Except there could have been no Allied peace where the ratio of strength of Germany to the Allies was higher after the peace than before the war. It would have been the same as granting Germany the victory.
The minimal terms of an Allied victory would have been Alsace-Lorraine to France, and Germany cannot acquire more land. That means no union with Austria, and no acquisition of the Sudetenland.
This, essentially.
I'm not saying the Germans should be given all of the land I mentioned, but I am saying unfairly taking away land that
wishes to be German is how you get a xenophobic nationalist in charge. AL should go to France, I'm not arguing that, but you also have to realize you
cannot start taking away the rights of sovereign states to do what they please. If Austria wishes to join Germany, that is between Austria and Germany, that is a German issue, if you put a stopper on that, it creates an Us VS Them mindset for the German people. Germans VS Them, Germans VS the Allies. Revanchanism all over again.
This should not be a peace about containing Germany, this should be a peace about
keeping peace. Punishment VS Rehabilitation, you don't want to treat Germany like they are somehow less of a people, less of a fellow European, for simply answering an ally's call in the Great War, but then we get into the old argument of where the blame should lay.
Hitler is a direct result of how the world handled Germany, Hitler was a direct result of how the German people handled the treaty. A shit show and poor performance on both sides. Let the Germans be Germans, let the Poles be Poles, the French French, and treat the nation with the respect a sovereign state deserves. There is no reason the peace deal has to obliterate Germany, they aren't a ghost coming back time and time again, they are a people that just lost a war they could have won, they damned near reached Paris. Yes, I understand the mindset of attempting to stop Germany from swinging its weight around again, but you can't treat someone like a bully their entire life and not expect it to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Treat Germany as an equal, before, after, and during the treaty. Offering them a spot in the LoN, allow Austrian annexation
if Austria wishes for it. Don't treat the Germans like the boogymen of Europe or they will become the very monster you see them as, that goes for any nation, people group, or person in general.