Hermann Goering
The dream was abruptly dispelled and so was the hope of eternal peace, of future happiness and of the prosperity of all peoples. Suddenly, into the midst of this joyful music of the future, into the midst of this drivel about humanity, there sounded sharply and discordantly the trumpets of Versailles. For the first time Germany awoke from the intoxication of civil strife. In a flash it was seen that Germany had again been deceived. Trusting in Wilson's words and in his Fourteen Points, the sword had been laid aside. Germany had trustfully abandoned herself to the assurances concerning the universal happiness of peoples and international solidarity. And now she saw herself defenceless against a world bristling with armaments and hatred. 'Germaniam esse delendam' was the slogan of Versailles. More devilish than the mind of a Dante could have imagined, were the Peace terms of Versailles. Never has any people in the history of the world been presented with such terms. Even the destruction of Carthage was as nothing compared to the shameful Peace of Versailles. The word Peace seemed shamed and desecrated for ever. A brave people, peaceful and hard-working, loving freedom and honour, was now confined in the prison-house of Versailles. The thirst for revenge was now satisfied by the destruction of the once feared, but also respected, enemy. In their blind hatred the enemies of Germany did not see that, with this so-called Peace, they were leading, not only Germany, but the whole world to catastrophe.
But in Germany the Marxist angels of peace continued, in spite of everything, to prate before the people of international solidarity. The blame for the Dictate of Versailles was put down to having lost the War, but it was forgotten that the Social Democrats themselves had made the collapse of the German people possible through their treacherous action. But the German people realized too late that it had in the past months thrown away its honour, and that now, without honour, it was deprived of its freedom as well. Only once did it rise again as one man when the shame became unbearable; the German generals were to be delivered up! What Englishman, what Frenchman would not blush with shame if such a suggestion were made to his people? But we Germans know today that our enemies would never have made such humiliating demands if they had not seen Germany's moral collapse before them. Only because they had seen how the German leaders at that time were destroying every idea of honour and national pride, could inflict such humiliations on Germany.