Alsatians in a speech to soldiers and called for rebellious Alsatians to be stabbed. He was only minimally held to account by his colonel, and after protests by Alsatians, the military had some citizens arrested illegally.

When Bethmann Hollweg declared in the Reichstag on 3 December 1913 that the Kaiser's uniform must be respected under all circumstances, he gave the impression that he was fully behind Minister of War [[Erich von Falkenhayn]]. The parties that had hitherto supported Bethmann Hollweg because of his progressive policies – the Centre, the [[Progressive People's Party (Germany)|Progressive People's Party]], the National Liberals and the Social Democrats – united in introducing a motion of censure against him.<ref name="EB1922"/> When [[Philipp Scheidemann]] (SPD) pointed to the exemplary constitutional conditions in Great Britain and the Netherlands, Bethmann Hollweg responded with dismissive, angry heckling.{{Sfn|Zmarzlik|1957|p=133}} The Chancellor of the center seemed to have moved to the right even though he was reviled as a democrat in national-conservative circles. In his Reichstag speech, he had spoken against his convictions in order to preserve the neutrality of the government and to underpin his loyalty to the Emperor. Ultimately, though, he had given in to the military and fallen into a position of weakness. For the first time he confessed that he regretted not having a party behind him.