Political Theory

Political Theory [BPOL131]

CIA – I
Dhishan Rajshekhar – 1934159 – I EMP
Christ [Deemed to be University]

1
Political Theory

Abstract
Political science, the systematic study of governance by the application of empirical and
generally scientific methods of analysis. As traditionally defined and studied, political science
examines the state and its organs and institutions. The contemporary discipline, however, is
considerably broader than this, encompassing studies of all the societal, cultural, and
psychological factors that mutually influence the operation of government and the body
politic.
In the words of a great political scientist, David Easton who says, “Political Science is the
study of authoritative allocation of values for a society.” Perhaps, the first ever political
scientist, Aristotle in ancient Greece studied the effects of various forms of the government
and how it contributed to different outcomes that shape the region. This study developed
through ages on the foundations that had contributions from Plato, Socrates, who gave works
like ‘The Republic’, ‘Politics.’ Over a long period of time, the study developed into an entire
field that studied governments, outcomes, rationale functioning that is now a highly regarded
discipline in the world. A hundred and ninety-five countries in the world, each with a
different political situation and a unique way of governance. This disturbs the principle of
universality to the theories in political science, to which the former President of The
American Political Science Association, Lawrence Lowell says, “Political Science is limited
by the impossibility of experiment, it is not an experimental science. It is of observational
nature.”
The concept of Political Philosophy or Political Theory emanated from Plato’s work, ‘The
Republic.’ It is the study of topics such as politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and
the enforcement of laws by authority: what they are, if they are needed, what makes a
government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take,
what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it
may be legitimately overthrown, if ever.
In the text that follows, a political scenario that is put forth is analysed with concepts that
political theory gives an insight about, like sovereignty, philosopher king, state.

2
Political Theory

Kniefall von Warchau

Kniefall von Warchau, or Warschauer Kniefall, both German for ‘The Warsaw Genuflection.’
This was the most iconic story of 1970. German Chancellor Willy Brandt, on the 7 th of
December, 1970 went on his knees in front of the whole world, at the Warsaw Ghetto
Memorial at Warsaw, Poland. It went on the cover of the TIME magazine that year, and
revived memories of the most brutal war in Modern History. When asked why he would do
this, when he had no role to play in the killings of millions of Jews or the wars, he said that it
was for the sole purpose of seeking forgiveness for the wrongs his nation had committed. But
historian Tony Judt, decodes the entire war.
What events led to this? One of the world’s most powerful leaders, on his knees for
something he was not even involved in, and that too being from Germany, where the locals
pride themselves on being from a race which is above the rest. Here, we discuss the events
leading up to it and how every aspect made the Genuflection, an emotional, political,
historical event.
To really understand this, we must trace the path that leads to the war that shook the world,
murdered millions, rendered people homeless, physically and mentally disabled and created a
totally different world once it ended. Perhaps, there can be no better example of an event that
stirred politics, history, economics all in one single massive event – World War II.
In the text that follows, the events of the war and their political influence is taken into
consideration.

The Second World War [1939-1945]

 Post-World War I
After World War I, that politically altered the map of the world, due to the defeat of the
central powers – The Austria-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, Germany and Bulgaria.
These countries lost miserably, and they were humiliated by being made to pay taxes. And the
regions that lost were shared by France, Belgium, Italy Romania, Greece.
 The League of Nations
In 1919, at the Paris Peace Conference, an initiative was introduced to prevent any future
world wars. The League of Nations was founded. It was an organisation that would help
maintain peace in the world and use peaceful means to handle disputes between countries.
The goal was to have disarmament treaties, peace treaties and the use of collective security.
The ‘Big Four’ presided over this meeting - David Lloyd George of Britain, Georges
Clemenceau of France, Woodrow Wilson of the United States, and Vittorio Orlando of Italy.
 The Treaty of Versailles
When the German government asked U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to arrange a general
armistice in October 1918, it declared that it accepted the Fourteen Points he had formulated
as the basis for a just peace. However, the Allies demanded “compensation by Germany for
all damage done to the civilian population of the Allies and their property by the aggression

3
Political Theory

of Germany by land, by sea and from the air.” Further, the nine points covering new territorial
consignments were complicated by the secret treaties that England, France, and Italy had
made with Greece, Romania, and each other during the last years of the war. To prevent an
uprising in Germany and other countries that lost the war, the Treaty of Versailles was signed
at the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on the 28 th of June, 1919. Historians say that,
Georges Clemenceau of France, made the terms of the treaty so stern and particular to
Germany, that he wanted to be sure that there is never another military threat from Germany.
A nation that always was the epitome of pride, was reduced to nothing. Germany had to
provide access to its factories, its natural resources. Also, had to cough up huge sums of
money for the payment of taxes and was under total oppression from the other countries and
could not do anything due to restrictions on its defence spending and increasing military
power. This brutal treatment meted out to Germany and its delegates inevitably led to the
upsurge of German Militarism in the 1930s. When Adolf Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland in
1936, the League of Nations did nothing to stop him and that further added on to the German
uprising and waging a war.
 Events of the War
After becoming Reich Chancellor in 1933, Hitler swiftly consolidated power, anointing
himself Führer (supreme leader) in 1934. Obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the
“pure” German race, which he called “Aryan,” Hitler believed that war was the only way to
gain the necessary “Lebensraum,” or living space, for that race to expand. In the mid-1930s,
he began the rearmament of Germany, secretly and in violation of the Versailles Treaty. After
signing alliances with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union, Hitler sent troops to occupy
Austria in 1938 and the following year annexed Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s open aggression
went unchecked, as the United States and Soviet Union were concentrated on internal politics
at the time, and neither France nor Britain (the two other nations most devastated by the
Great War) were eager for confrontation. On the cold morning of the 1 st of September, 1939,
Germany invaded Poland on the pretext of a false flag border incident. United Kingdom
immediately responded by sending an ultimatum to Germany to cease military activity. Being
ignored, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand declared war on Germany. The Allied
Powers began a naval blockade that mainly aimed at destroying Germany’s war efforts and its
economy. In response, Germany launched the dreaded U-boats which ruined the Allied
Powers’ strategy. The Axis Powers which consisted of Germany, Italy, Japan fought with the
Allied Powers which consisted of Great Britain, France, Soviet Union. On the 7 th of
December, 1941 Japan bombed the American fleet stationed at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. After
the entry of the United States, the winner of the war was clear. The resources that the United
States had its disposal was massive and the Allied Powers had the upper hand now. Finally,
after 70-85 million people perished, and the world had a new look, new governments and a
fresh start. The United Nations has been functioning effectively ever since.
 The most brutal genocide – The Holocaust
Holocaust, also known as The Shoah, was the extermination of six million Jews in Germany
occupied Europe. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum defines the Holocaust as
the "systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by
the Nazi regime and its collaborators." Brutal killing, genocide, concentration camps, were
the harsh realities in that time. The Nazis believed that getting rid of Jews, was, ‘The Final

4
Political Theory

Solution to the Jewish Question.’ January 30th, 1933, when Adolf Hitler became Germany’s
chancellor, within a year there were more than 30 concentration camps already set up.
Hitler’s view on the pure Aryan race was indeed removing the evil Jews who were the cause
of all problems. Nazi party supporters also set up similar camps and shot the Jews dead. The
toll rises to 11 million people gassed or worked to death. A massacre of this magnitude went
on in Europe until the end of the war, equivalent to ten years of human slaughter. Professor
Peter F. Hayes states that Hitler believed communists, homosexuals, transgenders were all a
real threat to Germany and that they must be killed. Dan Stone, a specialist in Holocaust
historiography, defines the Holocaust as the genocide of the Jews, whom the Nazis regarded
not as racially inferior, deviant, or enemy nationals, as they did other groups, but as a
"Gegenrasse: a 'counter-race', that is to say, not really human at all". But he writes that the
Holocaust can only be understood as part of the "'Nazi empire' with its grandiose
demographic plans". Donald Niewyk and Francis Nicosia, in The Columbia Guide to the
Holocaust (2000), favour a definition that focuses on the Jews, Roma, and Aktion T4 victims:
"The Holocaust—that is, Nazi genocide—was the systematic, state-sponsored murder of
entire groups determined by heredity. This applied to Jews, Gypsies, and the handicapped."
 Post-World War II
A new world had been formed, countries had new geographical boundaries, ideologies,
governments. Memorials were constructed. The United Nations Organization and its organs
were set up and seem to do the trick. A brutal war that tore the world apart still has after-
effects. The commemoration of the centenary of World War I reminded us of all the people
that lost their lives, went missing or were in prison. The principle of reparations was not
followed at all after the war and no compensation was paid at all. German Nazi Officials were
tried in courts of law. But no German Government Official came out to acknowledge the
wrongs that were done, that’s when Kniefall von Warshau rose to popularity.
 Kniefall von Warshau
Surrounded by politicians, journalists and photographers, Brandt approaches the monument,
situated in the heart of Warsaw, on this gloomy day. He straightens the ribbon of the funeral
wreath, which is adorned with white carnations, and takes a few steps back. As the ashen-
faced Chancellor touches the wreath, it happens: Willy Brandt, almost 57 years old and the
first Social Democrat Chancellor in the history of West Germany, drops to his knees. It occurs
so suddenly and comes across as so authentic and honest that those present immediately fall
silent, with the silence only interrupted by the frantic clicking of camera shutters. Brandt
stays down on his knees for around thirty seconds, which – owing to the tremendous humility
of the gesture – feels like an eternity. As the Chancellor rises to his feet, he has made history.
From this day on, the world will talk about the ‘Kniefall von Warschau’ (‘the Genuflection of
Warsaw’).
The Warsaw Genuflection, was the first time a German Chancellor went down on his knees at
the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial to acknowledge the wrongs that have been done. Chancellor
Willy Brandt did it in front of the entire world in 1970, which remained the cover page for
TIME magazine. Though, Chancellor Brandt has no role in World War II or in the Holocaust,
he still went down his knees. This case was taken up as an example by Dr. Shashi Tharoor, at
his Oxford Union Debate where he said that the acknowledgement of the wrongs that have
been committed is very simple, but the British have failed to do it to India.

5
Political Theory

In Germany, on the same day, Brandt signed the Treaty of Warsaw, which acknowledged
the Oder–Neisse line as the final German border with Poland. Both actions attracted
controversy within Germany, as did Ostpolitik in general, which was supported by only a
narrow majority of the people and had opposition within Brandt's own party. Its voters had
included a significant proportion of expellees from the formerly-German territories in Poland,
most of whom left to support the conservative parties. According to a Der Spiegel survey of
the time, 48% of all West Germans thought the Kniefall was excessive, 41% said it was
appropriate and 11% had no opinion. The Kniefall was a symbolic action the opposition tried
to use against Brandt, as in a constructive vote of no confidence in April 1972, which Brandt
won by only two votes. Brandt's landslide win in the next elections, in late 1972, was also
due to the growing view among voters that Brandt's Ostpolitik, symbolized by the Kniefall,
and his reformist domestic policies were helping to boost Germany's international reputation
and so should be supported. His party won its best federal election result ever.
While at the time, positive reactions may have been limited, his show of humility was a small
but vital step in bridging the gaps World War II had left between Germany and Eastern
Europe. In historical terms, Brandt gained much renown for this act, and it is thought to be
one of the reasons he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971. A monument to Willy
Brandt was unveiled on 6 December 2000, in Willy Brandt Square in Warsaw on the eve of
the 30th anniversary of his famous gesture.
Even today, discussions still rumble on as to whether the then Chancellor’s gesture was an
impromptu idea or whether it had been planned in advance. Eyewitnesses such as then
Foreign Minister Walter Scheel (who would later go on to become German President) and
publicist Hansjakob Stehle had no doubt that the Chancellor acted in the moment. Brandt
himself confirmed this view in his memoirs, which were published in 1989. Here, the former
Chancellor explains what prompted the gesture: ‘At the abyss of German history and
burdened by millions of murdered humans, I acted in the way of those whom language fails.’
By falling to his knees as he did, Willy Brandt showed the world a peaceful Germany – and
gave us one of the most symbolic images of the 20th century.
 Conclusion
This analysis involves research about a question that has many answers, including the causes
of the war, the war strategy, the genuflection. But the Second World War did leave an imprint
on all our minds, and it had so much of an effect that one of the most powerful people in
1970, went down on his knees at a monument that had nothing to do with him, but that move
was to simply acknowledge the massive damage caused to the world, because of the German
Uprising in the 1930s. Other countries, too started demanding the same from the nations that
ruled them, like Great Britain and India. No Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has ever
come forth with a speech that was conscious of the horrifying realities of the colonial era in
India.
Likewise, this incident took the world by surprise and was something that nobody had ever
thought of. But Willy Brandt did it, when the world was watching him. His visit to Warsaw
was the first visit of a German Official after the war, and he did something that theorists say
was one of the factors that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

6
Political Theory

References

Hitler, A. Mein Kampf. Jaico Books.

Tharoor, S. (2016). An Era of Darkness. New Delhi: Aleph Book Company.

The Holocaust. (2019).

Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust

The Holocaust year by year. (2019)

Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/timelines/z86nfg8

The start of the mass murder | Holocaust. (2019).

Retrieved from https://www.holocaust.cz/en/history/final-solution/general-2/the-start-of-the-
mass-murder/

The Warsaw Genuflection: Willy Brandt’s historic gesture – Deutsches Historisches Museum:
Blog. Retrieved from
https://www.dhm.de/blog/2016/12/07/392/

Warschauer Kniefall, Willy Brandt falls to his knees, 1970. (2019).

Retrieved from https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/warschauer-kniefall-1970/

Why did Hitler hate the Jews? (2019).

Retrieved from https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/go-in-depth/why-did-hitler-hate-
jews/