How valid is the view that Germany was treated leniently in

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The treaty of Versailles was signed on the 28th of June 1919 by the Weimar government. The French, British, and American governments designed the peace settlement in order to place blame on Germany for starting the war. The consequences being that the German government would have to pay reparations, as well as loss of one third of land and most of the colonies. This caused total out rage within the German public, as they had always been led to believe that it had been a defensive war, through propaganda. There is much historical debate over how leniently the German's were treated in the settlement. John Maynard Keynes supports the view that Germany hadn't been treated fairly, although facts such as the treaty of Brest-Litovsk point to a more lenient approach. In this essay a full examination of how Germany was treated in the settlement, and if it is a valid view that the settlement was lenient will be given, with close reference to factual evidence and historic debate.
The German public were outraged after the signing of the treaty, as popular belief was that it had been a defensive war and in no way was Germany to blame. The treaty was looked upon as harsh and unfair, with a grave humiliation placed over Germany. "Today German honour is dragged to the grave", one paper's view on the settlement.The agreement was that Germany would loss 1/3 of her land and would have to pay reparations totalling to £6600 million. Thus crippling her as the removal of Alsace and Lorraine an important industrial area would make it harder for Germany to pay the reparations back.Also restrictions were placed on her army and industries were taken over, such as the Rhineland. Germany however wasn't consulted over the terms and the leading powers dictated them to her, causing more frustration amongst the German population.
The German foreign minister Brockdorff-Rantza commented that the bases of the treaty, which w…