the war guilt clause
The War Guilt Clause was added in order to get the French and Belgians to agree to reduce the amount of money( since it was ridiculous) that Germany would have to pay to compensate for war damage. The article was seen as a concession to the Germans by the negotiators. It was bitterly resented, however, by virtually all Germans who did not believe they were responsible for the outbreak of the war. This article was a constant thorn in the side of the Weimar leaders who tried to meet the terms of the agreement while trying to have these terms modified.