[citation needed] Defeatism became a buzzword in Germany following its capitulation in 1918, particularly among the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler, who routinely blamed this loss on a "defeatist mentality".
More prudent military commanders such as Field Marshal Albert Kesselring felt constrained to present the Führer a rosier account of the battlefront situation than was realistic, to avoid being labeled "defeatist".
[4] In March 1945, as Red Army tanks were closing in on Berlin, Nazi officials worked feverishly to suppress "cowardice and defeatism" in their own ranks with summary death sentences.
[5] Revolutionary defeatism is a related idea, made most prominent by Vladimir Lenin, that establishes that the proletariat cannot win or gain in a capitalist war.
[6] According to political scientist Baruch Knei-Paz, Leon Trotsky's theory of "permanent revolution" was misrepresented by Stalin as defeatist and adventurist during the succession struggle; Knei-Paz writes that in fact Trotsky encouraged revolutions in Europe but did not propose "reckless confrontations" with the capitalist world.