27
Reaction to the Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles was basically a public bankruptcy notice de-
livered to the nation of Germany.The final sum set for reparation pay-
ments eventually reached a staggering 226 billion marks, and the de-
pleted German government began to default on its payments almost
immediately. Ordinary Germans lashed out at the treaty’s terms, par-
ticularly the assignment of guilt to Germany alone. They viewed the
agreement as an attempt to humiliate their country.Those who signed
the treaty were called the November Criminals (referring to the time
of the original armistice), and foreign minister Herman Midler was
German Territorial Losses, 1919
