 Initially , Article 231 was not correctly translated . Rather than stating " ... Germany accepts responsibility of Germany and her allies causing all the loss and damage ... " , the German Government 's edition read " Germany admits it , that Germany and her allies , as authors of the war , are responsible for all losses and damages ... " . Germans felt that they the country had signed away her honor , and there was a prevailing belief of humiliation as the article was seen , overall , as an injustice . Historian Wolfgang Mommsen commented that despite the public outrage , German government officials were aware " that Germany 's position on this matter was not nearly so favorable as the imperial government had led the German public to believe during the war . " 
