A German figure of doom, Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937), was one of the key figures in the first half of the 20th century: as the celebrated Generalissimo of World War I and inventor of "total war," as an icon of the völkisch movement and ideological precursor of National Socialism. No other German military leader wielded as much power as General Ludendorff did during World War I. Martial law allowed him to influence all areas of public life, including the economy, propaganda, and occupation policy. His domestic political goal for the time after the "final victory" was a military dictatorship. In foreign policy, he dreamed of an "Empire of Germania," and he connected his völkisch motives—long before the criminal plans of the National Socialists—with the radical idea of "total war." Thus, it was only logical that.