Reichstag Peace Resolution

The Reichstag Peace Resolution passed by the Reichstag of the German Empire on 19 July 1917 was an attempt to seek a negotiated peace treaty to end World War I. The resolution called for no annexations, no indemnities, freedom of the seas and international arbitration. Although it was rejected by the German High Command and the Allied powers and thus had no effect on the progress of the war, it helped shape internal German politics by bringing the moderate parties that supported the resolution into a group that would shape much of the Weimar Republic's politics. The conservative parties that opposed the resolution were those that tended to be hostile to the republic. When Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare on 1 February 1917, the military predicted that England would be forced to make peace within six months, but by the summer it was clear that the goal would not be achieved. On 6 July 1917, in the main committee of the Reichstag, Centre Party deputy Matthias Erzberger recommended that Germany continue the war but end unrestricted submarine warfare and seek a negotiated peace (Verständigungsfrieden). It was a position that was in stark contrast to the far-reaching annexation plans of the Pan-German League and most of the deputies in the Reichstag's conservative parties. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Progressive People's Party (FVP), on the other hand, had already advocated for a peace initiative. By proposing the peace resolution, Erzberger hoped to secure the Social Democrats' approval for the continuation of war credits. Erzberger's efforts led to the Reichstag Peace Resolution drafted by the newly formed Inter-Party Committee (Interfraktionellen Ausschuss) that included representatives of the SPD, FVP, Centre and, initially, National Liberal parties. It was the first time that the Reichstag had attempted to actively intervene in the political events of the war. The resolution was intended to announce the Reich's readiness for peace to the world, in particular its ally Austria-Hungary, which under the dual monarchy's new emperor, Charles I, was pressing for peace.