| | A '''false flag''' operation is a covert or [[underground]] operation intended to appear as though it were being carried out by other entities. The purpose is propaganda, to gain sympathy for the "attacked" and against the "attackers". | | A '''false flag''' operation is a covert or [[underground]] operation intended to appear as though it were being carried out by other entities. The purpose is propaganda, to gain sympathy for the "attacked" and against the "attackers". |
| − | Nazi Germany carried out many such operations, such as the [[Reichstag fire]], in order to gain popularity and cement its control on the government. Another notable one backfired on them, however, the Gleiwitz Incident (an "attack" on a Nazi radio operation by other Nazis dressed as Polish soldiers, which was itself nothing more than a short anti-German broadcast, made believable by the Gestapo's murder of a German who was sympathetic to the Polish, who was then dressed as a saboteur) would ultimately lead to World War II. | + | Nazi Germany carried out many such operations, such as the [[Reichstag fire]], in order to gain popularity and cement its control on the government. Another notable one backfired on them, however, the [[Gleiwitz Incident]] (an "attack" on a Nazi radio operation by other Nazis dressed as Polish soldiers, which was itself nothing more than a short anti-German broadcast, made believable by the Gestapo's murder of a German who was sympathetic to the Polish, who was then dressed as a saboteur) would ultimately lead to World War II. |