Reparations were fixed in 1921 at 132 billion gold marks, but the schedule divided the total into A, B and C bonds and Germany was required to service only the first two. Why does that structure matter to the debate about Versailles?

D. The real burden was roughly 50 billion, so claims based on the total sum overstate it

The C bonds let British and French governments show their electorates a punitive total while the real schedule was closer to 50 billion. Marks and others argue the effective burden was within Germany’s capacity and that non-payment was chosen rather than forced. The headline figure did enormous political work in Germany, which is a separate and also important fact.