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Turncoat
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A turncoat is a person who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal to another, betraying or deserting an original cause by switching to the opposing side or party. In political and social history, this is distinct from being a traitor, as the switch mostly takes place under the following circumstances:
in a modern historical context "turncoat" is often synonymous with the term "renegade", a term of religious origins having its origins in the Latin word "renegare" (to deny).
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A turncoat is a person who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal to another, betraying or deserting an original cause by switching to the opposing side or party. In political and social history, this is distinct from being a traitor, as the switch mostly takes place under the following circumstances:
- In groups, often driven by one or more leaders.
- When the former cause driving and benefitting the person becomes inviable or too fraught with danger.
Historical context
Even in a modern historical context "turncoat" is often synonymous with the term "renegade", a term of religious origins having its origins in the Latin word "renegare" (to deny). Historical currents of great magnitude have periodically caught masses of people, along with their leaders, in their wake. In such a dire situation new perspectives on past actions are laid bare and the question of personal treason becomes muddled. One example would be the situation that led to the Act of Abjuration or Plakkaat van Verlatinghe, signed on July 26, 1581 in the Netherlands, an instance where changing sides was given a positive meaning.
The English word 'turncoat' apparently originated in a ruse de guerre whereby soldiers were issued with uniforms that are their own country's on the inside and the enemy's uniform on the outside. The purpose was deception in order to get within the point blank range area of the enemy, suddenly opening fire. The expression "turn coat" comes from the act of physically turning the uniform inside out.
A mass-shift in allegiance by a population may take place after a nation has been defeated in war or after a major social upheaval, like a revolution. Following the initial traumatic times many of the citizens of the area in question quickly embrace the cause of the victors in order to benefit from the new system. This shift of allegiance is often done without much knowledge about the new order that is replacing the former one. In the face of fear and insecurity, the prime motive for a turncoat to draw away from former allegiances may be mere survival.
Often the leaders are the first to change loyalties, for they have had access to privileged information and are more aware of the hopelessness of the situation for their former cause. This is especially apparent in dictatorships and authoritarian states when most of the population has been fed propaganda and triumphalism and has been kept in the dark about important turns of events.
Aftermath
As time goes by, along with the embracing of life under the new circumstances comes a need of burying and rewriting the past by concealing evidence. The fear of the past coming to upset the newly-found stability is always present in the mind of the turncoat. The past is rewritten and whitewashed in order to cover up former deeds. When successful, this activity results in the distortion and falsification of historical events.
Even after the death of a turncoat his family and friends may wish to keep uncomfortable secrets from the past out of the light. There is a fear of loss of prestige as well as a wish to honor the memory of a family member from the part of those who have experienced the positive side of the person.
In certain countries individuals and organizations have been active investigating the past in order to bring turncoats to justice to face their responsibilities.
Examples
There was an abundance of turncoats in:
- Germany and Austria after World War II when many former enthusiastic members of the Nazi Party embraced the newly-created nations of West Germany or East Germany and sought to erase or at least minimize their former role as Nazis. During the decades that followed many former Nazis regained prestige and held high posts in the new republics. Kurt Waldheim, an Austrian Nazi, even held the highest post at the UN for a while.
- France after the downfall of the Vichy Regime, when many collaborationists, whether home-grown fascists or Nazi sympathizers, played down their role in the former government and its institutions.
- Iran after the overthrow of the last Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's regime. At that time many persons who had formerly led a life based on secular and liberal values and who had fervently supported the Iranian monarchy suddenly embraced the stern religious values imposed by Ayatollah Khomeini's regime with unbridled fervor.
See also
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