 In 1937 , E. H. Carr commented that " in the passion of the moment " the Allied Powers had " failed to realize that this extorted admission of guilt could prove nothing , and must excite bitter resentment in German minds . " He concluded " German men of learning set to work to demonstrate the <unk> of their country , fondly believing that , if this could be established , the whole fabric of the treaty would collapse . " René Albrecht @-@ <unk> wrote in May 1940 , that " article 231 gave rise to an unfortunate controversy , unfortunate because it served to raise a false issue . " He wrote that the German inter @-@ war argument " rested on her responsibility for the out @-@ break of the war " and if that guilt could be disproved then the legal requirement to pay reparations would disappear . 
