pro-republican reaction

• the SPD and its allies knew the treaty would cause backlash, so they got their competitors (DNVP, DVP, and DDP) to state that those who voted for the treaty were not being unpatriotic
• they believed in the policy of fulfilment, which meant complying with the treaty outwardly whilst negotiating better terms.
• the treaty turned many former supporters against the weimar republic as it associated the republic with weakness and failure, causing mass demoralization
• the treaty alienated those moderates who liked the new constitution and a promise of a better germany, causing public divide